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John Wayne

Red River Was The First Time John Wayne Felt Like A ‘Real Actor’

Once John Wayne established himself as a bonafide movie star as the Ringo Kid in John Ford’s “Stagecoach,” he steadily built up his fanbase via hits like Raoul Walsh’s “Dark Command,” Cecil B. DeMille’s “Reap the Wild Wind,” and John Ford’s “They Were Expendable.” Did it help that some of his marquee competition (e.g. James Stewart and Henry Fonda) had paused their careers to serve in World War II? Absolutely. This might be deplorable in hindsight (especially in light of the actor’s conservative politics and later support of the disastrous Vietnam War), but, at the time, the majority of the American moviegoing public clearly didn’t mind. A new Wayne movie almost always packed ’em in and turned a profit.
While the Duke was riding high at the box office, he was slowly turning into a caricature of his stolidly macho self. The fresh-faced kid who once got Marlene Dietrich’s motor running now came off a good 10 years older than he was, and, in terms of performance, worked barely perceptible variations on his drawling persona. The return of Ford from World War II would eventually break him of his broadest habits, but it would take Howard Hawks to pull something not just different, but shockingly sinister out of him.
The Duke goes full Captain Ahab
United ArtistsBased on Borden Chase’s serialized yarn “The Chisholm Trail,” Hawks’ “Red River” thrust Wayne into the role of Thomas Dunson, a hard-nosed, financially hard-up rancher who, out of desperation, resolves to drive his cattle from South Texas to Missouri. It’s an arduous trip that places the overzealous Dunson at odds with his adopted son (Montgomery Clift).


Wayne’s Dunson may be the film’s protagonist, but his harsh management style challenges our sympathies. Wayne was no stranger to playing hard men, but Dunson verges on maniacal à la Herman Melville’s Captain Ahab.
Though Wayne butted heads with Hawks over his portrayal of Dunson, he was grateful for the opportunity to demonstrate his range. According to David Welky and Randy Roberts’ “John Wayne: Treasures,” the Duke said, “It was the first time I felt like a real actor.” Hawks added, “We were walking a tightrope in telling a story like that. Are you still going to like Wayne or not?”
Wayne’s loyal fanbase powered the film to second place at the 1948 U.S. box office, while critics of the era praised the star’s performance. Years later, film scholar Gerald Mast opined:
“It may seem like a hyperbolic claim, but no star in the history of film other than John Wayne could play [his] role in ‘Red River’ and make it mean what it does and make the story mean what it does.”
Wayne strung together a series of first-rate performances over the next few years, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in 1949 for his heroic turn in “Sands of Iwo Jima,” and turning in what might be his finest work ever as Captain Nathan Bruttles in Ford’s “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.” For Wayne fans, this was inarguably his prime.
 

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John Wayne

John Wayne’s Granddaughter Wrote The Song “God Bless John Wayne” In Honor of His 100th Birthday

John Wayne, who starred in countless popular Westerns and was nominated three times for the Academy Award during his 50 years in the film industry, is without a doubt one of Hollywood’s most iconic movie stars. Some of his most notable performances include True Grit, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Rio Bravo, The Searchers, and Stagecoach, among others – which stood to be timeless and keep on collecting a large fan base until today.

More than forty years past his death in 1979, Wayne remains an iconic staple in the film industry. His legacy will continue for a long time – not just because of the greatest films that he made but also through this heartwarming ballad his granddaughter, Jennifer Wayne, wrote in honor of him.

Jennifer Wayne is a celebrity in her own right! She’s a singer, songwriter, and founding member of the country music trio Runaway June. The group used to be Carrie Underwood’s supporting act, and you may know them for their breakthrough hit “Buy My Own Drinks” in 2018.

Sadly, Jennifer never had the chance to meet her iconic grandfather. Wayne died three years before she was born. But that did not stop her from expressing her respect and gratitude for the man he was and the values he instilled in her family.

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John Wayne

Ann-Margret Remembers Memorable Experiences With John Wayne While Filming ‘The Train Robbers’

Legendary actress Ann-Margret made quite a name for herself in Hollywood through several films during the early 1960s. This includes Bye Bye Birdie, where she was nominated for Best Actress at the Golden Globe Award, and Viva Las Vegas alongside Elvis Presley, with whom she confessed having secretly dated for a year.

In 1973, Ann-Margret finally landed on one of her first lead roles, alongside wild west star John Wayne in the movie The Train Robbers – where she played a feisty, beautiful widow who hires a man to find gold stolen by her husband so that she may return it and start anew.

Working With John Wayne Was A Dream Come True For Ann-Margret

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John Wayne

‘Pure drivel’ John Wayne’s furious rejection of Steven Spielberg hid his ‘secret shame’

JOHN WAYNE FURIOUSLY REJECTED an offer from Steven Spielberg, branding his film “drivel.” Yet many, including the Western star’s wife Pilar, believe his actions were rooted in a need to “atone” for his own secret shame.

For decades, Wayne straddled the screen, the ultimate symbol of US frontier and even military machismo. Firmly right-wing in his personal and public views, his third wife Pilar labelled him a “superpatriot.” And when a chance came towards the end of his life to work with the new hottest director in town,  the ageing star furiously shot him down. After being offered a plum role, Wayne typically did not mince his words and told Spielberg the film 1941 was “the most anti-American piece of drivel I have ever read in my life.”

1941 is remembered as one of the director’s rare misfires, despite attaining cult status in subsequent years. Although it turned a very small profit, it paled in success next to his previous Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Released in 1979, it was soon eclipsed and forgotten after the first Raiders of the Lost Ark movie hit screens two years later.

The action-comedy humorously imagines a Japanese attack on Los Angeles days after the offensive on the US fleet at Pearl Harbour.

Wayne refused the role of General Joseph Stilwell (which went to Robert Stack) and told Spielberg: “You know, that was an important war, and you’re making fun of a war that cost thousands of lives at Pearl Harbor. Don’t joke about World War II.”

The Duke’s patriotic fervour is understandable but was also rooted in his own rather compromised past.

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