John Wayne
John Wayne Blew Up at ‘Embarrassed’ ‘Tall in the Saddle’ Co-Star Over an Uncontrollable Horse
Actor John Wayne once lost his temper at co-star Ella Raines while shooting Tall in the Saddle. He was tired of repeatedly shooting the same scene because she couldn’t control the horse that she had to ride for a specific scene. As a result, Wayne started to lose his patience and finally blew up at her, leaving an “embarrassed” co-star standing there in disbelief.
John Wayne played Rocklin in ‘Tall in the Saddle’
L-R: Ella Raines as Arly and John Wayne as Rocklin | Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images
Tall in the Saddle tells the story of a cowboy named Rocklin (Wayne), who rolls through a Western town. He was promised work on a ranch in the area, but he discovers that his employer was shot. As a result, he must find some much-needed work elsewhere.
Rocklin demonstrates a negative perception of women in general, but everything changes when he meets and charms Arly (Raines) and gets a job working at her family’s ranch. However, things take a sudden turn when he finds out that Judge Garvey (Ward Bond) actually had a hand in his previous employer’s violent confrontation in an attempt to steal his land.
John Wayne blew up at ‘Tall in the Saddle’ co-star Ella Raines over an uncontrollable horse
According to Ronald L. Davis’ Duke: The Life and Image of John Wayne, Tall in the Saddle found the actor losing his temper at Raines. They filmed a scene where they had to ride their horses behind the camera, where they would share dialogue while maintaining a specific speed in alignment with that of the camera.
The rehearsals went smoothly, but the scene didn’t go so well when it was time to actually commit it to film. The camera bell rang to indicate that the operator started rolling the film, which resulted in Raines’ horse, Blackie, running off.
“I was so embarrassed,” Raines said. “I had gone out to the trainer’s ranch and had ridden Blackie. We’d become good friends.”
Wayne was an experienced horserider and initially thought it was funny. The set had to restart the scene to do another take, but the same thing happened once again. Blackie got so excited that Raines thought she was “going to die” and her co-star was getting increasingly angry. Wayne finally spat out, “I thought you told me you could ride … I’ll ride that damn horse, and you take mine.”
However, Wayne had the same issue with Blackie on the next take, which further angered him. The production crew didn’t know what to do until the horse trainer arrived who previously forgot to tell them that the horse was a former racehorse. The bell kept setting Blackie off, so they had to film the scene without the noise.
The film was successful at the box office
Tall in the Saddle generally earned positive reviews at the time, but they became increasingly mixed over the years. The Rotten Tomatoes Tomato-meter doesn’t have enough critic reviews to generate a rating at the time of writing, but it has a 73% audience score.
Nevertheless, Tall in the Saddle was another box-office success for Wayne. The film cost $565,000 to make, but it earned $2 million in rentals. The actor earned praise for his ability to fight his way through so many hurdles over the course of the narrative.
John Wayne
The Legend Lives On: John Wayne is Still Alive!
John Wayne
Why John Wayne Turned Down the Chance to Work With Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood and John Wayne are the two biggest legends in the history of Western movies, however, they never worked together. The duo did have the opportunity to work together once in the 1970s. Here’s why the film never came to fruition.
How John Wayne responded when Clint Eastwood tried to work with him
Firstly, a little background. According to the book John Wayne: The Life and Legend, it all starts with Larry Cohen. Though Cohen is not a widely known director like Steven Spielberg or Quentin Tarantino, he’s a huge name to fans of B movies. He directed famous B movies like The Stuff, Q: The Winged Serpent, It’s Alive, and God Told Me To. He also wrote a script called The Hostiles shortly after Eastwood released his classic High Plains Drifter.
The Hostiles was about a gambler who wins half of an estate of an older man. The gambler and the older man have to work together despite the fact that they don’t like each other. Eastwood optioned the screenplay with the intent of playing the gambler alongside Wayne as the older man.
Eastwood sent a copy of the script of The Hostiles to Wayne. Although Eastwood felt the script was imperfect, he saw its potential. However, Wayne was not interested. Eastwood pitched the film to Wayne a second time and Wayne responded with a letter. Wayne’s letter complained about High Plains Drifter. Wayne was offended by the film and its portrayal of the Old West as a cruel, violent place.
John Wayne
Ann-Margret Refused to Call John Wayne ‘Duke’ While Introducing 1 of His Movies
Ann-Margret once starred in one of John Wayne’s lesser-known movies. However, she refused to call him by his popular moniker Duke. Here’s a look at the film they made together — and why she declined to call him by a nickname.
The one time Ann-Margret and John Wayne made a movie together
Ann-Margret is probably most known for her work in musicals, specifically Bye Bye Birdie, Viva Las Vegas, and The Who’s Tommy. However, she also dabbled in the Western genre. She starred alongside Wayne in the mostly forgotten movie The Train Robbers.
Wayne was also known as The Duke or just Duke. According to USA Today, the nickname was derived from his childhood dog. It stuck with him for many years. It continues to be used today — even on the box covers of the DVDs for his movies.
John Wayne | Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
During an interview with Interview Magazine, Ann-Margret explained why she didn’t refer to the Rio Bravo star by this famous name. “When I came to this country, first of all, mother and I didn’t know English,” she said. “I would curtsey, then say, ‘Thank you,’ and then when I was leaving, curtsey. For example, we went to Dallas to introduce a film I did with John Wayne. And I never called him Duke. I just couldn’t. That’s the way I was raised. When you meet someone, you say either Mr. or Mrs. or Miss. You stand up.”
Ann-Margret revealed she treated other famous people in much the same way. For example, she worked with director George Sidney on Bye Bye Birdie and Viva Las Vegas. She always called him Mr. Sidney.
What Ann-Margret thought about John Wayne
Ann-Margret refused to use Wayne’s most famous moniker. However, she had a positive view of the actor. During an interview with Fox News, she was asked what she expected when she met Wayne. “Oh, I didn’t know what to expect,” she revealed. “But when he hugged me, it’s like the world was hugging me. He was so big and wide with that booming voice.
“We were shooting in Durango, Mexico and my parents came down to visit me,” she added. “He was so great with my parents. So absolutely welcoming and gentle with them. And anybody who was great to my parents was on a throne in my eyes.”
How the world reacted to ‘The Train Robbers’
Wayne starred in many classic Westerns, including The Searchers, Stagecoach, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. However, The Train Robbers is mostly forgotten. It didn’t gain a cult following like Once Upon a Time in the West or Dead Man. It wasn’t a critical success either, garnering a 33% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, Ann-Margret had some fond memories of making the film — even if she refused to call Wayne by his famous nickname.
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