Connect with us

John Wayne

John Wayne Fought A Constant Battle Behind The Scenes Of The Shootist

Re

John Wayne spent nearly 50 years as a working actor in Hollywood, from the no-budget poverty row westerns of the ’30s to ascendant, unprecedented stardom following his role in the 1939 John Ford classic “Stagecoach.” He brought his sometimes-warm, sometimes-hostile persona to a number of film genres, but he’s best associated with the western — after all, he was in many of the all-time greats. 

In his final western, 1976’s “The Shootist,” the nearly 70-year-old Wayne had visibly aged. He certainly couldn’t play characters like “The Ringo Kid” anymore. He couldn’t even play the cranky middle-aged character type he developed through much of the ’50s and ’60s, macho guys like Cole Thornton in Howard Hawks’ “El Dorado.” Even though he insisted on doing his own stunts for 1971’s “Big Jake,” there was a shift in his presence in his final years. “The Shootist” took advantage of that, using the shadow of the John Wayne legend to contrast against the sick, elderly human being, who had begun having heart problems and stomach cancer according to Scott Eyman’s biography “John Wayne: The Life and Legend.”

But there were other issues. “The Shootist” was a far cry from the kind of western Wayne liked to make, or thought he made. Like so many ’70s genre pictures, this would take the mythology of the past and subvert it. Don Siegel, the director, had big ideas for the movie. He and Wayne would not get along.

The legend

“The Shootist” begins with a veritable highlight reel of John Wayne westerns, as the bitter father figure of “Red River” and the beleaguered sheriff of “Rio Bravo.” This montage, full of classic John Wayne shootouts, effectively functions as backstory for the hero of this movie, J.B. Books. More importantly, it places “The Shootist” explicitly in a continuum of John Wayne movies, playing a more subdued take on the character against our memories of him. Neither he nor the filmmakers knew this would be his last western, but the montage makes it feel inevitable.

Coming from Don Siegel, the filmmaker who had revolutionized the “urban vigilante” genre with the “Dirty Harry” series, this movie would be tough, but with enough light and humor to prevent it from being a depressing slog. Wayne had expectations too and liked to craft characters of a similar type. According to Scott Eyman’s biography “John Wayne: The Life and Legend,” the actor liked to play characters who have “a little more good than bad in him.” It’s no wonder he almost walked away from playing Ethan Edwards in “The Searchers.”

For Wayne, J.B. was one such character. He has a tough hide, a violent past, but a tenderness that emerges in unlikely scenarios. When the old shootist, privately sick with cancer, ambles into turn-of-the-century Carson City, Nevada, he’s an easy target. Aspiring gunmen vie for the chance to take on a legend.

Behind the scenes, that would be Don Siegel’s job.

Script changes

According to “Duke: The Life and Times of John Wayne,” his contract gave him final script approval for “The Shootist.”

John Wayne could be demanding and dismissive behind the scenes. His decades in the business gave him experience and authority enough to know how to give the audiences what they wanted. He was protective of his image, evidenced by the control he exerted on 1969’s “True Grit,” which partly led to Mia Farrow’s departure from the movie. 

For “The Shootist,” he wanted changes from Glendon Swarthout’s original novel and the original draft of the screenplay. According to Scott Eyman, Wayne mostly took issue with the climax. The movie’s relaxed pace gives room for Books to ruminate on his life, befriending young adult farmhand Gillom (Ron Howard) and his widowed mother (Lauren Bacall).

Wayne’s image changed the ending

By the movie’s end, his identity has been uncovered and many young gunmen are descending on the town. In the book, he takes out his assailants in a saloon, shooting one of them in the back before getting shot by the bartender. Now fatally wounded, he looks to Gillom to take him out of his misery.

Wayne didn’t like shooting someone in the back, as it would look dishonorable. Nor did he like good guy Gillom performing an execution. Per Eyman, these factors led to him demanding and receiving script rewrites, the better to maintain his image. The movie would not have Books shooting anyone in the back, and Gillom would instead shoot the bartender responsible for Books’ death.

Take after takeBesides taking charge of the narrative direction of the movie, John Wayne also just didn’t like working with Don Siegel. Wayne had worked with some of the all-time American auteurs, like Howard Hawks and John Ford, as well as studio masters like Henry Hathaway. There was a slight generation gap between him and Siegel, best exemplified by the differences in Siegel’s frequent lead actors Clint Eastwood and Wayne. 

As Videomaker puts it, John Ford rarely did more than one take, and he liked the raw emotion and improvised dialogue that could come from it. The legendary director worked with Wayne over a dozen times (and on one uncredited television collaboration), effectively training Wayne on the art of filmmaking. Meanwhile, Siegel had come up in television, learning how to negotiate multiple camera setups to get coverage of a scene, and following the script to the letter.

Per Scott Eyman, Siegel would demand take after take from the ailing Wayne, once even getting into an argument with the actor and his scene partner James Stewart (playing the town doctor). Because Stewart had a hard time hearing his cues, he threw off Wayne’s timing, causing the director to get frustrated.

Wayne flares up“The Shootist” author Glendon Swarthout would be quoted in Scott Eyman’s book as saying that Siegel “had a short man’s complex” and “was a bit of a martinet.” And as future director Ron Howard would recall to Eyman, Wayne had a number of “flare-ups.”

Wayne’s biggest flare-up was not due to any particularly demanding bit of direction from Siegel. It didn’t involve being asked to do more takes than he could manage and it didn’t have much to do with the story. Wayne just couldn’t abide a particular camera setup. According to Howard, while shooting a scene in a barn, Wayne noticed the location of the camera: sitting in a bale of hay, pointed directly upward at him. Besides being an unflattering angle that would capture his nose and jowls, it was an ostentatious angle that drew attention to itself. He silently signaled for the camera operator to move the camera up, and then loudly told him to. Then he growled at Siegel to finally do the scene.

Besides that, Howard claimed they kept it professional until the end of the shoot. “They never kissed and made up, but both of them respected the work.” Wayne might have grumbled and fought for control of the story (as well as the camera angles), but he and Siegel made an excellent film together. The union of director and star was contentious, but ultimately fruitful, as “The Shootist” is a touching elegy to a long-gone version of the Old West.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

John Wayne

Reveal 7 fascinating facts about John Wayne’s 1963 film ‘McLintock! ‘

A Standout Film In John Wayne’s Catalog . In the immense list that is John Wayne’s filmography, one title stands out among the rest. That movie would be McLintock! which starred Wayne and Maureen O’Hara in the lead roles.

Loosely based on William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, McLintock! is a Western in which John played the role of cattle, timber, and mining baron George Washington “G.W.” McLintock. Maureen played his estranged wife, Katherine, who moves out East after suspecting that G.W. cheated on her.However, she eventually comes back to his town, and the two find themselves tangled up in a series of messes.

7 Facts About John Wayne's 1963 Film 'McLintock!' – Country Music Family

The film also focuses on the couple’s daughter, Becky, who was played by Stefanie Powers. Once Becky comes back to town after her time away at college, she brings along a suitor named “Junior” Douglas, who was played by Jerry Van Dyke. But eventually, Rebecca ends up falling in love with a young man who lives in her father’s home named Dev, who was played by John’s son Patrick.

If you’re a fan of John’s movies, you’ve definitely seen McLintock! a time or two…or more. But there’s a few facts about the film and its creation that you’re likely clueless about.That’s what we’re here for, to tell you those facts! Are you excited to learn what they are?https://www.youtube.com/embed/VcAzj_b0bIM

1. The Movie Was Produced By John’s Son : John Wayne was always good about including his children in his projects, and ended up launching their careers in the process. While you likely already knew before reading this list that the character Dev was played by John’s son Patrick, did you know that another one of his children was involved in the film as well?

McLintock! / John Wayne / Technicolor 1963 - YouTube

It turns out that John’s eldest son, Michael, served as the sole producer of the film. Although Michael had worked on many other films in the past, McLintock! was the first that he ever fully produced.

2. John Insisted On One Of The Actresses Being Cast : One of the supporting roles in McLintock! was played by the immensely popular and beloved Yvonne De Carlo. She played Louise Warren, a widow who moves in to McLintock’s home with her two children and serves as the housekeeper and cook.https://www.youtube.com/embed/4aF4oGRM9Q0

While Yvonne appeared in a number of starring roles in earlier years, she was forced to accept supporting roles as her career declined. You probably didn’t know this before, but she may not have ever been cast in McLintock! if it wasn’t for John insisting that she be given a part.

McLintock!” – John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara | Katherine loudly… | Flickr

John wanted Yvonne to be cast in the film because her husband, stuntman Bob Morgan, had been seriously injured while working on the movie How the West Was Won, which John also starred in. The injuries put an end to Bob’s career, so why John Yvonne to have a role in McLintock! when it came time to start filming it.

3. John Wanted To Do One Stunt Because It Looked Fun : According to John’s son and the film’s producer, Michael, John really wanted to do one of his own stunts in the film. The stunt required John to jump from a hayloft down into a pile of hay below.

Michael said that his dad thought the stunt looked like a lot of fun, and he declared that he wanted to do it himself. The studio wasn’t too keen on the idea, since John was one of the brightest stars in Hollywood at the time.

John finally won the argument, and he got the chance to perform the stunt himself. However, the studio also shot the scene with a stuntman as well in case something went wrong.

4. There Isn’t A Bit Of Mud To Be Found In The Famous Brawl Scene : Sometimes, films have to substitute other substances for their real-life counterparts, such as blood, or even ice cream. In the case of the famous mudhole brawl scene that takes place in McLintock! the “mud” wasn’t mud at all!

In reality, the substance used in the mudhole brawl scene was a material called bentonite. This material is typically used while drilling oil wells, and resembles chocolate syrup in terms of appearance and consistency. On the movie screen, it stands in as a good substitute for mud, which is usually much thicker.

Continue Reading

John Wayne

The Gunsmoke cast had no idea John Wayne was going to introduce the first episode

The whole cast was at James Arness’ house when the Duke walked out.

Before anybody ever laid eyes on James Arness as Matt Dillon, the first episode of Gunsmoke moseyed out with a face so familiar to Westerns, he really needed no introduction. That didn’t stop him from saying in that sober, serious way of his, “I’m John Wayne. You may have seen me before, or I hope so. I’ve been kicking around Hollywood a long time.”

The introduction went on, but this was really all it took to get any Western fans to stay firmly planted in the saddle for the premiere, and out of all the fans in the audience when that very first episode aired, you should know that perhaps most surprised of all to see Wayne’s face on the front of his own show was Gunsmoke star Arness. He dispelled a myth in an interview with the Archive of American Television, confirming he not only had nothing to do with Wayne’s involvement, he and the rest of the cast didn’t even know it was going to happen!

“I didn’t ask him,” Arness said of John Wayne’s introduction. “Not at all. In fact, I was really surprised when they said that he had done that. He [filmed] that, we didn’t know about it at all. They did that intro some where else on some picture he was doing, and I don’t think actually, that we knew about it until it came on the air that night. I think they were kinda holding it as a surprise.”

Two big western stars meet again as “Gunsmoke” star Jim Arness stopped by to visit his old friend John Wayne. During the visit on the set of Wayne’s current movie the actors recalled that back in 1952 Arness was under contract to Duke. Wayne was asked to a thing called “Gunsmoke” but sold the producers on Jim instead.

Arness then went on to paint a picture of what exactly it was like to see one of his own heroes tipping his hat before the start of Arness’ new show. He said, “We were all actually over at my house, all the gang from Gunsmoke, watching this… and here’s Duke Wayne with this intro.”

Just imagine Amanda Blake, Dennis Weaver and Milburn Stone, sitting shoulder to shoulder on a couch when the screen flickers to reveal John Wayne. It must’ve been quite the surprise, indeed. Arness used a different word to describe the experience: “It was absolutely marvelous.”

In a later interview, he used the same word when discussing his favorite John Wayne movie of all time, The Quiet Man. Arness said, “I watch television all the time, mostly PBS and old movies like The Quiet Man, my favorite Wayne movie. It’s marvelous. I just loved the man and still do.”

Continue Reading

John Wayne

Inside John Wayne’s ‘Wild Goose’ WWII Houseboat

Actor John Wayne loved both land and sea. However, he took his love for the water to another level when he purchased a boat that he spent a lot of time on. The Wayne houseboat is a beautiful piece of history that fans continue to admire long after the actor’s death. Here’s a look inside of Wild Goose.

John Wayne owned a WWII houseboat called ‘Wild Goose’

John Wayne aboard Wild Goose, his houseboat, wearing a collared shirt, captain hat, sitting next to American flag

The Daze with Jordan the Lion YouTube channel takes viewers on a tour inside of the Wayne houseboat. The actor spent a lot of time on the houseboat and owned it for 18 years. However, he sold it shortly before he died in 1979. Jordan explained that Wayne had some of his favorite moments of all time on the Wild Goose. He even convalesced on the boat after he knew that he was going to die.

The Wayne houseboat was a decommissioned World War II Naval minesweeper. However, he wasn’t the original owner. Billionaire Max Wyman purchased the boat, but he wanted to sell it when he grew tired of it. Wayne purchased it off his hands and had to have the ceilings raised to accommodate his height without bumping his head.

Jordan went to the other side of the boat to take a quick look at the kitchen, where the Duke had meals prepared for him. Next, he went into the engine room. The host explained that the ship’s engine was originally a locomotive or train engine that they repurposed when the military had the ship. The ladder at the end of the room leads to the bar area.

The host exited the engine room to head to the second level of the ship, using gold-detailed stairs to get there. He explored a second Bride room, where guests can purchase Wayne and Wild Goose merchandise. Jordan explained that the Wayne houseboat’s captain is still alive and participates in the dinner cruises.

Continue Reading

Trending