John Wayne

The Western John Carpenter Wrote For John Wayne (& Why It Didn’t Happen)

John Carpenter once wrote a Western for John Wayne called Blood River, but here’s why it didn’t happen. Carpenter grew up a major fan of Westerns, with Rio Bravo being his favorite; Assault On Precinct 13 was his take on the same concept. By the time he moved into filmmaking, Westerns were all but dead in Hollywood. Instead, he focused on horror and went on to helm genre favorites like Halloween, The Thing and In The Mouth Of Madness. He never quite got to fulfill his Western dreams, however, with 1998’s Vampires being about as close as he came.
Early in his career, Carpenter penned a Western called Blood River. This involved a young gunfighter fleeing the vengeful father of a man he killed, and being helped by an old trapper. During the early ’70s, John Wayne’s – who considered Jet Pilot his worst movie – production company optioned the screenplay, with Carpenter brought on to craft it for the star. Carpenter recalls having a good time developing the project and that he was well-treated by Wayne and his family. However, the project was scrapped, with Wayne’s ill health during his final years cited as the key reason. In fact, part of Blood River’s rewrite involved trimming the more intense action sequences for his character.
Blood River Would Have Been Wayne’s Final Western

John Wayne in the 1976 movie The Shootist.

It appears Wayne hadn’t entirely given up on Blood River, as Ron Howard later recalled the actor mentioning the project as a potential starring vehicle for the two of them. Howard co-starred with Wayne in what proved to be the latter’s final movie The Shootist and mentioned that Blood River contained two great parts for them. Wayne’s health would continue to worsen following The Shootist, and this period even saw Wayne reject Spielberg’s offer to appear in war comedy 1941. Howard later lamented not getting to work with Wayne again, who passed from stomach cancer in 1979.
Blood River Was Made Into A 1991 TV Movie With Wilford Brimley

wilford brimley in blood river

Carpenter originally envisioned a director like Howard Hawks helming Blood River. Carpenter also knew he would never get the gig, as he was too inexperienced at the time. Wayne’s passing appeared to mark the end of Blood River, though it was eventually produced as a CBS TV movie in 1991. This cast Ricky Schroder as the gunfighter, while Wilford Brimley played the character earmarked for Wayne. Carpenter’s ex-wife Adrienne Barbeau also played a part, but despite a talented cast, Blood River debuted to mixed reviews and is now largely forgotten.
Outside of Blood River, Carpenter developed an epic Western dubbed El Diablo for himself to direct. This would have been a combination of Wayne’s The Searchers – which has an iconic ending – and Journey To The Center Of The Earth, where a mild-mannered schoolteacher teams with a veteran gunfighter to rescue the former’s kidnapped sister. The movie’s potential budget scared studio’s away, while Carpenter moved on to other projects. Like Blood River, it was eventually made in the ’90s as a TV movie, starring Anthony Edwards and Louis Gossett Jr.

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.”

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’

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.

John Wayne

The Most Memorable John Wayne Movies

Few actors compare to John Wayne, both in terms of ability and popularity. Here are The Duke’s most memorable movies.John Wayne or simply “The Duke” is one of the greatest actors of all time, appearing in over 150 movies and starring in over 70 movies during his career. He was brilliant in every single role, whether he was a cowboy, a marshal, a colonel, or any other type of character. Fans of all ages love The Duke for his commanding presence on-screen and good heart off-screen.

1: The Green BeretsJohn Wayne plays a Green Beret colonel in “The Green Berets”Despite its critical failure and protests about its subject matter, The Green Berets was a commercial success when it was released in 1968. Based on a 1965 novel, the movie was also directed by Wayne, who wanted to show the positive side of those who served in South Vietnam at the time.

Wayne plays the colonel of a Green Beret unit who’s sent to Vietnam to support various operations. He’s joined by a cynical newspaper reporter, played by David Jansen. His unit goes on an espionage mission and shores up a front-line camp with help from a character portrayed by George Takei.

2: The Searchers“The Searchers” is considered one of the most classic movies made.John Ford’s The Searchers was not only a commercial success when it premiered in 1956. It also became one of the most influential films of the 20th century. It has been named one of the best Westerns and top movies of all time.

Wayne plays a Civil War veteran who goes on a hunt for his niece, played by Natalie Wood. He’s joined by his adoptive nephew, who is played by Jeffrey Hunter. Along the way, the pair encounters numerous obstacles in their search.

3: Red RiverJohn Wayne and Montgomery Clift in “Red River.”Gunslinging wasn’t the only thing John Wayne did in his Westerns. For the most part, that was a small part. The rest of these films focused on the human condition and how they conquered the harshness of the land at that time.

Red River is an example of this type of film. Directed by Howard Hawkes, it’s loosely based on the first cattle drive from Texas to Kansas along the Chisholm Trail. Most of the tension comes from the relationship between Wayne’s character and his son, played by Montgomery Clift. The movie was preserved by the National Film Registry thanks to its historical significance.

4: StagecoachJohn Wayne was beginning to get his acting chops in the 1930s, working as an extra and starting to star in a few B movies. In 1939, he got his break as Ringo Kid, a young outlaw out for revenge for his father and brother’s death in John Ford’s Stagecoach.

Stagecoach focused on a diverse group of individuals who were all aboard the same stagecoach and are forced to go through several trials and tribulations together, including the birth of a baby. The role set the young actor on a path to success and Wayne soon became a household name.

5: El DoradoThe 1960s were full of great western actors such as John Wayne, Steve McQueen, James Stewart, Clint Eastwood, and Robert Mitchum. Having John Wayne and Robert Mitchum in the same movie proved to be a wise decision, with 1966’s El Dorado became a huge hit among western fans.

John Wayne played Cole Thorton, a gunslinger for hire, who returns to the town of El Dorado as he was hired by wealthy landowner Bart Jason. But when Cole realizes he would have to fight his old friend the drunken sheriff, J.P. Harrah played by Robert Mitchum, he turns down the offer. Cole joins forces with J.P. to protect the town from the bully Bart Jason.

6: The ShootistJohn Wayne had a career that spanned for 4 decades, with his big break coming in 1939 as Ringo Kid in Stagecoach and his last role being J.B. Books in the 1976 film The Shootist. J.B. Books is an old gunslinger who finds out he has cancer, but this old gunfighter isn’t going out without a fight.

The American hero, John Wayne, passed away in 1979, only a few years after filming his final movie. That said, his legacy will never be forgotten. As they say, “when the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”