Thanks to John "The" Duke for the link.
On his 100th birthday, 100 reasons to love John Wayne | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — John Wayne was born May 26, 1907, in Winterset, Iowa, 100 years ago. Alone among his generation of movie stars, he remains an apparently permanent image of American masculinity.
You can accept his representation of manhood or you can reject it, but you can't ignore it.
Like Elvis Presley, he was a pure product of America, unthinkable in any other culture. Unlike Elvis, he never went crazy, never lost his faith in his essential rightness — in several senses of the word — never really tried to adapt to changing times. Blessedly, he never hid behind irony.
He was John Wayne, and here are 100 reasons to cherish his memory, some of them from his movies, some of them drawn from Wayne in conversation."
6 comments:
I always thought RIO BRAVO was his best, and Dean Martin's, too. That scene where they chase the bad guy into the bar is a classic.
But I haven't seen the "cavalry trilogy", so what do I know.
Rio Bravo is a personal favorite of mine. I know it's not as good as some of his other movies, but it's more fun.
My personal favorite: The Cowboys even if the Duke dies. You have to also love his performance The Green Berets. The troups are told to stay low and quiet, so John Wayne stands to his full height waves an are and yells, "Move out!" to the company at hand.
Let's face it, they're all great.
I am a fan of the "cavalry trilogy." I think She Wore A Yellow Ribbon is the best of the three. The role of the aging Nathan Brittles really pushes Wayne's ability as an actor. I've always been of the opinion that John Wayne was at his very best when he was working under a strong director, and both John Ford (with whom he did so many great movies) and Howard Hawks (with whom he did the great Red River and Rio Bravo (along with the sadly derivative El Dorado and Rio Lobo) knew how to handle Wayne. Reportedly John Huston did not.
As far as guilty pleasures, I have to admit to loving McLintock! (and not just because of the beautiful Stephanie Powers) and Big Jake.
McClintock also has Maureen O'Hara. And Big Jake has Bobby Vinton. Why did Wayne always cast these guys. Don't get me wrong. I think Ricky is great in Rio Bravo. But Glen Campbell spoils True Grit for me. And God save us from Frankie Avalon in The Alamo.
Post a Comment