284 thoughts on “John Wayne Movies”

1. 1 Graphic posters of movies that one has become familiar with invoke fresh nostalgic memories ; and your reproductions include the one for Liberty Valance which reflects the compromise billing that John Ford organised over 50 years ago whereby Wayne was billed first on screen and Jimmy Stewart came tops in posters and other promotional material.

   2 That should be of at least interest to any film historian or buff because with Red River in 1948 Duke metamorphosed from an important movie star into the unique colossus we today know as ‘John Wayne’; and after that in a full length role John’s name never came second ANYWHERE but to Jimmy in Liberty Valance. [It is therefore appropriate that you have ranked Red River second to only The Searchers].

   3 The compromise was unusual in those days because the very greatest of stars like Bogie/Tracy would miss golden opportunities to work together rather than share top billing. The nostalgia for me arises from the fact that when I went to England for the first time with the Armed Forces in 1962 the Liberty Valance posters were on display everywhere I travelled.

   4 Duke made so many movies and had such a great volume of classics in the minds of both the critics and the public that I did not envy you the task of selecting a Top 30 but you outwitted me by going for a Top 40 which in Wayne’s case is more than appropriate.

   5 Whilst one is so spoilt for choice in John’s case that it was inevitable that some of my own favourites were excluded the selections are nonetheless very satisfying. In view of that and the Duke’s affinity with the western genre it is doubly valid in this case to say Guns Up !

   6 John of course in his early days made many B westerns that are rarely mentioned today; but as I may have said before the famous line from the Godfather “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse!” was first uttered on screen by Duke in one of those old B movies. Another link between two of the group of actors/actresses that I find it the most fun to write about!

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   1. The previous post about the John Wayne video was of course addressed primarily to STEVE LENSMAN. My apologies for any confusion.

      BOB

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      1. Hi Bob, thanks for checking out my John Wayne video. I had 110 of his films ranked and rated in my files, most of them popular and well-known, so a top 30 wouldn’t have been fair for the Duke. I thought about doing a top 50 but decided people would get bored with it and fast forward to the top 10. So I settled on a top 40.

         My biggest regret is not including one of his best known films – The Cowboys – in the top 40, it’s one of my favorites. Blame it on two of my sources, Leonard Maltin and the Radio Times Film Guide, they both gave the film just 2 stars. So it ended up outside the top 40 and the top 50 too, I’m looking at my files now, below B pictures like Texas Cyclone and King of the Pecos.

         The Cowboys was notorious for the scene where Bruce Dern shoots the Duke in the back, killing him Dern was worried that audiences would hate him and that the studios would shun him for that dastardly deed, and this is exactly what happened, he couldn’t get work for a while. That shows you the power of film and the love and respect a lot of people had for John Wayne, politics aside of course. 🙂

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         1. STEVE

            1 Thanks for the extra information. Public attitudes cut both ways of course as Michael Douglas claims that he has had to explain to irate people who confronted him publicly that he did not in real life agree with the ethos of Gordon Gekko; and apparently when parading about in Nazi uniform in the streets for a scene in The Young Lions (1958) Mr M had to mumble his way out of an angry confrontation from a Jewish lady !

            2 However I agree with your “politics aside” sentiment because on this site we are concerned with a performer’s qualities as an actor or box office star and not his political views and anyway as we have said before few stars are all this or all that and Chuck Heston for example was a fanatical gun control opponent on the one hand but a brave Civil Rights supporter on the other so its not for us to quarrel with his politics on Cogerson; and if one wanted to do that there are plenty of other sites where one would be more than obliged.

            Best wishes BOB

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            1. Hey Bob and Steve….it is interesting to read the comments between you two. Guns up and thumbs up to both of you.

2. John Wayne has 48 100 million dollar movies on your list. These are the only people on the current top 1000 Oracle of Bacon Center of the Universe list who worked with John Wayne.

   Back to Bataan (1945) – 681 Anthony Quinn
   Blood Alley (1955) – 67 James Hong
   Brannigan (1975) – 523 Harry Fielder
   Cahill U.S. Marshal (1973) – 313 George Kennedy
   Cast a Giant Shadow (1966) – 396 Michael Douglas
   Chisum (1970) – 644 Pedro Armendariz Jr.
   Donovan’s Reef (1963) – 762 Jack Warden
   El Dorado (1967) – 43 James Caan, 482 Edward Asner, 809 Robert Mitchum
   How the West was Won (1962) – 40 Harry Dean Stanton, 220 Eli Wallach (many more on 2000 list)
   In Harm’s Way (1965) – 313 George Kennedy
   North to Alaska (1960) – 966 Kathleen Freeman
   Red River (1948) – 781 Shelley Winters
   Rio Lobo (1970) – 78 Peter Jason
   The Cowboys (1972) – 274 Bruce Dern, 750 Robert Carradine
   The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) – 20 Max Von Sydow, 65 Robert Loggia, 69 Martin Landau, 247 Charlton Heston, 323 Donald Pleasance, 781 Shelley Winters
   The Green Berets (1968) – 923 George Takai
   The High and the Mighty (1954) – 937 Robert Easton
   The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933) – 245 Mickey Rooney (imagine 83 years later)
   The Longest Day (1962) – 112 Rod Steiger, 271 Robert Wagner, 289 Sean Connery, 427 George Segal, 809 Robert Mitchum (many more on 2000 list).
   The Shootist (1976) – 926 Bill Mckinney
   The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) – 27 Dennis Hopper, 313 George Kennedy
   The Train Robbers (1973) – 660 Ann-Margret
   The Undefeated (1969) – 644 Pedro Armendariz Jr.
   The War Wagon (1967) – 274 Bruce Dern
   Three Lives (1953) – 247 Charlton Heston
   Trouble Along the Way (1953) – 912 Arthur Tovey
   True Grit (1969) – 27 Dennis Hopper, 71 Robert Duvall
   Tycoon (1947) – 681 Anthony Quinn

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   1. Wow….I am amazed of the work you did in these 4 comments. They were a blast to read….and I tried to find people you missed. I thought I had you with a couple of people….but then I saw “read John Wayne”…so good job. As for John Wayne…good to know all of those movies are still getting him some respect at the Bacon Oracle. James Caan, Robert Duvall and Bruce Dern seem like good candidates to help keep the Duke on the list….as they seem like they are (thankfully) never going to stop making movies. Seems like a stretch to give Michael Douglas credit for Cast A Giant Shadow….maybe not as bad as giving Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez credit for Apocalpyse Now. Thanks again for sharing this information.

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      1. Didn’t know where to place this guy either. Ward Bond was in 11 films nominated for best picture. He was in 23 John Wayne films and 25 John Ford films. He starred on the TV series Wagon Train for 3 1/2 seasons till his death in 1960. He also appeared in films with 62 people who won Oscars, many of them numerous times. By the way the immortal Bess Flowers appeared in over 20 films that were up for best picture and she never had any dialogue!

         3 Godfathers (1948) – John Wayne, Ben Johnson, Jane Darwell
         A Guy Named Joe (1943) – Spencer Tracy, Lionel Barrymore
         A Man Alone (1955) – Ray Milland
         A Man Betrayed (1941) – John Wayne
         After the Thin Man (1936) – James Stewart
         Alias Jesse James (1959) – Bing Crosby, Gary Cooper
         Arrowsmith (1931) – Helen Hayes, Ronald Colman
         Black Fury (1935) – Paul Muni
         Blonde Crazy (1931) – James Cagney, Ray Milland
         Blowing Wild (1953) – Gary Cooper, Anthony Quinn
         Born Reckless (1930) – John Wayne
         Bringing Up Baby (1938) – Katherine Hepburn, Barry Fitzgerald
         Broadway Bill (1934) – Warner Baxter
         Bullfighter and the Lady (1951) – Katy Jurado
         Canyon Passage (1946) – Susan Hayward
         Chained (1934) – Clark Gable, Joan Crawford
         City for Conquest (1940) – James Cagney, Anthony Quinn
         College Coach (1933) – John Wayne
         Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939) – George Sanders
         Conflict (1936) – John Wayne
         Dakota (1945) – John Wayne, Walter Brennan
         Dead End (1937) – Humphrey Bogart, Claire Trevor
         Death on the Diamond (1934) – Walter Brennan
         Devil Dogs of the Air (1935) – James Cagney
         Dodge City (1939) – Olivia De Havilland
         Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) – Henry Fonda, Claudette Colbert
         Escape by Night (1937) – Dean Jagger
         Flesh (1932) – Wallace Beery
         Fort Apache (1948) – Henry Fonda, John Wayne
         G Men (1935) – James Cagney
         Gone with the Wind (1939_- Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Olivia De Havilland, Thomas Mitchell, Hattie McDaniel
         Heroes for Sale (1933) – Loretta Young
         High Tension (1936) – Hattie McDaniel
         Home in Indiana (1944) – Walter Brennan
         Hondo (1953) – John Wayne, Geraldine Page
         I Found Stella Parrish (1935) – Paul Lukas
         I’ll Tell the World (1934) – Walter Brennan
         In This Our Life (1942) – Bette Davis, Olivia De Havilland, Hattie McDaniel
         It Happened One Night (1934) – Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert
         It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) – James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Gloria Grahame, Thomas Mitchell
         Joan of Arc (1948) – Ingrid Bergman, Jose Ferrer
         Johnny Guitar (1954) – Joan Crawford, Ernest Borgnine
         Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950) – James Cagney
         Made for Each Other (1939) – James Stewart, Charles Coburn
         Maker of Men (1931) – John Wayne
         Mister Roberts (1955) – Jack Lemmon, Henry Fonda, James Cagney
         Music for Madame (1937) – Joan Fontaine
         My Darling Clementine (1946) – Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, Walter Brennan
         Of Human Hearts (1938) – James Stewart, Charles Coburn, Walter Huston
         Only the Valiant (1951) – Gregory Peck, Gig Young
         Operation Pacific (1951) – John Wayne, Patricia Neal
         Over the Hill (1931) – James Dunn
         Pillars of the Sky (1956) – Lee Marvin, Dorothy Malone
         Quick Millions (1931) – Spencer Tracy
         Return of the Cisco Kid (1939) – Warner Baxter
         Riding High (1950) – Bing Crosby
         Rio Bravo (1959) – John Wayne, Walter Brennan
         Salute (1929) – John Wayne
         Santa Fe Trail (1940) – Olivia De Havilland
         Sergeant York (1941) – Gary Cooper, Gig Young
         Sin Town (1942) – Broderick Crawford
         Singing Guns (1950) – Walter Brennan
         Slightly Dangerous (1943) – Walter Brennan
         Swamp Water (1941) – Anne Baxter, Walter Huston, Walter Brennan
         Tall in the Saddle (1944) – John Wayne, Ben Johnson
         Tap Roots (1948) – Susan Hayward, Van Heflin
         The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938) – Gary Cooper
         The Affairs of Cellini (1934) – Fredric March
         The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938) – Humphrey Bogart, Claire Trevor, Susan Hayward
         The Big Trail (1930) – John Wayne
         The Bride Walks Out (1936) – Hattie McDaniel
         The Doorway to Hell (1930) – James Cagney
         The Falcon Takes Over (1942) – George Sanders
         The First Baby (1936) – Hattie McDaniel
         The Fugitive (1947) – Henry Fonda
         The Grapes of Wrath (1940) – Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell
         The Kid from Kokomo (1939) – Jane Wyman
         The Long Voyage Home (1940) – John Wayne, Barry Fitzgerald, Thomas Mitchell
         The Maltese Falcon (1941) – Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Walter Huston
         The Mortal Storm (1940) – James Stewart
         The Most Precious Thing in Life (1934) – Jane Darwell
         The Oklahoma Kid (1939) – James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart
         The Poor Rich (1934) – Walter Brennan
         The Quiet Man (1952) – John Wayne, Barry Fitzgerald, Victor Mclaglen
         The Searchers (1956) – John Wayne
         The Shepherd of the Hills (1941) – John Wayne
         The Singing Marine (1937) – Jane Darwell, Jane Wyman
         The Sullivans (1944) – Thomas Mitchell
         The Time of Your Life (1948) – James Cagney, Broderick Crawford
         The Wildcatter (1937) – Hattie McDaniel
         The Wings of Eagles (1957) – John Wayne
         They Came to Blow Up America (1943) – George Sanders
         They Gave Him a Gun (1937) – Spencer Tracy
         They Were Expendable (1945) – John Wayne, Donna Reed
         Three Girls Lost (1931) – John Wayne, Loretta Young
         Unconquered (1947) – Gary Cooper
         Under Pressure (1935) – Victor Mclaglen
         Union Pacific (1939) – Anthony Quinn
         Up the River (1930) – Spencer Tracy, Humphrey Bogart
         Virginia City (1940) – Humphrey Bogart
         Wagon Master (1950) – Ben Johnson, Jane Darwell
         We’re Only Human (1935) – Jane Darwell, Hattie McDaniel
         White Fang (1936) – Jane Darwell
         Words and Music (1929) – John Wayne
         You Can’t Take it With You (1938) – James Stewart, Lionel Barrymore
         You Only Live Once (1937) – Henry Fonda
         Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) – Henry Fonda, Alice Brady

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         1. Hey Dan….you are getting dangerously close to Sir Michael….lol. 62 is the second best total. Ward Bond is one of the great supporting characters of all-time. I think all of the Best Picture nominees were in consecutive years….which is a record that might never be broken. I think in recent times…3 years in a row is about how far somebody gets…most recently Chris Pratt….though Michael Keaton can hit 3 years in a row if his McDonald’s movie gets a nomination. Looking at the partial list of his movies is pretty impressive….filled with all time classics after another. Thanks for sharing this list. 🙂

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3. I was told that John wayne movie was The Comancheros was rated R. It this true?

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   1. Hey Dianna….pretty sure Comancheros was not rated R….I do not think movies got ratings like that back then….but having seen the movie….it is a pretty standard western…..with the normal amount of western violence…I hope that helps.

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      1. HI BRUCE

         1 I agree with everything you say. Certification at the time of The Comancheros (1961) would mean nothing in today’s marketplace. For example from 1951 until 1970 an X certificate meant that people under 16 would not be admitted to cinemas in Belfast whether or not accompanied by an adult.

         2 From 70-82 the suitability age was raised from 16 to 18 and after that X vanished. However The Comancheros was not given an X and I can assure you that many movies that did get the X certificate were very tame by today’s standards so the Comancheros was as you suggest a pretty routine western as it wasn’t thought worthy of an X under even the very strict censorship rules of 1961..

         3 Besides whilst its listed director was Michael Curtiz who directed Yankee Doodle Dandy
         and a bucketful of Flynn movies the uncredited co-director was the Big Man himself and he objected to Eastwood being compared with him because he felt that Clint’s persona was not circumspect enough; so there was no way the Duke was going to shepherd a movie that did not conform to his perceptions of what was ‘American’ in all the connotations that he would mean by that word.

         4 Like you I’ve seen the film and it’s great fun that can be enjoyed by all ages.

         BOB

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         1. Hey Bob…thanks for the clarification on the ratings on The Comancheros….I have read that Curtiz was pretty much out of gas when he got to The Comancheros….so I do not find it hard to believe that Wayne helped get the movie finished. I have only seen The Comancheros once….so it sort of fades in with other Wayne movies…but I remember when I was researching this movie…I was surprised it had done so well at the box office. Which proves one point for sure: Never understand the box office power of John Wayne. 🙂

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4. BRUCE

   1 Another coincidence! My brother in Australia is also a great Wayne fan and I told him of the video concerned; and he said that he visited the States shortly after the Duke’s death and paid for a tour round The Wild Goose which had naturally become a significant tourist attraction.

   2 In a TV interview Sir Alec Guinness described how in the mid fifties a friend took him to an overnight party at the Duke’s ranch. Initially Wayne was polite to him but as he had other guests he didn’t pay Sir Alec much attention. However an intoxicated reporter followed Alec around making fun of his English accent until Sir A finally snapped and floored the reporter.

   3 Assuming that he had crossed the line as a guest he went to pack but as he was doing so the Duke burst into the room and asked him where was going. When he explained the Duke said he had seen the incident and had wanted to hit the guy himself but as host felt he restrained . Then he added “Well done! Now come back and join the party.” For the rest of the evening he and Duke were like two bosom buddies.

   4 In the same interview Sir Alec said that during that mid fifties US visit he spoke to James Dean immediately before the latter got into the car that killed him a short time later; and Sir Alec claims that looking at the fast car he had a bad premonition and urged Dean not to drive that day. Sad that the advice was not taken.

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   1. Hey Bob.
      1. Sounds like your brother has a good memory of touring The Wild Goose.
      2. Another classic story that you have shared. It makes you wonder who else was at that party…..good stuff.
      3. I have read that comment about Dean and Guinness…..too bad Dean did not listen.
      🙂

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5. In a 1976 U Tube video John Wayne is interviewed aboard his yacht and makes some very interesting comments about himself and his career. For example

   (1) When asked about how he viewed the public perception of him as THE American hero he suggested that he thought that men of all nationalities would aspire to be the kind of person he was on the screen.

   (2) Mentioning how he like to retreat to his yacht to escape the public gaze and be himself he showed he had a sense of humour by saying “Not that I ever had much of a public image to protect!”

   (3) He has often been praised as gregarious and he said to the interviewer that he liked to be around people.

   The last statement reminded me of a TV interview that Sir Alec Guinness gave about meeting Wayne and I hope to make that the subject of a further post when I have the time over the next day or so.

   BOB

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   1. Hey Bob.
      1. Glad you enjoyed that video on Mr. Wayne.
      2. I think he had a good thought on his hero status….I wonder what he would be thinking today….with all the craziness going on.
      3. Good to know that he enjoyed the fans….yet had time for just his family on the yacht.
      4. Look forward to that future comment.

      Reply

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