Rand

Now how did I miss that? I kept up with every single release on ld and would sure have jumped on this one. Must have slipped by me when I wasn't paying attention. Probably a good thing to take a vacation from the film, I was starting to memorize the lines. The thing is though is that I've never seen film in oar.

"I though you were dead."

Oh, and I do have 3 Godfathers on ld.

Dimension X

All I have are The Lux Radio Theater productions of Red River and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. I've seen a couple of other John Wayne radio movie adaptations listed here and there for some of the other "Playhouse" type radio shows. He probably did some guest spots with Jack Benny (it seems like everyone did at some point), and maybe Skelton, Bergen, etc.

Falc04

Lucky You! I use to own it as well on LD. Some of Duke's movies that I use to own on Laser, but aren't out on DVD (besides 3 Godfathers, which I mentioned already) are:

1) Fort Apache (Turner release...killer print!)
2) Jet Pilot (GoodTimes release is horrid)
3) Tall In The Saddle (One of his finest westerns)
4) Flying Leathernecks (Another great print from Turner)
5) The Alamo (212 minute version)
6) Allegheny Uprising (great performance by Duke & George Sanders)
7) Big Jake (great tough-as-nails performance by Duke)
8) North To Alaska (hilarious!)
9) Big Jim McClain (good cop movie)
10) Trouble Along The Way (Duke plays comedy well here)

Those are just some of the ones I remember...On the plus side with the advent of DVD are a number of Duke movies that were never released on digital before:

1) Donovan's Reef (excellent print)
2) In Harm's Way (1st time in letterbox)
3) The Conqueror (Much better effort from Goodtimes, letterbox)
4) True Grit (Paramount released widescreen edition)
5) Reap The Wild Wind (great print!)
6) Dark Command
7) In Old California
8) The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (restored back to it's 122 minute running time)

Guess you can tell I'm somewhat of a John Wayne fan. Thanks Vampyr for starting this thread!

kevin75

a couple of weeks ago, i read that the quiet man and rio bravo would be (re)?-released. does anyone know if these are new editions or just rehashes of the previous releases? oh yeah, that album that was posted earlier, my mom has had a cassette of that for years and we would listen to it on car trips. great stuff.

i grew up watching john wayne movies from the time i can remember. i guess that i was just lucky my favorites of his movies are too numerous to list but mostly they are the ones with john ford just like everyone else said.

as i sit here listening to 'the hyphen' i am reminded of part of what the duke stood for. i highly reccommend that everyone who is a fan listen to the album.

Tuan Jim

Didn't see this one mentioned in any lists, but I really enjoyed Operation Pacific when I had a chance to catch it a coupla months ago. WWII sub movies are always great.

Tuan Jim

flixtime

Just giving this thread a bump after reading the Jimmy Stewart thread where DVDTalkers Dimension X and Vampyr discussed the John Wayne film The Long Voyage Home (1940).

Actually, I consider myself a pretty big John Wayne fan but I've never seen this particular film (directed by John Ford), and quite frankly, I had to look it up at IMDb to refresh my memory (the link is below):

The Long Voyage Home @IMDb.com

So count me as one who will have the VCR set to record The Long Voyage Home (1940) when it airs tomorrow (Thursday, Aug. 29 at 6am Eastern on TCM) (I sure hope I don't forget to set the VCR between now and then). Thanks for the reminder Dimension X.

Vampyr

I hope nothing goes wrong this time........

Not long ago TCM aired The Long Voyage Home (1940)......I was taping it but a huge storm hit my area and I lost the cable connection 15 minutes into the movie.


The weather forcast for my area doesn't look good ~
Forcast

Dimension X

So many movies, so little time. John Wayne made a lot of movies. I know there are several I haven't seen yet (including this one).

I didn't bump this thread because I frankly didn't think there would be as much interest in this movie as in the other ones. But you're welcome for the round-about reminder.

Vampyr

*****Spoiler Alert*****


The Long Voyage Home (1940)

If anyone saw this movie for the first time yeasterday on TCM, I'd be very interested in knowing what you think of the film. BTW: I'd be interested in your views even if you saw it before last night

I consider this a neglected gem within the credits of "The Duke" and movies in general.

Fast Fact: This movie was nominated for 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Rebecca (1940) won that year. 1941 was one of those tremendous Hollywood years which we will never see again. It saw the release of such films as:
~ Rebecca (1940) (Best Picture)
~ Sea Hawk, The (1940)
~ His Girl Friday (1940)
~ The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
~ Fantasia (1940)
~ Pinocchio (1940)
~ The Mortal Storm (1940)
~ All This, and Heaven Too (1940)
~ Foreign Correspondent (1940)
~ Grapes of Wrath, The (1940)
~ Brother Orchid (1940)
~ Great Dictator, The (1940)
~ Strange Cargo (1940)
~ Santa Fe Trail (1940)
~ Ghost Breakers, The (1940)
~ Dark Command (1940)
~ Kitty Foyle: The Natural History of a Woman (1940)
~ Letter, The (1940)
~ Gaslight (1940)
~ Mark of Zorro, The (1940)
~ Pride and Prejudice (1940)
~ Our Town (1940)
~ Philadelphia Story, The (1940)
~ Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940)
~ Westerner, The (1940)
~ Primrose Path, The (1940)
~ Great McGinty, The (1940)
~ Angels Over Broadway (1940)
~ Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940)
~ Arise, My Love (1940)
~ Comrade X (1940)
~ Boom Town (1940)
~ City for Conquest (1940)
~ Edison, the Man (1940)
~ Waterloo Bridge (1940)
~ I Love You Again (1940)
~ Spring Parade (1940)
~ Torrid Zone (1940)
~ Arizona (1940)
~ Young Tom Edison (1940)
~ Remember the Night (1940)
~ Seven Sinners (1940)
~ Swiss Family Robinson (1940)
~ Bank Dick, The (1940)
And many others...........



Link to a review....

TCM Review:
10:30 p.m. (ET)/7:30 p.m. (PT) THE LONG VOYAGE HOME (1940)

The Glencairn, a British steamer returning home to England from the West Indies, stops in Baltimore to pick up a load of munitions. The crew includes Ole Olsen, a young Swede who wants nothing more than to return home to his wife and is protected by fellow Swede Axel; Smitty, who carries the secret shame of losing his wife to alcoholism; and the brawling but loyal Driscoll. The voyage proves more dangerous than any of them could have imagined - with violent storms, a kidnapping and attacks by Nazi planes, not all of the close-knit crew will make it home alive.

The Long Voyage Home (1940) was adapted by Dudley Nichols, who updated and wove together four early one-act sea-themed plays written by Nobel Prize-winning playwright Eugene O'Neill from 1914 to 1919. Not only was Nichols a friend of O'Neill, he later directed a film version of Mourning Becomes Electra (1947). The result here, while rather free in its treatment of O'Neill's original material, pleased O'Neill so much that he counted it among his favorite films and kept a personal print of it which he viewed regularly. Director John Ford was under contract with Fox at the time but was allowed to make one film a year outside the studio. Together with his buddy Merian Cooper he founded the independent production company Argosy Pictures, named after his fishing boat. Walter Wanger, with whom he had collaborated so successfully on Stagecoach (1939), agreed to finance the film. Subsequent Argosy productions included The Fugitive (1947), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) and Wagon Master (1950).

One significant factor in the film's artistic success is undoubtedly its strong ensemble acting from John Ford regulars such as Thomas Mitchell, Ward Bond and John Qualen. For John Wayne the role of Olsen, the idealistic young sailor, was a particular challenge since it required him to adopt a Swedish accent and an altogether different persona from his usual cowboy roles. Danish actress Osa Massen worked closely with him to develop a credible accent. Wayne recalls, "The night before I went to work for the first day's shooting on that picture I worked until probably midnight on a picture that we'd made in six days for Republic. I had to play a straight part as my accent couldn't clash with John Qualen's, who was playing a comic Swede. I wanna tell you, that was quite a switch from the night before, knocking people around and jumping on a horse." Although some critics today consider John Wayne miscast in this role, particularly due to the Swedish accent, Wayne himself considered it one of his finest performances. Noted stage actress Mildred Natwick made her screen debut here as the prostitute. Natwick said of the production: "Ford was a wonderful director, and I think he knew how nervous I was. He really told me everything to do; it was marvelous coaching. When I had to make my entrance, I remember he said, 'Why don't you have your sweater down and sort of be pulling it up over your shoulder?' [...] He just made me so comfortable. He took a lot of time and nurtured me along."

Gregg Toland made The Long Voyage Home among the most beautifully photographed black-and-white films of the era, its low-key lighting and deep focus photography contributing to the pessimistic atmosphere of the film and directly foreshadowing his work on Citizen Kane (1941). Variety characterized Toland's work here as "a masterpiece." Wanger, who considered it an "art" film and hoped to appeal to an elite audience, commissioned ten paintings by various contemporary artists depicting scenes from the film and organized a traveling exhibit at cities across the country. Although The Long Voyage Home was praised lavishly by the critics - John Mosher of The New Yorker called it "one of the most magnificent films in film history" - it failed to turn a profit at the box office in comparison with lighter fare released at the same time such as the Betty Grable musical Down Argentine Way (1940). Nonetheless, the film received seven Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Black and White Cinematography, Best editing, Best Score, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects. Ford was so proud of the film that he displayed stills from it on the walls of his home.

Director: John Ford
Producer: Walter Wanger, John Ford
Screenplay: Dudley Nichols, adapted from four one-act plays by Eugene O'Neill: "The Moon of the Caribees", "In the Zone", "Bound East for Cardiff" and "The Long Voyage Home"
Cinematography: Gregg Toland
Editor: Sherman Todd
Music: Richard Hageman
Art Designer: James Basevi
Principal Cast: John Wayne (Ole Olsen), Thomas Mitchell (Driscoll), Ian Hunter (Smitty), Barry Fitzgerald (Cocky), Wilfrid Lawson (Captain), Mildred Natwick (Freda), John Qualen (Axel), Ward Bond (Yank), Arthur Shields (Donkeyman), Joseph Sawyer (Davis).
BW-106m.

By James Steffen

flixtime

Vampyr, I wish I could give you some feedback on The Long Voyage Home however, after posting a reminder here, I neglected to record it for myself . I too would be interested in anyone's thoughts if they had a chance to watch it.

Also, I just checked the newly released November schedule for TCM (hoping to find a replay of The Long Voyage Home & Mutiny on the Bounty (another recording failure on my part)), and while those 2 films were not listed for broadcast, November is jam-packed with Westerns (you might as well just set your VCR to record the entire month). John Wayne, of course, is prominently featured (many times, his movies are aired in easy to record blocks): Red River (twice), Angel and the Badman, The Searchers, his cavalry trilogy, Stagecoach, The Alamo (again - thankfully, for people like me who might miss it in October), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Shootist, etc. Also, many films with Burt Lancaster, Errol Flynn, Jimmy Stewart, Clint Eastwood, Joel McCrea, and a personal favorite of mine (not yet available on DVD) Major Dundee with Charlton Heston and Richard Harris.

The TCM link for November follows (Note: I didn't go back to check how many of these films were already scheduled for airing in September & October).

Turner Classic Movies November Schedule

Dimension X

flixtime - the September schedule is going to keep me busy enough. I don't even want to think about Oct. and Nov. yet.

I haven't had a chance to watch The Long Voyage Home yet.

Vampyr

When you watch it let us know what you think

flixtime

Maybe jumping the gun by 24 hours or so with this bump but I know there was some interest in the following:

TCM (Turner Classic Movies) is airing the long version (203 minutes, letterbox) of the Alamo starring John Wayne this coming Saturday, October 5, at 2:30pm EST

As discussed earlier the currently available R1 DVD features the short version (approx. 162-167 minutes) of the film.

flixtime

I had a chance to watch a majority of The Alamo (long version) when it aired this past Saturday. I was watching on and off but did manage to catch quite a bit of the "cut" footage. Of course I had watched The Alamo numerous times before but I am fairly certain this was the first time I had a chance to catch the letterbox version. I enjoyed the restored footage. While cutting the footage doesn't really hurt the film, as a fan of the film I was happy to see it in its entirety (and the opening, intermission, and closing music was kind of a neat touch). Perhaps some of the scenes detracted from the flow of the film but overall I feel that they enriched the film more than not. It's a long film either way so a little longer didn't bother me. Actually some of the additional material with Colonel Travis was very good.

A general comment but it was really nice to see action scenes done so well. What I mean to say is that the director just sort of pulled the camera back, held it still, and let you enjoy the grand action scenes. It might be a vanilla style of directing but it works for me. I don't care too much for the "intrusive" directing style used in many actions scenes nowadays (close-ups that are far too close so that you can't make heads or tails of the action, too much camera movement, too many quick cuts, etc.). I understand the new style is in part to create a realistic feel of chaos but more often than not I don't care for it. It especially bothered me in Russel Crowe's Gladiator, among others. I like the film but I didn't care for how the actions scenes were handled. An example was the very first battle scene in Gladiator which had a magnificent build-up but when the fighting actually started the "intrusive" directing style took over.

Vampyr

That's a really good observation Flextime! Because of personal events (which you know about), I didn't watch the long version. However, I did put in a tape. When I get back from Arizona I'm sure I'll find the time to take a look.

In my opinion, The Alamo has never received the proper respect. It's a wonderful movie, directed well by "The Duke". It has a fine cast and plenty of action. I could care less that Wayne took liberties with the actual events. It's completely entertaining and that's all I want out of it.

I believe it hasn't received its due because of a few reasons.

1st ~ There have always been a large number of people who for one reason or another enjoy putting down Wayne's acting abilities. In reality he wasn't just good but a superior actor. I firmly believe these criticisms are more politically based than anything else. Therefore I ignore them.

2nd ~ Because this movie isn't historically accurate in many ways, the Wayne haters have another excuse to knock "The Duke". Again I ignore these foolish criticisms.

3rd ~ A lot of people who never saw the movie but hear the critics just join the bandwagon.

All I can finish with is this ~ Don't mess with "The Duke" and "Remember The Alamo"!

Spoiler:

Wayne doesn't die in many of his movies, but he sure chose a great way to go in this one!

Scot1458

Well said Vampyr. We all know the Duke's political ideologies, and we know what the vast majority of Hollywood thought about this.

To say he wasn't a great actor is kind of funny. As a thespian, yeah maybe they are right. He basically played the same charcter.

But as a presence on the screen, nobody, and I mean nobody (not even Eastwood) comes close to capturing the spirit Wayne had.

Hell, when I was a kid, I would be watching a western, and as soon as I hear Wayne's voice, I sat up and KNEW it would be a great movie.


And as for the historical accuracy on The Alamao, funny how with every other history film shoved at us we are to "ignore" the differences as they are "poetic licenses". Yet when Wayne did it, hes the ulitmiate bad guy.

tonyj

I'm a big fan and have always been amazed that he made Rio Bravo and El Dorado with out changing the scripts more. The movies are so similar it's positively weird. Saying that, I'm glad he did, because I really like both films! Watching The Shootist is really unsettling. A dying Wayne playing a dying gunfighter... The special features on The Shootist are very interesting.

Good thread.

Vampyr

It's always amazed me at how little attention The Shootist has received. IMHO it was one great film with a cast that is hard to equal.

Whoever likes The Duke and has never seen this film, should not delay in getting a copy to watch. I'm glad you mentioned it.



Where An American Legend Was Born



Birthplace of John Wayne
216 South Second Street
Winterset, Iowa 50273

(515) 462-1044

Dimension X

How can you say The Shootist has received "little attention"? It was listed as the number one film of 1976 by the only film critic I ever listen to: Best Film of 1976.

Vampyr

I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.

flixtime

Just to follow-up on the historical accuracy & actor's political ideology issues which have been discussed:

With regards to historical accuracy or lack thereof (The Alamo, etc.), many of my favorite films are historically inaccurate (The Charge of the Light Brigade, They Died With Their Boots On, Braveheart (to a lesser degree perhaps) but frankly it doesn't bother me as I have a preference for films to be escapist entertainment first and foremost. But you know what, I enjoyed the films so much I - hold on to your horses!!!! - actually read books on the subjects in question (books I might never have read if not for the films). When I was in junior high I did a report on the Battle of Balaklava/Charge of the Light Brigade/Lords Raglan & Cardigan (yes, the sweater guys), and believe it or not was not shocked to learn The Charge wasn't the result of Errol Flynn wanting vengeance. Similarly I've also read about George Armstrong "Autie" Custer, the Alamo, WWII, and was not shocked to learn that William Wallace did not have an affair with the English princess. Do I root for the British Colonial forces in films like Zulu, Gunga Din, Khartoum - yes I do. Do I root for the Cowboys against the Indians in many Westerns - yes I do. Do I know the history and realize that British Colonialism was not such a good thing - yeah. Do I think it was right what was done to Native Americans - certainly not. But it's just a movie. I root for the Indians in Cheyenne Autumn and Dances with Wolves. Heck I root for the Germans in All Quiet on the Western Front, Cross of Iron, and The Eagle has Landed (kind of). But again it's just a movie. If I want the facts then I go to the History Channel which I've often done. And yes, U-571 is historically inaccurate but I still like the film. Okay rant one over.

Rant two which will be brief (or maybe not) regarding an actors political inclinations. DVDFile.com is a very good site and I visit it daily. However, suffice to say, I feel their review of the DVD Kkartoum starring Charlton Heston is poorly done. The link follows. The first paragraph is more of a personal attack on Heston than anything else. Perhaps another less-biased reviewer should have been given the assignment. Check it out. I'd be interested in your thoughts. NOTE: I am not saying I either agree or disagree with Heston's political views, however I have enjoyed many, many films in which he has appeared (The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, Major Dundee, Planet of the Apes, Khartoum, The Big Country, and many more). NOTE: I am not saying we can't have leanings with regards to a particular actor based on what we might know of them on the personal side but I thought this particular review was a bit much.

DVD Review of Khartoum starring Charlton Heston at DVDFile.com

Some trivia from IMDB.com regarding El Dorado:
John Wayne starred in Rio Bravo (1959) (of which this film is a remake), and after reading the script for "El Dorado" he asked to play J.P. Hara, but the part went to Robert Mitchum.

Finally with regards to The Shootist. Yes, a very, very good film. I think the reason I don't list it first among my favorites is that it is too sad a film to watch - it is too real life in that it parallels John Wayne's approaching demise. Wayne's character dies in many films but it is too depressing seeing it in The Shootist. While some of his on-screen deaths have been sadder (imo), The Shootist is just too real.

And yeah, he was a really good actor, perhaps not suited to tackle a great variety of roles, but what he did do, he did darned well - and was able to express the entire spectrum of emotions albeit within a somewhat limited framework of roles. Come to think of it, in the way that some actors are typecast/limited in their selection of roles based on their ethnicity, Wayne was perhaps under the same constraint as he was too "American".

For his acting and bringing a character to life, I can watch, among others, The Cowboys and The Sons of Katie Elder over and over, and Big Jake, The Alamo, The Horse Soldiers, The Sands of Iwo Jima......................

I'd better hit "Submit Reply" now, sure hope this post made some sense (and that I didn't contradict myself somewhere).

flixtime

The following is best read only by those of you who have already seen the John Wayne film Red River:

Rand

But Wayne didn't have much to do with this, he just acted in the films. These are Howard Hawk films. It's true that Wayne and Hawk were friends but it was certainly Hawks decision to remake Rio Bravo.

flixtime

November is Westerns month on TCM (they're billing it as "every great Western except Shane"). To kick things off they will be having a John Wayne movie marathon starting Saturday morning (Nov. 2) and running through Sunday morning (Nov. 3).

I'm especially looking forward to The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, as well as Hondo (these 2 films are not often shown on television).

It all starts Saturday morning at 5am (Eastern) with a documentary which features commentary by Billy Bob Thornton, Luke Perry, and a country singer (forgot which one).

Nov 02 05:00 AM John Wayne Made Me Cry: Our Western Heroes (2002)
Director: C-30m

Nov 02 06:00 AM Haunted Gold - (1932)
A cowboy and his girl fight bandits and a ghost over an abandoned mine. John Wayne, Sheila Terry, Slim Whitaker. D:Mark V. Wright. BW 58 m

Nov 02 07:00 AM Big Stampede, The - (1932)
A new sheriff faces the rustlers who killed his predecessor. John Wayne, Noah Beery, Luis Alberni. D:Tenny Wright. BW 54 m

Nov 02 08:00 AM Ride Him, Cowboy - (1932)
A cowboy tames a wild horse suspected of killing a man, then rides out to find the real culprit. John Wayne, Ruth Hall, Frank Hagney. D:Fred Allen. BW 55 m

Nov 02 09:00 AM Angel And The Badman - (1947)
When a Quaker girl nurses a notorious gunman back to health, he tries to adopt her peaceful ways. John Wayne, Gail Russell, Harry Carey. D:James Edward Grant. BW 100 m

Nov 02 10:45 AM Stagecoach - (1939)
A group of disparate passengers battle personal demons and each other while racing through Indian country. John Wayne, Claire Trevor, George Bancroft. D:John Ford. BW 96 m

Nov 02 12:30 PM Allegheny Uprising - (1939)
Colonial Settlers fight the corrupt British in the days before the American Revolution. John Wayne, Claire Trevor, George Sanders. D:William A. Seiter. BW CC 81 m

Nov 02 02:00 PM Tall In The Saddle - (1944)
A woman-hating cowboy signs on with a lady rancher. John Wayne, Ella Raines, Ward Bond. D:Edwin L. Marin. BW CC 87 m

Nov 02 03:30 PM Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The - (1962)
An experienced gunman and a peace-loving tenderfoot clash with a Western bully. John Wayne, James Stewart, Lee Marvin. D:John Ford. BW LBX 123 m

Nov 02 05:45 PM Horse Soldiers, The - (1959)
A Union cavalry officer leads his men on a vital mission behind Confederate lines. John Wayne, William Holden, Constance Towers. D:John Ford. C LBX 120 m

Nov 02 08:00 PM Hondo - (1953)
An Army man takes a widow and her son under his wing in Apache territory. John Wayne, Geraldine Page, Ward Bond. D:John Farrow. 84 m

Nov 02 09:30 PM Chisum - (1970)
A cattle baron enlists Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid to help him fight a land war. John Wayne, Forrest Tucker, Christopher George. D:Andrew V. McLaglen LBX 111 m

Nov 02 11:30 PM Shootist, The - (1976)
A dying gunfighter tries to set his affairs in order. John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, James Stewart. D: Don Siegel. C LBX 99 m

Nov 03 01:30 AM Rooster Cogburn - (1975)
An aging U.S. Marshall and a minister's daughter join forces to catch a band of outlaws. John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, Anthony Zerbe. D:Stuart Miller. 107 m

Nov 03 03:30 AM Telegraph Trail, The - (1933)
An Army scout volunteers to string telegraph wires through Indian territory. John Wayne, Marceline Day, Frank McHugh. D:Tenny Wright. BW 54 m

Nov 03 04:30 AM Man From Monterey, The - (1933)
A U.S. Cavalry officer tries to protect Spanish landowners in California. John Wayne, Lillian Leighton, Donald Reed. D:Mack V. Wright. 57 m

Nov 03 05:30 AM Randy Rides Alone - (1934)
An undercover agent searches for a murderous outlaw. John Wayne, Alberta Vaughn, George Hayes. D:Harry Fraser. BW 52 m

Dimension X

Thanks for the reminder flixtime. I'm looking forward to the short "B" movies from the early '30s. Good thing I just bought some more DVD-Rs.

I'll try to post my thoughts on your Red River question later today when I get some more time.

Edit: Here's my take on the ending to Red River.