Star Focus ~ John Wayne ("The Duke")
Star Focus ~ John Wayne (That’s Right ~ “THE DUKE”)
<center>http://www.johnwaynebirthplace.org/Duke.gif</center> Birth name: Marion Michael Morrison (AKA: “THE DUKE”) Date of birth: May 26, 1907 (Winterset, Iowa) Date of death: June 11, 1979 (Los Angeles, California) Height: 6’4” and greater than life. What is there to be said about this larger than life American icon? Is there another actor in Hollywood history whose name symbolizes the same things as John Wayne? Yes, we’ve had better actors; but he was a fine actor in his own right and his talent has always been unfairly underrated. Yes, we’ve had real war hero’s like Jimmy Stewart and Robert Montgomery; yet Wayne will forever be thought of as being one in real life, although never having been in a real war. John Wayne was a lot of things he was never given credit for and not some of the things he was portrayed as. That’s exactly what one should expect from this Hollywood star and true American icon……He was indeed larger than life, and remains so to this day. Did he ever make movies!…….Lots of movies……Westerns, War, Crime, Drama, Comedy ~ Yes, these all represent his M.O. He’s always on TV to this day. It’s almost impossible for a movie lover not to have seen a good number of his films. This we can be grateful for, as John Wayne will never be a lost star and his films lost mysteries of films missing through neglect, indifference and time. Which are my favorites? Which aren’t you should ask? Then again I have only favorites when “The Duke” is involved. <center>http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Mptv/1014/9968-0001.jpg</center> Here are some of the many I could list: ~ King of the Pecos (1936) ~ Stagecoach (1939) ~ Long Voyage Home, The (1940) ~ Reap the Wild Wind (1942) ~ Spoilers, The (1942) ~ Lady Takes a Chance, A (1943) ~ Tall in the Saddle (1944) ~ They Were Expendable (1945) ~ Tycoon (1947) ~ Fort Apache (1948) ~ Red River (1948) ~ Wake of the Red Witch (1948) ~ She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) ~ Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) ~ Rio Grande (1950) ~ Quiet Man, The (1952) ~ Hondo (1953) ~ High and the Mighty, The (1954) ~ Sea Chase, The (1955) ~ Searchers, The (1956) ~ Rio Bravo (1959) ~ Horse Soldiers, The (1959) ~ Alamo, The (1960) ~ North to Alaska (1960) ~ Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The (1962) ~ How the West Was Won (1962) ~ Longest Day, The (1962) ~ McLintock! (1963) ~ In Harm's Way (1965) ~ Sons of Katie Elder, The (1965) ~ War Wagon, The (1967) ~ El Dorado (1967) ~ True Grit (1969) ~ Cowboys, The (1972) ~ Shootist, The (1976) <center>http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Mptv/1033/1812_0005.jpg</center> * Something to take note of: When you see stars like John Wayne, James Stewart , Cary Grant , Jean Arthur , Bette Davis , Joan Crawford etc., you realize an actor doesn’t need foul language and nude scenes to make a star. You are either great or your not. * Perhaps someone can post something concerning Wayne on TV and radio? Links: John Wayne WebRing John Wayne Birthplace John Wayne Cancer Institute John Wayne Audio Link John Wayne and the FBI Link #1 Link #2 Link #3 Link #4 Link #5 Link #6 <center>http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Mptv/1014/9975-0001.jpg</center> Trivia: Why was John Wayne called "The Duke"? ~ According to Wayne himself: "There've been a lot of stories about how I got to be called Duke. One was that I played the part of a duke in a school play, which I never did. Sometimes, they even said I was descended from royalty! It was all a lot of rubbish. Hell, the truth is that I was named after a dog!" :lol: From the Laugh File: :lol: Funny Isn't It?rotfl Media Files: Story of Taps Pledge of Allegiance Face the Flag, Son America, Why I Love Her Gunsmoke <center>I hope you enjoyed the this thread pilgrim. </center> BTW: Never apologize, Mister. It's a sign of weakness. |
:up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up:
Woohooo!!!!!! Yippeeeeeee!!!!!!!!! Yesssssssss!!!!!!!!!! and all the rest......... Great call starting this thread Vampyr! You read my mind. I don't even want to try and count how many hours of my life have been spent watching John Wayne movies. Let's see how many I can name off the top of my head: The Shootist The Cowboys (darn that Bruce Dern!) Rooster Cogburn True Grit Fort Apache She Wore A Yellow Ribbon Rio Grande Rio Lobo Rio Bravo El Dorado The Alamo (uncut version coming soon on TCM; I'll update later) Stagecoach The Big Trail Big Jake The War Wagon The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance The Searchers The Quiet Man Red River (they really don't show this film enough on TV) Big Jim McClain The Conqueror ( :( wish he never worked on the film, he might have been around longer) Flying Tigers Flying Leathernecks Sands of Iwo Jima Back To Bataan They Were Expendable The Longest Day The Horse Soldiers The Sons of Katie Elder The Green Berets Cahill U.S. Marshall The Commancheros Chisum How The West Was Won The Undefeated The Fighting Kentuckian (with Oliver Hardy) Angel and the Badman I don't even want to count how many I named, almost all of which I've seen many, many, many times. Wow, so much to say, and we can't forget his sidekicks: Ben Johnson, Harry Carey, etc. Sometimes I feel Wayne's career has been taken for granted/not fully appreciated/not given the respect it deserves, due in part to his overexposure on TBS, TNT, etc., (I know my comment is kind of an oxymoron (like the Yogi Berra saying "no one goes to that restaurant anymore because it's too crowded"), but does anyone feel the same way?). And don't forget the long version of The Alamo is coming soon on TCM! Haven't had a chance to check all the links yet Vampyr, but I will. Thanks again. |
Originally posted by flixtime .........And don't forget the long version of The Alamo is coming soon on TCM!... Haven't had a chance to check all the links yet Vampyr, but I will. Thanks again. http://ftp.sunet.se/pub/pictures/tv....yne/jwayne.gif |
So often it's a cop-out to automatically refer to someone as a king or a giant in his field, but the Duke is just that. You're right that he's been over-exposed, but it doesn't change how great he really was. It always saddens me when I think about a certain style of acting (and movie-making) that we may never see again. Thankfully, his legacy is enormous, and I never tire of watching so many of his films.
Side note: does anyone (by some freakish chance) have the song or remember the lyrics to the TBS song about the Duke? They used to play it whenever they'd do a 21 Days of the Duke marathon. das |
Originally posted by Vampyr I advise you get the DVD. You can get The Alamo and The Kentuckian together for just $14.04 at DDD. BB and The Wiz sell the two pack for $14.99. If you just want The Alamo, it's $9.36 at DDD and $9.99 at BB and The Wiz. Here is the TCM listing in brief: The Alamo (1960) - starring John Wayne and Richard Widmark - 203 minutes, letterbox Saturday, October 5th, 2:30pm My favorite scene in the film is when Bowie & Crockett (Widmark & Wayne) almost leave the Alamo but decide not to after Travis' (Laurence Harvey) speech - very touching. |
I'll post more later. I just wanted to say that some of those audio links came from this album: http://www.garysrecordparadise.com/images/The_Duke.jpg
America, Why I Love Her WOW! Here's the whole album on the web! Enjoy. :D |
One of my favorites for sure. Seems like John Wayne was always at his best under John Ford. I'm probably in the minority, but I actually prefer more of his non-Western roles in most cases. The Quiet Man is easily one of my favorite movies ever - quite possibly in my top 10. Donovan's Reef and North to Alaska are a pair of my favorite comedies. North to Alaska is greatly under-rated, imo...makes me laugh everytime I watch it. Hopefully I will be able to own it on DVD one of these days.
El Dorado and Rio Bravo are basically the same movie, but I tend to like El Dorado just a bit more. I think Robert Mitchum and James Caan make the difference for me. My top 10 John Wayne films: 1. The Quiet Man 2. Stagecoach 3. Donovan's Reef 4. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 5. El Dorado/Rio Bravo 6. The Searchers 7. North to Alaska 8. True Grit 9. The Horse Soldiers 10. Red River The Sons of Katie Elder, Reap the Wild Wind, The Alamo, The Shootist, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, The Undefeated are a few other favorites. Still have quite a few of his films left on my "to-see" list that I'm looking forward to. |
The dvd of The Alamo is the commonly seen shorter version, not the orginally released road show version. I have the ld box set with the road show version and it is an improvement over the commonly seen one (about 35 minutes longer if I remember correctly). I have the dvd because I wanted an anamorphic transfer. Why MGM chose to release the short version when they have the road show (my ld box set is by MGM) really puzzles me. If a SE is released on dvd with the road show version I'll buy that too, The Alamo is one of my favorite films.
I'm going to limit myself to the traditional top ten films here in no particular order: The Searchers Red River Stagecoach The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance The Quiet Man She Wore A Yellow Ribbon True Grit The Sands of Iwo Jima The Long Voyage Home Donovan's Reef Whoops, looks like I left out The Alamo, not to mention Rio Bravo and El Dorado. Ok, I'm expanding to 13, but that's it! |
I find it extremely difficult to list my favorite John Wayne movies, as once I start I just can't stop. Though, I've always found it VERY easy to say 'Big Jake' is my favorite. If this were on DVD I could have it and nothing else in my collection and be entertained (OK, maybe I exaggerate a bit, but I do know I've worn out more VHS copies of that movie than any other...)
After 'Big Jake' favorites that come to mind immediately are: The Longest Day War Wagon The Shootist Rio Lobo Chisum True Grit Rooster Cogburn Hellfighter Sons of Katie Elder Donovan's Reef The Fighting Seabees Sands of Iwo Jima Angel and the Badman They Were Expendable The Quiet Man Stagecoach The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance See I can't stop... |
I had no idea that my Alamo DVD was a short version:mad:
|
Like the rest of you, if I tried to list my favorite John Wayne movies, the list would just keep going. So I won't even try.
Aside from regular feature films, he also made movie serials (The Shadow of the Eagle (1932), The Hurricane Express (1932) , The Three Musketeers (1933)). He appeared in memorable episodes of "I Love Lucy" (1955), "The Lucy Show" (1966), and "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1962). His radio work consisted of radio adaptations of his movies for shows like The Lux Radio Theatre. The radio adaptations of She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and Red River are readily available in bookstores and are well worth a listen. Vampyr - Sorry I couldn't find any John Wayne radio shows on the net. If anyone else has any luck, please post the links. BTW: You should read DVDTalk.com sometime. It was posted all over there that The Alamo DVD was the short version. Of course, I didn't see any of the posts until I had already bought it. |
Originally posted by Dimension X ..........Vampyr - Sorry I couldn't find any John Wayne radio shows on the net. If anyone else has any luck, please post the links. BTW: You should read DVDTalk.com sometime. It was posted all over there that The Alamo DVD was the short version. Of course, I didn't see any of the posts until I had already bought it. |
Originally posted by Vampyr How did the "toy" work?????? Can you use it to tape the full version of The Alamo on TCM? |
Originally posted by Dimension X I don't know what kind of quality you'd get trying to record a 203 minute movie on one disc. Since it's a roadshow version, I'm guessing it has an intermission that I can take advantage of to switch discs. Maybe someone who has seen the longer version can confirm that there is an intermission somewhere near the middle of the film. |
I'm waiting on "Big Jake," to make it to DVD; that was always my favorite.
|
Originally posted by wakwak007 I'm waiting on "Big Jake," to make it to DVD; that was always my favorite. I'd buy that in a second if it comes out on DVD. |
I keep returning to this thread thinking I'm ready to post a favorite, and it's just not going to happen.
If I have to narrow anything down, I'll say that I loved his collaborations with Ford. While <B>Donovan's Reef</B> isn't my favorite (not my least either), the others would likely dominate any list I tried to make. das |
Originally posted by ToddSm66 Seems like John Wayne was always at his best under John Ford. I'm probably in the minority, but I actually prefer more of his non-Western roles in most cases. The Quiet Man is easily one of my favorite movies ever - quite possibly in my top 10... El Dorado and Rio Bravo are basically the same movie, but I tend to like El Dorado just a bit more. I think Robert Mitchum and James Caan make the difference for me. Top Ten (this is too hard so don't cement 2-10 in stone.): 1. The Quiet Man - a masterpiece 2. Donovan's Reef 3. McClintock 4. True Grit ( and Rooster Cogburn) 5. El Dorado 6. Big Jake 7. Chisum 8. Sands of Iwo Jima 9. The Fighting Seabees 10. The Cowboys - still makes me cry, because this is the first movie I ever remember the Duke dying - the Duke isn't supposed to die in movies! ( I hated Bruce Dern until I saw The 'Burbs) I also love everything else he did, I even liked the Green Berets growing up until I realized what a crock of sh*t the ending was ("you're what this is all about") several years ago in school. John Wayne was the quintessential American actor, and basically still is...everyone has mentioned how much he is still on the tube. |
Dimension X, Yes there is an intermission in the road show version of The Alamo.
I'd also love to have a dvd of Big Jake, it was never even released on ld. |
Well.....Even though I own the DVD, it looks like I'll be taping The Alamo-eek-
|
Originally posted by Rand Dimension X, Yes there is an intermission in the road show version of The Alamo. I'd also love to have a dvd of Big Jake, it was never even released on ld. |
Oh, and speaking of The Alamo, that's my favorite Dimitri Tiomkin score. I have the soundtrack cd as well, love the music!
It's also one of the more interesting films production wise. It was a John Wayne film all the way. One of the most expensive ever for it's time. When Wayne couldn't get enough backing to raise the amount of money he needed to make the film he wanted he sank pretty much his entire fortune into it. |
I admit I was a litter weary of comming in here. Due to Wayne's ideology and his "pro-American" message in most of his films, I thought he would be slaughtered here. Nice to see I was wrong.
Dimension X I can't recall any Wayne OTR shows that I own. I know Gen. Stewart was all over the place, it seems Wayne shows are lost, or he never utlized radio. My favorite? Way to hard to pick, but I would have to rate THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALLANCE as one of my favorites. Hey, what's the deal with Hondo? How come that film has essentially dissapeared? |
I'd also love to have a dvd of Big Jake, it was never even released on ld. I too wish FOX would start releasing some of Duke's films to DVD. Also, would love to see MGM release THREE GODFATHERS...one of his under-rated classics! |
Originally posted by Scot1458 Hey, what's the deal with Hondo? How come that film has essentially dissapeared? Hondo TV series link at IMDb.com Like many of you have already mentioned doing a Wayne Top 10 is very difficult given his large body of work, but here goes mine - in no particular order - for now (although it would probably change if you asked me again in a week): The Cowboys Big Jake (I like the interaction between Wayne, his son Patrick, and Robert Mitchum's son) The War Wagon with Kirk Douglas The Sons of Katie Elder The Comancheros The Alamo (I like Richard Widmark too, I've always thought that he comes off as very "likeable" on screen) The Searchers Rio Grande Sands of Iwo Jima Red River |
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:05 AM. |
Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.