If not it's close. What a great film, haven't seen it since I was a kid. I still think Vallence is his best due to the leads, but this one is damn close.

Do you mean the best film he was in, or his best performance? If the former, I'll go with Rio Bravo, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, or The Searchers. If the latter, I'd say The Shootist, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, The Quiet Man, or The Searchers.

Give me the Quiet Man for acting and Rio Bravo for being THE DUKE!

His best performance role has got to be either The Shootist or The Quiet Man. His best movie has got to be either The Searchers or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

I just saw The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance last night again. Great movie. John Wayne is perfect in that role.

I like The Searchers, but The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance would be my favorite John Wayne film as well.

No one has mentioned Red River yet. That one is pretty highly regarded. I loved it up to the end, then I felt the resolution was anticlimatic and completely undermined the mood and tension the film had built up. Never heard anyone complain about it, but I always hated it for that reason.

Best film: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Best performance: The Shootist

No love for Stagecoach? That's my favorite followed by Yellow Ribbon and then Searchers.

I think the critical heyday for Red River has passed, pretty much for the reason you stated. As far as Wayne's performance, I thought it was pretty "one note", and not as nuanced as some of his best. This isn't a slam against The Duke, since I'm sure he played it the way Hawks wanted him to.

Speaking of Wayne and Red River, evidently after seeing it John Ford supposedly said, "What do you know. The sonofabitch can act!" After Red River Ford cast Wayne to star in the cavalry trilogy of films. Coincidence? I don't think so.

I agree. I still think Valance is the best, due to Stewart, Marvin, Van Cleff, Miles, etc.

But one thing Valance doens't have is any great landscapes, in fact I think all of the movie was shot on a stage less a few shots.

The Searchers was just beautiful.

I just can't get into this one. Don't get me wrong, I love all the Duke's movies (less the old ones) but this one wasn't as strong as I thought it could have been.

I've always thought it pretty ironic that one of the greatest westerns ever made was shot mainly on a soundstage, and with most of the main characters played by actors decades older than their roles.

No votes for True Grit and the Duke's Oscar winning role?? That one has grown on me over the years. After that I'm partial to The Quiet Man and The Shootist. I've always been partial to the Duke's later films, maybe because I saw them on the big screen and grew up with them.

Though not his best, I always liked Sons of Katie Elder. If nothing else, it was fun seeing a young Dennis Hopper.

Very true. But what a movie. I could watch the Wayne/Stewart/Marvin scenes every week.

Throw in Miles, DeVine, and the hard to spot Edmund O' Brien, and you got one of the top 5 westerns of all time.

Love the B&W too.

John Wayne is one of my two favorite actors of all-time. Many of his films rank as personal favorites. I suppose I wouldn't have any great disagreement with the idea of The Searchers being his greatest films when you consider both his performance and the quality of the film.

You really can't go wrong with any of the films mentioned so far. I think his performance really was the driving force in "The Searchers" whereas in Valance, Stagecoach, etc. he had a lot of help from some excellent casting (not that there was anything wrong with the performers in "The Searchers").

He was really good playing a character older than his age in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon too. Heck he was terrific in a lot of his films which I suppose is why he had such a very long career. Not yet mentioned yet, but how about his performance as Sgt. Stryker in The Sands of Iwo Jima. That one would definitely rank as one of his greater performances.

All that being said, my favorite John Waye film is The Alamo. I was pretty disappointed when I came to know that the recent DVD release was a simple re-issue and not the longer roadshow version. Other faves are the already mentioned The Sons of Katie Elder, The Comancheros, The Cowboys, Big Jake, The War Wagon, The Horse Soldiers, Flying Tigers, Flying Leathernecks, Back to Bataan, and The Fighting Seabees.

I've seen pretty much every major film he did post-Stagecoach (plus the earlier "The Big Trail"). One I haven't seen is Circus World (1964). Anyone here seen it?

Also does anyone have some information in regards to this listing in his filmography at IMDb.com: I 10 del Texas (1961)

Is it some sort of compilation film or something? Tom Mix had passed away years earlier.

Actually, the only one I saw of him that I did not care for was Donovan's Reef. Duke or no Duke, that thing was booorrring.

Another great one is Reap the Wild Wind, he plays a pysudo bad guy.

Translated from the original Italian by Google:
Link

Thanks Dimension X for the info., you - unlike my beloved Red Sox - always come through in the clutch (and "yes", I still have some issues with the events of last Fall).

In all the times I've looked over Wayne's filmography, this was the first time that title caught my eye. When I saw the cast (Cooper, Wayne, O'Brien, Mix), I thought for a second I had stumbled across some long-lost gem. While the film does appear to be of the "long-lost" variety, glad to see that it is simply an anthology which I could personally due without.

On another note, whenever we have a John Wayne discussion in the forum, it appears - for the most part - that it's the same small core group of forum members who reply. Are we all the old guys? Is it a generational thing? Despite TBS, TNT, AMC, and TCM playing John Wayne films all the time, are modern film viewers rather apathetic in regards to his films? I'm fairly certain that actors with a more varied filmography such as Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart will still be popular 20 years from now, but what about John Wayne? Will he join the ranks of someone such as - let's say - Clark Gable who for the most part is rather forgotten (at least that's the way I perceive it). Are my future grandkids going to bolt from the room when I try and play a John Wayne film? Is it because most of his work was in "Hollywoodized" Westerns and "popcorn" war films which have fallen out of favor with modern filmgoers?

I just wonder sometimes.........

A film such as "Once Upon a Time in the West" garners lavish and seemingly unanimous praise on boards such as these (with professional critics too of course). I'm getting a vibe that modern audiences are more likely to purchase a DVD of that film than one of Wayne's (or others like his). Personally I consider OUATITW to be just an okay film (a little too bloated and self-important for my tastes). It makes for a good one-time viewing but once you are familiar with the mystery aspect of it, I don't feel that it holds a lot of replay value because so many shots in the film are overlong (at least to me). While it is not without a certain degree of excellence, I feel that it is a film in dire need of some crisp editing. It wouldn't even rank in the Top 50 of my favorite Westerns.

I do believe the Duke's films will live on, and while we are going through a PC type period right now, films like his will be impossible to ignore.

I agree Clark Gable for all purposes is forgotten, as is Rock Hudson and many others.

I'm usually in the minority on this, but I always prefer all of Wayne's non-Westerns to his Westerns. The Quiet Man is his best, and one of my all-time favorites.

Hatari!, Donovan's Reef and North to Alaska are high up on my list as well.

As far as his Westerns go, I like Stagecoach, Rio Bravo, Red River, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance slightly better than The Searchers.

Circus World is an enjoyable, if not forgettable movie. Easy to digest, but not much substance. I would recommend you seeing it, but don't put your hopes too high. That being said, I'm VERY glad to have the ultra-rare widescreen Region 1 release of this film!

As for Duke's greatest performance, I would have to say "The Wings Of Eagles". Not a great movie by any stretch, but most likely Duke's greatest challenge as an actor. Halfway through the film, he has to play a paraplegic, recovering from a broken neck. On top of that, this was the only film where he allow the general public to see himself going bald (he was pretty thin on top in 1957). And on top of all this, throw in Maureen O'Hara as his leading lady...which always was his best female pairing.

My favorite John Wayne Films are:

1) Rio Bravdo.
2) The Searchers.
3) The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
4) The Shootist.
5) Flying Leathernecks.

Last weekend I visited John Waynes' Birthplace in Winterset, IA.
http://www.johnwaynebirthplace.org

They had alot of interesting stuff.
Also visited the Bridges of Madison County.