Category: John Wayne
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New York’s Christmas Symphony: Captivated by the 1994 Remake of “Miracle on 34th Street” – A Tale of Holiday Splendor
While in her prime as the Queen of Technicolor, Irish actress Maureen O’Hara was in one of the greatest Christmas movies ever made. It was when watching the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street that I truly fell in love with the enormity that is the holiday season and Christmas in America and in…
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A Journey Back to 1976 – Rick Lenz Reflects on John Wayne’s Last Movie, “The Shootist,” and Dispels On-Set Rumors
For the past 15 years, Duke had been struggling with severe health problems after having had a cancerous lung and some ribs removed in 1964. The Western legend would tenaciously work through action sequences, often relying on an oxygen mask he kept secret so as not to taint his macho cinematic image. By the time…
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The Struggles of Hondo: John Wayne’s Stormy Temperament and the Harsh Realities of Filming
Through his starring roles in westerns and war movies during the golden age of cinema in America, John Wayne became a cultural icon. His performances in the epic western The Searchers, as well as Rio Bravo, True Grit, and Red River, are probably what the actor is best known for, but Wayne also had a…
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‘How the West Was Won’ – A Cinematic Marvel Starring John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda, and an All-Star Cast
There is no doubt that John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, and Henry Fonda are three of Hollywood’s greatest stars. They individually made many classics but rarely worked together. But did you know that there is a Western that the trio appeared in together? Although they didn’t meet onscreen, the threesome appeared together for the first and…
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John Wayne’s Unforgettable Pain: Despite Tragedies, Film Remains a Massive Failure Criticized by Both Contemporary and Modern Reviewers
Hollywood has given us many icons over the years, some considerably more likeable than others. John Wayne has always been one of the industry’s most controversial stars due to his incredibly racist and generally bigoted views. A leading man in many westerns, such as The Searchers and True Grit, Wayne came to represent all things…
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Stuntman’s Nightmare: The Chilling Tale of John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara’s Frigid Mudslide in McLintock
Andrew V. McLaglan’s 1963 film “McLintock!” is a loose Western adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” (c. 1592), a problematic play to say the least. The story of Shakespeare’s play involves a willful and bitter young woman named Kate who refuses to settle down and get married. This upsets Kate’s younger sister…
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John Wayne’s Western Nightmare: Lost Souls and Vanished Bodies in a 19th-Century Tragedy
John Wayne filmed a classic Western with Maureen O’Hara in which cast members were killed and their bodies never recovered. Back in 1950, John Wayne starred in Rio Grande, the third of his Cavalry Trilogy (alongside Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon) with director John Ford. Cast and crew struggled terribly with the…
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John Wayne’s Gentle Spirit Shines: The Surprising Harmony on the ‘Rio Lobo’ Set Despite Director’s Confrontation
John Wayne was incredibly kind to his Rio Lobo co-star, despite struggling with poor health on the set where director Howard Hawks punched leading lady Jennifer O’Neill. John Wayne had already remade 1959’s Rio Bravo, a film about a sheriff defending his office from outlaws, in 1966’s El Dorado. Yet Howard Hawks, who directed both…
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Iconic Filmmaker John Carpenter’s Passionate Ode to John Wayne: The Western Gem Remade Twice for Modern Audiences
There’s one John Wayne Western that director John Carpenter adores so much, he remade it twice himself. During a 2011 chat with Rotten Tomatoes, Carpenter namechecked several movies he called his “emotional favorites,” meaning they were the films he fell in love with as a child and inspired his love of movies. Among this list…
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John Wayne’s Unscripted Moment on ‘The Tonight Show’ Leaves Johnny Carson Stunned
John Wayne once surprised Johnny Carson with a walk-on appearance on The Tonight Show, something not every Hollywood star could have gotten away with. Why did Wayne tell Carson he stopped by the show unannounced? And on what other stage did the two icons appear not long before Wayne’s death a few years later? John…