Category: Western
-
A Hilarious Fan Mail Mishap: John Wayne’s Encounter with Bullitt Praise
As one of the biggest stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood and one of the actors to shape the entire Western genre, it’s no surprise that John Wayne received an enormous amount of fan mail over the years. Fans of all ages reached out to the Western icon hoping for a reply from their…
-
How ‘The Train Robbers’ Foreshadowed The End Of John Wayne’S Western Era
“The Train Robbers,” a Burt Kennedy film from 1973, is from a time when the Western genre, at least as a dominant form in the pop consciousness, was most assuredly on the outs. “The Train Robbers” starred a 69-year-old John Wayne as an aging rogue who volunteers to retrieve a store of gold once stolen…
-
Cinematic Coincidences: The Drunk, The Duke, and the Confusion Between ‘Rio Bravo’ and ‘El Dorado’
It’s important not to mix up the 1959 John Wayne film “Rio Bravo” with the 1966 John Wayne film “El Dorado.” As cinephile Chilli Palmer (John Travolta) points out in the 1995 film “Get Shorty,” Dean Martin played the drunk in “Rio Bravo,” while Robert Mitchum played the drunk in “El Dorado.” Basically the same…
-
The Remarkable Talents of Its 20-Year Run – Taylor’s Olympic Dream Dashed, But Gunsmoke Destiny Beckoned
Gunsmoke featured a ton of actors during its epic 20-year run. The TV series started out as a radio program before making the leap to television in the mid-1950s. From 1955 to 1975, the show kept the adventures of U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) alive and well, much to the delight of fans. As…
-
From Magnum to the Wild West: Tom Selleck’s Lesser-Known Cinematic Adventures
If you are a fan of Tom Selleck, then you are no doubt familiar with his back catalogue of movies, including hits such as 3 Men and a Baby, In and Out, and the Jesse Stone films. But did you know that amongst Selleck’s ever-expanding film collection, the actor has also starred in a number…
-
Tom Selleck’s Startling Admission: Sam Elliott’s Early Western Dominance
Some Hollywood duos become fast associated with one another. Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller often populate movies side-by-side, and Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn even became a couple. There’s no forgetting Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, either. When the two near-constantly took up roles in westerns together, Tom Selleck got to watch Sam Elliott grow…
-
The Inside Story: What Led Steve McQueen to Decline a Role Opposite Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?
The 1969 movie is considered one of the greatest Westerns ever made, going on to win four Oscars. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid followed the two real-life Wild West outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker played by Paul Newman and Harry Longabaugh portrayed by Robert Redford. In the movie, the two criminals are on the run…
-
The Untold Story: How Paul Newman and Steve McQueen Battled to Secure the Butch Cassidy Script!
‘Didn’t want me’ Robert Redford details sacrifice to land Butch Cassidy role Elsewhere in the documentary, it was revealed that Robert owed his casting in the Western film to Joanne Woodward, his co-star Paul’s wife. In an interview with Iain Johnstone, Paul shared that both he and Steve McQueen tried to buy the script…
-
Surprising Revelation: Kevin Costner’s Unexpected Take on Western Films and Clint Eastwood’s Parallel Path
Taking a look at the rear-view mirror in the journey of Hollywood, everyone remembers the good old days when Western films dominated not just the US, but the entire world. And leading that charge was the legendary Clint Eastwood, along with stars like Kevin Costner following close behind. To this day, the effect of those…
-
Astonishing Accuracy: How 1948 John Wayne Western Gets Survival Right
A 1948 John Wayne Western directed by John Ford gets one desert survival trick right, much to the excitement of survival expert Les Stroud. In a recent video for Insider, Stroud watched one desert survival scene from the John Wayne Western, 3 Godfathers, and rated it for realism. Watch the portion of the video below:…