Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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The Duke’s Insights: John Wayne’s Take on the Western Genre in 1970
If anyone could talk about western movies and be looked upon as an expert, then look no further than “The Duke” himself, John Wayne. Wayne, in a 1970 interview at the Academy Awards, was asked if the western gets the recognition it deserves in Hollywood. “I think so, I think so,” John Wayne, who died…
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Ella Raines And John Wayne: Tensions Flare While Filming ‘Tall In The Saddle’
Actor John Wayne once lost his temper at co-star Ella Raines while shooting Tall in the Saddle. He was tired of repeatedly shooting the same scene because she couldn’t control the horse that she had to ride for a specific scene. As a result, Wayne started to lose his patience and finally blew up at…
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John Wayne’s Hilarious High School Prank and His Path to Acting Stardom
Actor John Wayne didn’t always have stardom on the brain, especially when he was in high school. He had several passions, involving himself in several areas, involving journalism, debate, and sports. However, Wayne was undeniably a prankster who found a way to embarrass an actor in a way that caused the audience to erupt into…
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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…
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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…
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Candid Confessions of a Hollywood Icon: John Wayne’s Love-Hate Relationship with His Own Films
John Wayne told Walters from his Newport Beach home: “I know I’m a good actor…I’ve been at it for 50 years, I must have learned something.” The interviewer, who died last month, asked the star who’s real was Marion Morrison: “Are you ‘John Wayne’? Rough, tough and a hard drinker? Soft with women and hard…
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Preventing A Fistfight Between John Wayne And James Caan – ‘Robert Mitchem Had To Stop Me Punching Duke’
John Wayne went out of his way to “intimidate” James Caan, who he had violent arguments with on the El Dorado set. One incident even saw Duke fill the young actor’s dressing room entirely with garbage. James Caan was just 27 years old when he had a big break being cast as knife-throwing gambler Mississippi…
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How Rio Bravo’s Success Pushed John Wayne And Howard Hawks To Plagiarize Themselves?
No filmmaker loved ripping off their own work more than Howard Hawks. And if your oeuvre is riddled with all-timers like “Bringing Up Baby,” “Only Angels Have Wings,” “His Girl Friday” and “Ball of Fire,” you might copy yourself, too. Hawks’ most egregious act of self-theft has its roots in “Rio Bravo,” which is widely…
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Unveiling the Authenticity of Survival: What 1948 John Wayne Western ‘3 Godfathers’ Gets Right
3 Godfathers depicts one desert survival trick very accurately, much to the excitement of survival expert Les Stroud. Released in 1948, the Western film stars John Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz, and Harry Carey Jr., who become godfathers to a newborn baby they find stranded in the desert. The film, which was directed by the legendary John…
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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…
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