Tag: Henry Fonda
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The Longest Day Drama Unveiled: John Wayne’s Revenge on Producer for Public Insult
John Wayne was famous for his tough guy image on and off screen, mostly being known for playing cowboys and military men. By the early 1960s, Duke was in his fifties, struggling with health problems yet continuing to insist on not only doing his own stunts but also playing characters – including historical figures –…
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John Ford’s Game-Changing Henry Fonda Film – Is ‘My Darling Clementine’ a True Story?
For legendary filmmaker John Ford, telling the story of the American West through a demystified lens is conveyed through a singular image. In 1946, a shot of Henry Fonda sitting on the porch of a local barbershop, leaning back on a chair as he looks upon the open vista is a minimalist example of Ford’s…
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Henry Fonda’s Cinematic Odyssey: From Hollywood Titan to Gritty Characters
What Do Henry Fonda’s Favorite Films Say About Him? Despite being one of the most recognizable and beloved screen faces of his time, Henry Fonda only earned an Academy Award in his final film role. He played Norman in Mark Rydell’s On Golden Pond, a screenplay drama adaptation of Ernest Thomson’s play of the same…
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Iconic Antagonist: The Black-Hat Maestro Lee Van Cleef Who Stole Scenes from Clint Eastwood
Move over Wayne and Eastwood — Lee Van Cleef is here to steal your scene! Sure, John Wayne and Clint Eastwood are practically synonymous with Westerns (and for good reason), but Van Cleef is the most under-appreciated and overlooked regular of the genre. His hawkish, piercing eyes and naturally intimidating demeanor make him an effortless…
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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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Fort Apache: The Movie That Breathed New Life into John Wayne’s Waning Stardom
John Wayne might’ve been full of macho swagger on the big screen, but off-screen he was given to fretting. A large portion of the blame for this could be placed at John Ford’s doorstep. The A-list Hollywood filmmaker was nearly instrumental in making Wayne a full-fledged movie star, but he’d made the actor earn it…
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A Western Like No Other: John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, and Henry Fonda’s Epic Collaboration
What Is ‘How the West Was Won’ About? How the West Was Won is an American fictionalized historical account of the period between the great westward migration and the establishment of law and order in the Wild West. The film follows three generations of the Prescott family across decades, spanning significant American history events, like…
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The Ultimate Western Antagonist: Lee Van Cleef, the Scene-Stealer Who Outshone Clint Eastwood
Move over Wayne and Eastwood — Lee Van Cleef is here to steal your scene! Sure, John Wayne and Clint Eastwood are practically synonymous with Westerns (and for good reason), but Van Cleef is the most under-appreciated and overlooked regular of the genre. His hawkish, piercing eyes and naturally intimidating demeanor make him an effortless…
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Duke’s Right-Hand Men: Ranking John Wayne’s Top 10 Male Co-Stars in Film History
This article lists my favourite top 10 actors who have appeared opposite John Wayne, in ascending order. All of these actors have, at one time or another, appeared second in the cast list after John Wayne. Dan Dailey | The Wings of Eagles (1957) In The Wings of Eagles, Dan Dailey, as ‘Jughead’ Carson, plays…
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Going against John Wayne’s ideology: The Untold Story of How Henry Fonda Became a Vicious Force in Leone’s Cinematic Western Odyssey
Yes, we’re talking about Henry Fonda as Frank. For over three decades leading up to Once Upon A Time In The West, Henry Fonda had been playing the strong, stately American hero on screen. In John Ford’s My Darling Clementine, Fort Apache, and Drums Along The Mohawk, he played stern, stoic, but nevertheless principled Western…