Tag: Howard Hawks
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John Wayne’s Rescue: How His Role in ‘Red River’ Averted a Filmmaking Disaster
While the story about Tom Dunson, a determined rancher who turns into a horse-riding Captain Ahab during a harrowing cattle drive from Texas to Missouri, was crammed with action and intrigue, it proved tonally problematic for Hawks’ star. Gary Cooper had made several films with Hawks and many Westerns prior to “Red River,” but he…
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Discovering the Forgotten: 10 Lesser-Known John Wayne Movies That Demand Attention
Though we’ve already covered the greatest films in Wayne’s career, there are scores of films viewers haven’t seen. From bringing the American war effort to the silver screen at the height of World War II to dramatic turns that expanded Wayne’s range, Wayne has shown a surprising amount of acting skill. Here we’ll explore the…
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Fueled by Opposition: The Legendary Creation of ‘Rio Bravo’ Driven by Discontent with ‘High Noon’
A certified classic Western was born totally out of spite. “Rio Bravo” was spearheaded by two of the biggest names in Old Hollywood — the on-screen cowboy John Wayne and the multi-faceted director Howard Hawks. The 1959 film was a direct response to a Western released seven years prior, “High Noon.” Hawks took issue with…
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Behind the Scenes of ‘Rio Bravo’: Angie Dickinson Unveils the Art of Acting Alongside John Wayne
“Fair to middling” is how Angie Dickinson is feeling this morning as she talks about “Rio Bravo,” the 1959 film that made her a star. “Somebody who says they’re great at 90, you can figure out that they lie a lot.” It’s a line that could have come straight from Jules Furthman and Leigh Brackett’s…
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Behind the Scenes Shock: John Wayne’s Concerns Over ‘Red River’ Scene Pushed Director Howard Hawks to an Unconventional Move
Red River actor John Wayne was sensitive to violence that he thought was “too much” in motion pictures. As a result, he frequently called out the films that he thought were going for shock value. Additionally, Wayne spoke up against the inclusion of such scenes in his own feature films, which is exactly what he…
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The Unseen Rebellion: John Wayne’s Defiance of Howard Hawks’ Direction to Avoid ‘Cringing’ in ‘Red River’
Red River actor John Wayne made his share of duds over the course of his career, but he also made numerous strides. As a result, he became one of the biggest movie stars to ever go through the Hollywood machine. Wayne was immensely proud of the work that he put into Red River, but he…
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John Wayne – Marlon Brando’s Fashion Advice Leaves Dean Martin in Rio Bravo’s Cowboy Chaos
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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Delving into the Depths of John Wayne’s Performance in ‘Red River’ – A Howard Hawks Masterstroke
What Makes John Wayne’s Performance So Powerful in ‘Red River’? The complexity of John Wayne’s performance as Dunson echoes Humphrey Bogart in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, which was actually released in the same year (it was a good time to be a Western fan). With the gradual reversal of his role from protagonist…
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Duke’s Drunken Charm: The Intriguing Hollywood Tale Behind Rio Lobo’s Reappearance
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 of those films, wanted to make it a third time in 1970’s Rio Lobo. When the filmmaker first approached Duke about the idea, the Hollywood star replied:…
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40 Years Later: How Jeff Bridges Mastered Rooster Cogburn in True Grit
In order to make his best movie of the past few decades Jeff Bridges was forced to ignore Western icon John Wayne. That takes some serious bravery and boldness. Jeff Bridges is no stranger to the Western genre. Lloyd Bridges, Jeff Bridges’ father, took on a leading role in some of the best Westerns ever…