Tag: Old West
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A Maverick’s Response: John Wayne’s Battle with a Beloved Western, Sparking the Birth of His Unique Version
To say that John Wayne was the de facto king of cinema during his heyday would be underselling just how safe and strong a box office draw the actor was. Known mostly for war movies and westerns, Wayne was also an outspoken individualist, American patriot, and conservative person, and that extended into his Hollywood activism.…
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John Wayne’s Embarrassment Turns into James Arness’s Triumph
In the sun-scorched realm of western cinema, there emerges a singular protagonist of unparalleled prowess, the formidable and truly iconic John Wayne. With performances etched into the annals of the American movie industry, Wayne stands as a permanent bastion of the old west, and his professional legacy remains unmarred, even if his personal convictions cast…
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The Oscar That Slipped Away: John Wayne’s Rejected Role and the ‘Adultery’ Controversy
It would be some years before John Wayne would gain the Oscar he so deeply felt he was owed. Appearing in 150 movies in his career, the noted western icon would have to wait until the latter stages of his time in Hollywood before he walked away with the golden statue he so richly desired.…
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True Grit’s Resurgence: The Western Genre Rides Again, Crossing $100 Million, and Bob Mondello’s Ultimate Frontier Experience
With True Grit crossing the $100 million mark at the box office, the Western, often given up for dead, appears to be back. Black hats, white hats, guns, a frontier code of honor, big-sky country — all have been Hollywood staples since at least 1903, when The Great Train Robbery sent gunslingers galloping across the…
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A Cinematic Influence: How ‘Unforgiven’ Shaped ‘Red Dead Redemption’
Video games are no longer just ‘video games‘. Whilst they take on many different forms, more often than not, the games that make the most impact on the player and popular culture are those that are immersive, cinematic and tell a story that pierces the emotions in such a profound way that it’s comparable to…
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Uncovering the Truth: Could 200-Year-Old Blood Stain Redefine Billy the Kid?
Henry McCarty, the man better known as ‘Billy the Kid’, was an outlaw of the Old West who reportedly killed eight men before he was gunned down during a stand-off with officers. Orphaned at the age of 15, he committed a number of thefts before he joined a posse who sought to expel Sheriff William…
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John Ford’s Timeless Aesthetic: The Intersection of Fact and Legend
Great Movie John Ford and John Wayne together created much of the mythology of the Old West we carry in our minds. Beginning with “Stagecoach” (1939), continuing from 1948 through 1950 with the Cavalry Trilogy (“Fort Apache,” “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” and “Rio Grande”), and finally to 1962 and “The Man Who Shot Liberty…