Tag: Western
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Red River: How Howard Hughes Battled John Wayne’s Oscar-Nominated Masterpiece
Howard Hughes Accused Howard Hawks of Plagiarism Hawks is one of the most significant Western directors, and Red River challenged preconceived notions about heroism with its subversive depiction of a major historical event. The film examines America’s first cattle drive through the perspective of the Texas rancher Thomas Dunson (Wayne) and the trail hand Nadine…
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Heat, Costumes, and Tuberculosis: The Untold Story Behind Val Kilmer’s Tombstone Ordeal
Val Kilmer’s hard-drinking Doc Holliday can be seen sweating all throughout the western biopic Tombstone, but there’s a historical reason – and a behind-the-scenes reason – for all the sweat in the movie. Set in Southeast Arizona in the 1880s, Tombstone depicts such real-life historical events as the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and the…
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Behind the Reins: The Shocking Horse Incident That Almost Ended John Wayne’s Career
Actor John Wayne put himself in harm’s way on several movie sets, including She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. It’s one of his favorite performances of his career, but he didn’t earn an Oscar nomination for his work. Wayne once recalled when he blacked out and nearly died on the set of She Wore a Yellow…
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Speculation and Secrets: Clint Eastwood’s High Plains Drifter and the Enduring Mystique of The Stranger
The Eastwood-led 1973 Western film is back in the news, following its streaming debut on Netflix in the U.S. Centering on a mysterious cowpoke known as The Stranger, High Plains Drifter on the surface looks like a simple story of dustbowl revenge, but looking deeper can expose a myriad of mind-blowing possibilities. Breaking Down High…
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Chisum Chronicles: Unmasking John Wayne’s Heartfelt Moment in the 1970s
Chisum was John Wayne’s first movie of the 1970s, which would be the Western legend’s final decade. The film was based on the Lincoln County War of 1878 with John Wayne starring as John Simpson Chisum, a wealthy cattle baron of the American West. The 62-year-old actor was playing a 54-year-old man, so had to…
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Whispers of the West: Richard Boone’s Untold Hollywood Saga Revealed
In 1957, when classic TV Westerns were all the rage and Gunsmoke reigned supreme, actor Richard Boone presented viewers with hero of the Old West different from any of the others. His name was Paladin, the show was Have Gun Will Travel and Boone gave us a character with heart and compassion who was also…
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The Untold Story of John Wayne’s Hollywood Rumble: When Patience Wore Thin
The 1933 drama, which starred Wayne alongside the likes of Barbara Stanwyck and Donald Cook, followed the tale of a strumpet who uses men as stepping stones to success, as she attempts to lay bare a “rags-to-riches” formula. At the time of its release, reviews were critical of the flick, but modern reviews of the…
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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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Lost in Time: The Unseen Twist in a John Wayne Western’s Alternate Ending
No Western onscreen feud surpasses the fiery father-son conflict between John Wayne’s tyrannical Thomas Dunson and Montgomery Clift’s groundbreaking performance as independent-minded Matthew Garth in Howard Hawks’ 1948 masterpiece, Red River. But nestled within the film’s enduring legacy there is a secret in its saddlebag — an alternate ending lost for years and only recovered…