John Wayne, My Dad, and Me or How I Learned to Love The Western - Page 2

Not every role was a perfect fit. One can only wonder what they were thinking with The Sea Chase; John Wayne surely couldn’t have been the first name they thought of for German freighter captain Karl Ehrlich. But his two most outlandish roles must be Genghis Khan in The Conqueror and a Roman Centurion in The Greatest Story Ever Told.

My Dad’s preference (with one exception, The Quiet Man) was always for the westerns though. John Ford’s cavalry trilogy, Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo and El Dorado and his Oscar winning turn in True Grit were some of our favourites, as were the comedy westerns McLintock and North to Alaska (my Mum loved Stewart Granger). My personal favourite was The Searchers.

Wayne to me became a veritable superhero; sure, he could get shot but he didn’t die. My first recollection of seeing Duke die onscreen was in The Alamo and I remember finding it deeply upsetting. I may well have seen him meet his end at the hands, or rather tentacles, of a giant octopus in Reap the Wild Wind before that, but this was different, here he was killed by a mere man — run through by a Mexican soldier! It wasn’t his only memorable death scene. The Cowboys and The Shootist both saw him meet an equally heroic end.

I didn’t share all my Father’s tastes. He liked Gary Cooper and Randolph Scott, two actors I’ve only come to appreciate in recent years. And as I’ve grown older I’ve started to reassess some of the things we did agree on. I find myself appreciating Robert Ryan’s work now, an actor my dad hated. But, having watched Red River again recently, I still find Montgomery Clift ill-suited to the role of Wayne’s adopted son, something that always spoilt the film for my Dad, but there’ll be more on that in a future article.

Wayne the man was far more complex than he’s often given credit for. He was a patriot, yet failed to serve his country in World War II, gave vocal support to McCarthy’s communist witch hunt, yet years later worked with blacklisted writer Marguerite Roberts on True Grit, was outspoken against homosexuals but starred opposite Rock Hudson in The Undefeated, and he made three films with Kirk Douglas, an actor who he disagreed with strongly on political issues. Douglas later commented that Wayne was a professional and would work with anyone if he thought they were right for the part.

Article Author: Ian Woolstencroft

Ian Woolstencroft was brought up on a diet of John Wayne movies and Marvel Comics and still has a passion for both. Now as a blogcritic he finally understands what Spider-Man’s Uncle Ben meant when he said ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’ …

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