John Wayne's Western Movie Timeline
THE DUKE: JOHN WAYNE AND THE WESTERN
Marion Robert Morrison – better known as John Wayne – is the face of the Western, and, arguably, the single most iconic figure in the history of the American movie industry. Let’s take a look back at the Western “career chronology” of the man they call The Duke. Although not all inclusive, we've included many of the ones for which he most remembered.
The Shootist (1976) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMboGPneLOo) – The Duke's final film role, a fitting goodbye to the genre and his film career. Wayne plays an aging, cancer-stricken gunfighter, trying to live out his dying days in peace – but menaced by old flames, old enemies and a gang of killers. Directed by Don Siegel, the film also features Lauren Bacall, James Stewart and Ron Howard. In an unfortunate twist, Wayne would die of cancer only three years later.
True Grit (1969) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN-j4GDqjv4) – John Wayne won his first (and only) Oscar for his unforgettable, eye-patched role as crusty U.S. Marshall, Rooster Cogburn, hired by young Mattie Ross (Kim Darby) to avenge the murder of her father. This adaptation of the classic Charles Portis book was later made into a far superior 2010 film by the Coen brothers (starring Jeff Bridges as Cogburn), but Wayne's performance is still wonderful to behold.
How the West Was Won (1962) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN-j4GDqjv4) – This enormous, sprawling Western defines the term "epic." Boasting four directors (including John Ford) and a cast of dozens of Hollywood stars (among them Walter Brennan, Lee J. Cobb, Henry Fonda, Karl Malden, Gregory Peck, Debbie Reynolds and James Stewart), it's Wayne's scene-chewing performance as Gen. William T. Sherman that towers above the rest.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CA2JgS6zycQ) – Another rich John Ford collaboration, starring Wayne and James Stewart as two polar opposites fighting over a woman (Vera Miles) and against the evil Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). It's one of the more somber and cynical movies of the genre, echoing the mature themes that would be seen in more modern Westerns.
Rio Bravo (1959) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlAF1DPLIAI) – Widely regarded as one of the greatest Westerns of all time, this Howard Hawks film boasts an amazing cast – Wayne as a sheriff, Dean Martin as the town drunk, Ricky Nelson as the hotshot gunfighter, Walter Brennan as the deputy. Wayne’s Sherriff John Chance enlists the help of all three to keep a murderer (Claude Atkins) in jail. A great movie made greater by the music of Nelson and Martin.
The Searchers (1956) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI2AZb04HAc) – A gorgeous, ambitious Western always mentioned in the discussion of the greatest American films of all time, The Searchers just might be the greatest film of both Wayne and Ford’s careers. Wayne is in top-notch form as Ethan Edwards, a Confederate veteran on a multi-year quest to find his niece (Natalie Wood), kidnapped by a murderous gang of Comanches. How great a movie was it? Take a look at its influence on popular music – “That’ll Be the Day” by Buddy Holly and the Crickets took its name from a line uttered by Wayne in the film, and Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road” took its opening line (“well the screen door slams…”) from the film’s amazing final shot (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woahas_W35A).
Red River (1948) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7M9YdQ0QlQ) - Another extraordinary Howard Hawks Western epic, starring Wayne as a rancher leading a cattle drive on the Chisholm Trail while embroiled in a bitter feud with his adopted son (Montgomery Clift).
Stagecoach (1939) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBuPI4m4pO8) – The movie that jump-started the careers of both Wayne and his longtime directing collaborator John Ford. Wayne shot to superstardom in his role as the “Ringo Kid,” a fugitive on board an Arizona-to-New Mexico stagecoach populated by an unforgettable cast of Western characters.