Having regretted passing on 1971’s Dirty Harry, John Wayne took a turn in a gritty cop thriller a couple of years later as McQ. Intended for Steve McQueen, hence the title, the film’s script was heavily rewritten for the 65-year-old Duke. Originally set in Seattle like Dirty Harry, the location was changed to San Francisco … Read more
This week marks the 78th anniversary of the release of 1945’s They Were Expendable, a film set during the Battle of the Philippines which took place just a couple of years prior. The film’s cinematic debut was pushed back to late December 1945 since the Japanese had surrendered earlier that year. Yet despite good reviews, … Read more
John Wayne was well known for his tough and gristly persona on and off-screen, not holding back on what he really thought of peers he clashed with. He lambasted Red River co-star Montgomery Clift as “an arrogant little bas**rd” and blasted Gene Hackman as “one of the worst actors in Hollywood.” Duke was part of … Read more
Stanley Kubrick’s Oscar-winning Roman epic was incredibly controversial upon its release in 1960. Kirk Douglas allowed blacklisted communist screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, one of the Hollywood Ten, to pen Spartacus without having to hide his name. The scribe had previously been taking a clandestine approach to his work following his ostracisation from the film industry years … Read more
Back in 1959, critics were already asking if John Wayne was too old to be playing gunslinger leads. Rio Bravo was released that year and the romantic age gap between the 51-year-old and his 27-year-old co-star Angie Dickinson received negative reactions in reviews. Nevertheless, the Hollywood star found ways to play older cowboys over the … Read more
Back in 1968, John Wayne starred in Hellfighters, an early disaster movie based on the life of Red Adair, about a group of oil well firefighters. The film, which celebrates its 55th anniversary this week, was the first time Duke was paid $1 million (almost $9 million today) for a picture. Wayne played Chance Buckman … Read more
