John Wayne, Lest We Forget

[MissGoddess]

Oh, Tall T, that was one swell tribute. I'm misty eyed, no kid.

[JackFavell]

Me too! That was lovely, I really felt his presence in that description.


There was a time, not too long ago, when I was in your shoes. I've only come to really appreciate the man in the last 5 years.

[RedRiver]

You may Proceed with your Picnic, Mr. Pennell!

[CineMaven]

Thank you Miss G., JackaaaAaay. You guys are the real oficionados. Below are a few pictures I took. They won't compare to what's on your website, Miss G., but it's a l'il sumthin' sumthin'. The first shot is the mansion on Fifth Avenue that housed the exhibit.

[Rita Hayworth]

I would love to own John Wayne's American Express Credit Card. That's would be so

[CineMaven]

[youtube][/youtube]

For a big guy...he moves pretty well. I watched Stanwyck's "BABY FACE" last night, and John Wayne has a small role in it. He really expressed the angst of rejection on his face when he was getting dumped by Stanwyck. The camera was on him. I know that Stanwyck made a film with Gable ("NIGHT NURSE") once they were both really big stars ("To Please A Lady"), but I wish Stanwyck had done another movie with John Wayne later on in their careers...a western (preferably). How great might that have been.

P.S. Just click on the YouTube disabled message...and it'll take you right to YouTube.

C.M.

[MissGoddess]

I've seen The Fighting Seabees a couple of times and I don't remember that scene! One thing you've got to say about Wayne, he was game for most anything. I wish he and Lucille Ball had made a movie together; he once said she was the sexiest woman in Hollywood.

[CineMaven]

Really? Well I can believe it. I saw a YouTube clip of Lucy doing a hula dance from a movie she made with Maureen O'Hara that was pretty hot stuff. Lucy and John Wayne. Hmmmmmmmm.

[JackFavell]

That hula was hot! Lucy said something like, "I'm not really funny, I just have no fear." Well, I think Wayne was the same way.

I wish Stany and the Duke had done a movie too. it makes me salivate thinking of the possibilities.

[RedRiver]

The camera was on him.

The camera loved John Wayne. Was he a great actor? Maybe. Maybe not. It didn't really matter. He was John Wayne. Some actors, you just can't NOT look at. Marilyn. Karloff. Audrey Hepburn. John Ford went with this in STAGECOACH. The magnificent close-up of Ringo's entrance. Take a good look, Ford tells us. You'll be seeing a lot more of this face!

[pvitari]

Actually Stanwyck and Wayne did do a movie together. He was an early rung up the ladder in Baby Face. This was when they were still trying to make a leading man out of Duke but it just wasn't taking, at least not in urban-set films. Soon he'd be banished to the poverty row westerns, where he'd learn the style, mannerisms and above all rhythm that would make him [7th Cavalry bugle flourish] "John Wayne."

[JackFavell]

That's where we started this discussion!

[CineMaven]

Actually Stanwyck and Wayne did do a movie together. He was an early rung up the ladder in Baby Face. This was when they were still trying to make a leading man out of Duke but it just wasn't taking, at least not in urban-set films. Soon he'd be banished to the poverty row westerns, where he'd learn the style, mannerisms and above all rhythm that would make him [7th Cavalry bugle flourish] "John Wayne."

Hi there pvitari. You're right. They did do a movie together. I cited that a few posts up:

For a big guy...he moves pretty well. I watched Stanwyck's "BABY FACE" last night, and John Wayne has a small role in it. He really expressed the angst of rejection on his face when he was getting dumped by Stanwyck. The camera was on him. I know that Stanwyck made a film with Gable ("NIGHT NURSE") once they were both really big stars ("To Please A Lady"), but I wish Stanwyck had done another movie with John Wayne later on in their careers...a western (preferably). How great might that have been. C.M. - ( 9/29/11-7:10pm )

Me & Jack Favell wish they had done another. He would have really met his match on the range. No, not like Maureen or Vera (love interest) but in power and strength. Ohhhhkay, I'll give the Duke and Missy a clinch in my imaginings.

The camera loved John Wayne...The magnificent close-up of Ringo's entrance. Take a good look, Ford tells us. You'll be seeing a lot more of this face!

Red, that shaky dollying in to John Wayne in "STAGECOACH" is my favorite close-up. My extremely close second favorite...would be the first time we see Rhett Butler in "GONE WITH THE WIND."

[Gary J.]

Also, the opening close up on Wayne in RIO BRAVO is pretty effective when he kicks away the spittoon and looks down at Martin with disgust.

[RedRiver]

While anything but close-ups, I love the first and last shots of Ethan Edwards. Coming and going. Pretty much all a man like that is capable of.

In some ways, STAGECOACH is just as creative as CITIZEN KANE would be two years later. The artful close-ups, the expressionistic tour of the bad side of town. The clearly drawn characters and the conflicts they create. The style of the movie is very old fashioned. That my be a turn-off to younger viewers. That's a pity. They're missing some inventive filmmaking.