Big Duke.
By Jason Apuzzo. Today is John Wayne’s birthday, and we would be most remiss if we didn’t remember The Duke for a just a few moments on his big day. John Wayne was born 103 years ago today in the small town of Winterset, Iowa. He went on to become the most enduring, popular movie star in history and an icon of American culture worldwide.
Several years ago Govindini and I had the pleasure of meeting the Duke’s family at a screening of the newly restored, 3-D version of Hondo. They’re delightful people and are doing a wonderful job of preserving the Duke’s legacy for future generations – we wish them the very best, and congratulations to them on this day.
As I mentioned in a Classic Movie Update post from a few days ago, there’s a lot of Duke news to report:
• There’s a 50th anniversary benefit screening of The Alamo this week at John Wayne’s birthplace, with Wayne’s daughter Aissa in attendance. The benefit event, a fundraiser for the John Wayne Birthplace Museum and Learning Center, takes place over 2 days – May 28th and 29th. Wayne directed The Alamo himself (with spot 2nd unit direction from John Ford) - a huge, sprawling and satisfying epic, featuring an extraordinary musical score by Dmitri Tiomkin – and The Duke considered it his most important film. Wayne considered the film a parable of America’s place in the world as the lone outpost of freedom. The Alamo famously went up against Kirk Douglas’ left-leaning Spartacus at the 1960 Academy Awards. If you’re anywhere near Wayne’s birthplace of Winterset, Iowa, you should certainly catch this wonderful-looking event – and feel free to purchase your own copy of The Alamo in the LFM Store below.
• In related news, The Criterion Collection has just put out a new, restored version of the John Wayne/John Ford Classic Stagecoach on DVD and Blu-Ray. You can buy this version in the LFM store above.
• Since I’m in the mood for it, here’s my list of Duke Wayne’s Top 5 films, all available in the LFM store above:
- The Searchers
- Stagecoach
- Red River
- Hondo (particularly in 3-D)
- The Alamo
