By Jason Apuzzo. LFM celebrates John Wayne today, born Marion Robert Morrison on this day in Winterset, Iowa back in 1907. Among Hollywood’s greatest male stars, possibly only Humphrey Bogart compares to The Duke in terms of his lasting appeal as a symbol of American character.
The Duke made many great films with many great filmmakers, but he’s probably best experienced through his work with director John Ford. Their partnership may be the best pairing of director and star ever in the cinema. More than that, however, their films depicted the courage and grandeur of the American spirit, something that’s somehow only really captured in the vast wastelands of the southwest. My personal recommendations here would be The Searchers, Stagecoach and 3 Godfathers; and among the celebrated Cavalry trilogy films, my favorite would probably be She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. It’s also worth mentioning that Ford did minor work with The Duke on both The Alamo and Hondo, both very fine films.
For those in the vicinity of Winterset, Iowa, there’s a wonderful birthday tribute to The Duke going on this weekend benefiting the John Wayne Birthplace Museum, and The Duke’s daughter Aissa Wayne will be in attendance. Best wishes to everyone at that event.
Happy Birthday, Duke.
Posted on May 26th, 2011 at 12:50pm.
In addition to the movies you suggest, I’d add “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence”, which is both one of his best movies and best performances.
Certainly. I wish Ford hadn’t used black-and-white and TV-type sets for that, but otherwise it’s an extraordinary film, one of his richest in theme, elegiac in tone.