Happy Birthday To The Duke: On This Day In History Actor John Wayne Was Born

On this day in 1907 the late, great American actor John Wayne was born.

John Wayne in one of my favorite actors. I love his westerns with director John Ford, such as The Searchers, Fort Apache, The Horse Soldiers and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. And I also love John Wayne's war films with John Ford, such as They Were Expendable and The Wings of Eagles.

I also love The Alamo, which John Wayne directed as well as starred in. And I love The Green Berets, which the Duke also directed and starred in. 

Only the Duke had the courage to make a pro-Vietnam War and pro-military film in 1968 when most of the media and a portion of the public was against the war. The media by and large hated the film, but the most of the public loved it.

I also love True Grit and The Shootist, John Wayne's last film.

Like millions of his fans, I can watch John Wayne films over and over. He was a great actor and a great American.  

You can read about John Wayne's life and work via the below link:

https://www.biography.com/people/john-wayne-9525664 

The Duke: Happy Birthday To The Late, Great American Actor John Wayne

Today is the birthday of the late, great American actor John Wayne. He was born on this day in 1907.

John Wayne in one of my favorite actors. I love his westerns with director John Ford, such as The Searchers, Fort Apache and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. And I also love John Wayne's war films with John Ford, such as They Were Expendable and The Wings of Eagles.

I also love The Alamo, which John Wayne directed as well as starred in. And I love The Green Berets. 

Only the Duke had the courage to make a pro-Vietnam War and pro-military film in 1968 when most of the media was against the war. The media by and large hated the film, but the public loved it.

I also love The Shootist, John Wayne's last film.

Like millions of his fans, I can watch John Wayne films over and over. He was a great actor and a great American.   

You can read a brief biography of John Wayne via the below link to his website:

http://johnwayne.com/legacy/biography/ 

On This Day In History In 1979: American Icon John Wayne Dies

As History.com notes, on this day in 1979 actor John Wayne died from cancer. He was 72.

John Wayne is one of my favorite actors. I love his westerns with director John Ford, such as The Searchers, Fort Apache and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. And I also love John Wayne's war films with John Ford, such as They Were Expendable and The Wings of Eagles.

I also love The Alamo, which John Wayne directed as well as starred in. And I love The Green Berets. Only the Duke had the courage to make a pro-Vietnam War and pro-military film in 1968 when most of the media was against the war. The media hated the film, but the public loved it. 

I also love The Shootist, John Wayne's last film. 

Like many of his fans, I can watch John Wayne films over and over. He was a great actor and a great American.    

You can read about the Duke's life and work and watch a video clip via the below link:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-wayne-dies?cmpid=email-hist-tdih-2016-0611-06112016&om_rid=de5e4076c942a595dbda53f758321d197499484f6d117f61b6ac5c08e0d6f0aa&om_mid=56500577&kx_EmailCampaignID=5363&kx_EmailCampaignName=email-hist-tdih-2016-0611-06112016&kx_EmailRecipientID=de5e4076c942a595dbda53f758321d197499484f6d117f61b6ac5c08e0d6f0aa

You can also read an earlier post on a recent book about John Wayne via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2014/04/john-wayne-10-things-you-might-know.html

And you can visit the John Wayne website via the below link:

http://johnwayne.com/

Reclaiming John Wayne: The Duke's Ten Best Films

Timothy Mangan at ocregister.com looks back at the late great actor John Wayne.

John Wayne was a great actor. There, I said it.

It may get me thrown out of certain intellectual circles, it may cause some to wonder about my politics, but that’s my premise and I’m sticking with it.

Sooner or later (usually sooner), anyone who writes about Wayne has to face the topic.

“For years,” writes Scott Eyman in his new biography “John Wayne: The Life and Legend,” “the debate about Wayne centered around the ridiculous question of whether or not he could act, with liberals generally taking the negative position.” That’s a big part of the problem in assessing Wayne’s acting skills. His personal politics (conservative) got in the way of seeing the acting clearly, much in the same way that Mel Gibson’s loopiness or Woody Allen’s family troubles get in the way of seeing them.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/wayne-631983-film-way.html

You can also read an earlier post on John Wayne via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2013/05/happy-birthday-to-film-legend-john-wayne.html

The 5 Best Goddamn John Wayne Movies

John Wayne is one of my favorite actors and he made so many fine, entertaining and memorable films that picking five of his best is hard to do.

But Calum Marsch at Esquire.com did just that.

You can read his piece and view video clips of his picks via the below link:

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/john-wayne-best-movies?src=nl&mag=esq&list=nl_enl_mtv_non_060414_john-wayne-movies

These are good choices, as I too am a great fan of The Searchers, They Were Expendable, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. I've watched these films again and again over the years.  

But I would substitute Fort Apache for Flying Leathernecks and The Shootist for Rio Bravo.      

Happy Birthday To Film Legend John Wayne

Happy Birthday to the one and only Duke. Actor John Wayne was born on this day in 1907.

John Wayne is one of my favorite actors. I love his westerns with director John Ford, such as The Searchers, Fort Apache and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. And I love John Wayne's war films with John Ford, such as They Were Expendable and The Wings of Eagles.

I also love The Alamo, which John Wayne directed as well as starred in, and I love The Shootist, John Wayne's last film.

Like many of his fans, I can watch John Wayne films over and over. He was a great actor and a great American.    

You can read about John Wayne and watch a video clip on his life via the below link:

http://www.biography.com/people/john-wayne-9525664

A Look Back At 'Fort Apache,' John Ford's Classic Film Of The U.S. Cavalry

 

Fort Apache, director John Ford's classic U.S. Cavalry tale, is one of my favorite Ford films and one of my favorite films.

John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Ward Bond, Pedro Armendariz and many other actors are all at the top of their game in this great film. I served in the U.S. Navy, not the U.S. Cavalry, but the Ford characters are all familiar to me.

I've seen Fort Apache a dozen times and I want to see it again after reading Lee Pfeiffer's cinemaretro.com review of the Blu-Ray DVD release of the film.

Fort Apache, however, is a far more sinister look at the West, one that was decades ahead of its time in terms of presenting the case of the Native Americans in a sympathetic fashion. It's ironic that people like Marlon Brando, who extolled the cause of Native American rights, would cite Ford's films as having been detrimental to the Indian cause. In fact, Ford was so highly regarded by the Navajo that he was made an honorary member of the tribe, primarily because of his consistent efforts to improve their lives.

...The story clearly takes its origins from the legend of General Custer, with Henry Fonda portraying Lt. Colonel Owen Thursday, a strutting martinet who is assigned as commanding officer of Fort Apache, a remote U.S. cavalry outpost deep inside territory that has been characterized by raids led by the legendary Apache chief Cochise. It isn't long before Thursday locks horns with his second in command, Capt. Kirby York (John Wayne). York tries to convince Thursday that his heavy-handed philosophies might be appropriate for West Point, but are hopelessly out of touch with commanding an outpost in this region. Thursday will have none of it. He runs a tight ship, tolerates no dissent from his edicts and alienates any hope of striking a truce with the Apaches by intentionally breaking his word and personally insulting Cochise.

...There are also all those wonderful Ford "stock company" actors including Ward Bond, Guy Kibbee, Victor McLaglen, Jack Pennick, Anna Lee, Pedro Armendariz, as well as George O'Brien.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.cinemaretro.com/index.php?/archives/6674-BLU-RAY-REVIEW-JOHN-FORDS-FORT-APACHE-1948-STARRING-JOHN-WAYNE-AND-HENRY-FONDA.html

Legendary Film Director John Ford Honored With U.S. Stamp

 

The Los Angeles Times reports that the late, great film director John Ford has been honored by the U.S. Postal Service with a stamp.

Ford, one of my favorite film directors, made many of my favorite films, such as Fort Apache, The Horse Soldiers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, They Were Expendable and The Searchers. All of these classic films featured John Wayne, one of my favorite actors.

You can read the Times piece via the below link:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2011/08/iconic-director-john-ford-to-become-a-forever-stamp.html

John Ford was a proud patriot and he served in the U.S. Navy Reserve, rising to the rank of Rear Admiral. You can read about his naval service via the below link:

http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/ford_john.htm

The Duke's Best Westerns

AMC will broadcast an all-day marathon of John Wayne movies tomorrow on Saturday, January 8th.

At AMC's blog, Robert Silva offers his view of John Wayne's best westerns. You can read the piece via the below link:

http://blogs.amctv.com/movie-blog/2011/01/john-wayne-best-westerns.php

Like Silva, I would list The Searchers and True Grit in the top five, but I would move up The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Fort Apache, as well as The Shootist, Wayne's final great film.

It should be noted that the late, great John Ford directed Wayne in The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Fort Apache. Henry Hathaway directed True Grit and Don Siegel directed The Shootist.

Actors We Miss: The Late, Great John Wayne

Jeffery M. Anderson wrote an interesting piece for Cinematical about the late, great actor John Wayne.

Like Anderson, I admire and miss the old Duke. Unlike Anderson, I share many of Wayne's conservative views.

I love John Wayne in The Searchers, Fort Apache, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, True Grit, The Green Berets, The Alamo, The Cowboys, The Shootist and in many, many more films. I've seen these films and others many times over the years.

I can even even watch his not-so-classic films again and again, because the Duke had great screen presence.

You can read read Anderson's piece via the below link:

http://blog.moviefone.com/2010/10/15/john-wayne-actors-we-miss/

I too miss the Duke, but he left behind some great films for our enjoyment.

John Wayne's Top Ten Classic Films

The British newspaper The Telegraph offered a top ten list of John Wayne's classic films.

This is a good list, but I would have replaced The Comancheros with Fort Apache.

I like The Comancheros, but Fort Apache is a brilliant John Ford film.

The Duke is great, of course, but so is Henry Fonda as the misguided and arrogant Colonel (based on George Custer). And Ward Bond, Victor McLaglen and Pedro Armendariz are wonderful as the three sergeants. This is one of the best films about the military in my view. I love this film.

I would have also replaced El Dorado (a remake of Rio Bravo) with The Cowboys. The Cowboys is a great film about youth and old age. The Duke's heroic fight to the death in the film with a much younger man is a classic.

You can read the newspaper piece via the below link:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/classic-movies/8018083/Top-10-John-Wayne-movies.html