The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

A young lawyer (James Stewart) from the East is robbed by the villainous Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). Taken in by townsfolk, he plots a way to stop Valance without resorting to guns and violence. That doesn’t work out too great.

The story is told almost entirely in flashback with an elderly Ransom Stoddard (Stewart), now a senator, telling reporters the story of Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) at his funeral. The mystery of who actually shot Valance (the tenderfoot Stoddard or veteran gunfighter Doniphon) plays out well.

Wayne (54) and Stewart (53) compete for the affection of Vera Miles (31), revealing that the actors were much older than their characters. Not an uncommon occurrence for the Duke. Lee Marvin was recommended by Wayne after they worked on The Comancheros (1961) together, and he makes for an especially villainous villain.

The Man who Shot Liberty Valance is an entertaining tale, if not truly engrossing. It is considered one of John Ford’s latter masterpieces and did well at the box office. I found it a little better than watchable. AMRU 3.

The Quiet Man (1952)

A retired boxer (John Wayne) from America returns to his childhood home in Ireland in search of the quiet life. A beautiful hot-headed woman (Maureen O’Hara) catches his eye, but getting her brother’s permission to court her proves complicated.

Of John Ford’s four Oscars, none were for westerns. This was his last win and first when directing his old friend, Wayne. He was also nominated for Stagecoach (1939). While not a Western, The Quiet Man sports its fair share of Duke machismo. The only reasonable way to resolve your differences is a fist fight.

Victor McLaglen plays the aforementioned brother. His health wasn’t great so the big fight scene needed to be handled carefully. Barry Fitzgerald, everyone’s favorite leprechaun, is the village matchmaker. Frequent Ford collaborator Ward Bond is the village priest. Ford gave his older brother Francis a small part. Within nine years all four would be gone.

Romance is the primary story driver, and it is technically a comedy, so I suppose it’s a rom-com. Perhaps so, but it’s an unconventional one. While some story elements didn’t age particularly well, it’s still a very pleasant watch. AMRU 3.5.

The Shootist (1976)

An aging gunfighter (or “shootist”, if you will) receives a bad prognosis and heads to Carson City to die. As people discover his identity, and his situation, a peaceful end was no longer in the cards.

A 69 year old John Wayne plays 50 year old JB Brooks, and 51 year old Lauren Bacall is his 40ish landlord. This wouldn’t be a problem except both leads already looked older than their stated ages. Even 68 year old James Stewart looked 80 plus. Ron Howard was about 21 playing a teenager. This isn’t a big knock but it was a distraction.

A bigger knock are the uneven performances. Harry Morgan just couldn’t deliver his lines with any conviction. That may say more about the lines than him, but they didn’t really work. Stewart, coaxed out of retirement, looked off of his game. And Ron Howard is apparently a terrible actor.

That all said, it’s a pretty interesting story. Also interesting is the story that Wayne, dying of cancer, chose this film to be his last to go out on. Unfortunately that story is also fiction. I understand that the Duke wasn’t diagnosed for another three years. However when pitching the film on Johnny, he did allude to a cancer diagnosis. Either way, it’s not why he wanted to do the film and he never intended it to be his last.

The Shootist was an interesting watch. Wayne’s performance was rather naturalistic and a refreshing change from his regular stock character style. A worthwhile watch, despite its flaws. AMRU 3.5.

3 Godfathers (1948)

After robbing a small town bank, three bandits (John Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz, and Harry Carey Jr.) go on the run in the desert with very little water. They happen upon a dying young(ish) woman about to deliver her first baby and the three promise to take care of him.

Westerns can be a little two dimensional, and 3 Godfathers is a perfect example. It doesn’t help that it’s also a Christmas movie. Our three outlaws represent the three wise men from the east. This isn’t interpretation, it is literally in the text. We watch three criminal but essentially good people learn to put the welfare of a baby over themselves. You know, the true meaning of Christmas.

The film is dedicated to director John Ford’s friend Harry Carey who died prior to this film’s production. He appeared in an earlier version of the story and son Carey Jr gets an Introducing credit, even though it’s his fifth film role. A youtube video brought my attention to prolific character actor Ward Bond. He has appeared in 261 feature films including thirteen Best Picture nominees and four winners. Silent film star Mae Marsh makes an appearance. She has a ton of screen credits.

3 Godfathers is a fine movie, I suppose, and definitely holds your interest, but the lack of depth and wooden performances (looking at you, Duke!) make for a sometimes annoying watch. AMRU 2.5.

"Quit talkin' Mex in front of the infant!"

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

Retiring Captain Brittles (John Wayne) goes on one last patrol, this time to evacuate the women-folk. Oh, and one of them wears a yellow ribbon. It’s unimportant.

The ribbon signifies that the woman (Joanne Dru) is officially going steady. Between two young officers, she chooses the rich pretty-boy over the one with a promising military career ahead of him. I struggled to follow this sub plot and I needn't. It was very uninteresting.

A young John Agar appears as Brittles right hand. He was married to Shirley Temple at this time. Also here is Harry Carey Jr, not to be confused with Harry Caray. And also is Ben Johnson whom we recently saw in Shane.

The 41 year old Wayne was surprisingly believable as the 60 year old captain, impressing long time collaborator John Ford, who said he "didn't know the big son of a bitch could act!" I haven’t seen too many of Wayne from his young and fit years and he didn’t much resemble himself from his El Dorado years, which is a good thing.

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon has a few strange elements, like Wayne getting a man thrown in the brig for some reason. Also, there is the element of Wayne trying to avoid hostilities with the natives rather than the more familiar narrative. Pointless love triangle aside, the major theme explores a man dealing with his obsolescence. Who is he if not the gruff captain the others look to for leadership. This is a theme I can relate to. AMRU 3.5.

El Dorado (1966)

Bad guy Bart (Ed Asner) tries to hire gunfighter Cole (John Wayne) to assist in stealing the MacDonald clan’s water, but Cole decides to take sides with his good buddy J.P. (Robert Mitchum), the drunken sheriff of El Dorado. After arresting Black Bart, our heroes hold up in the town jail while Bart’s gang threatens to make trouble.

El Dorado bears more than a passing familiarity with Rio Bravo, both directed by Howard Hawks. He denied this was a remake, and the inciting incidents differ, but the situation is identical and there is a one to one correlation between the principal characters of the two films.

Lou Grant playing the heavy was quite strange, but the role suited him. A young James Caan played the Ricky Nelson character. Arthur Hunnicutt (playing the Walter Brennan character) was actually three years younger than Wayne. Love interest Charlene Holt was slightly closer to Wayne’s age than Angie Dickinson. Wayne was uncomfortable about the age gap in the earlier film.

The internal logic of traditional westerns can be pretty bonkers, this being a prime example. Bart is taken into custody because he is responsible for a non-lethal shooting, but the many other killings go completely unremarked. Our heroes must hide in the jail because it is too dangerous for them to venture out, even for food, until the story requires it. The grizzled Indian fighter uses a crossbow for stealth, but carries a bugle to announce the attack. And Cole uses his guns like Homer Simpson in that one episode.

El Dorado isn’t a terribly original film, and it doesn't help that it closely resembles a much better film. And it was something of a throwback at the time. Remember, this was contemporary to the Dollars trilogy. But that’s not to say it’s not enjoyable. It was box office success. Hawks and Wayne deliver, Chinese impression, aside. AMRU 3.5.

Rio Bravo (1959)

While harassing the town drunk (Dean Martin), bad guy Joe shoots a man trying to intervene. Sheriff Chance (John Wayne) locks him up but bad Joe happens to have a rich and influential brother who doesn’t want baby bro to stand trial. Now our Sheriff has to stand down ruthless cutthroats with deputy drunk and grandpa Stumpy (Walter Brennan). Hottie Feathers (Angie Dickinson) shows up because why not.

What the hell is Ricky Nelson doing in this film? For the uninitiated, Ricky Nelson was a pop singer, teen heart throb, and star of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Think a nineteen year old Justin Bieber if he had a smidge of acting talent. The studio pushed him onto Howard Hawks who gave him the fewest lines and fairly little screen time. Guys of the day found it a little bit easier to convince their gals to see a western.

The luster started to diminish on Wayne’s career, his last few films not doing very well. The answer was to fall back on the John Wayne character which he successfully did into the 1970’s. Gone were the days of out of character roles and non-genre pictures. Not a bad trade off, really.

I suppose the point of adding the Dickinson character was to raise the stakes for our hero. Sassy and independent as she was, Feathers was still a woman that needed protection. 24 years her senior, Wayne was uncomfortable with the love scenes. Angie looked plenty comfortable to me.

I never thought of Dean Martin as a serious actor. Comedian and singer, but never an acTOR! But to be fair, this is the first feature I’ve seen him in, maybe ever. And he acted the living crap out of it. The Dude was a complex character with nuance and a real character arc. This was by far the best film he appeared in and I don’t expect that his other performances will match up.

Rio Bravo is a film school staple and a favorite of Quentin Tarantino. It is a very interesting film and the opening shot is quite good, but in the end it is just a hero's tale. Serve justice, save the town, get the girl, and leave the character growth for the people around you. AMRU 4.

The Three Musketeers (1933)

I was looking for another serial. Something I can watch an episode of when I didn't have time or didn't want to think too hard. The Three Musketeers sounded good. Besides it features early work by some big names. How quickly I was disappointed.

The Musketeers in this version resemble less the work by Dumas and more the work of some dumb ass. These musketeers are soldiers in the French foreign legion and closer akin to stooges than anything else. Anyhow, back to the story, as it were.

John Wayne is Lieutenant Tom Wayne (seriously?), hotshot American flyer. In the right place at the right time, Tom saves the lives of three men, Clancy, Renard, and Schmidt, who call themselves The Three Musketeers. The Musketeers in turn decide they will help out Lieutenant Tom whenever he needs it. Over the twelve chapters, that turns out to be a lot.

The French are fighting in the middle east, but in this picturesque setting there is controversy. Apparently there are Arabs who don't fully appreciate their French overlords. They actually want to throw them out, the ungrateful brutes! They are led by a mysterious person known as El Shaitan. Helping him out is a young Lieutenant Armand (Creighton Chaney credited as "Creighton Chaney") who also happens to be the brother of young Tom's sweetheart Elaine. Armand has a change of heart, and therefore is murdered by the villainous El Shaitan. Of course Tom has to stumble into the scene at just the wrong moment to get him accused of the murder.

There is a missing letter that clears Tom, some stuff about weapons trafficking, and lots of guesswork as to who this Shaitan character really is. Tom and the gang get into one pointless fight after another, there are narrow escapes typical of the genre, and lots of fancy horsemanship, if you're into that sort of thing. In the end, well, you can guess it.

I started this serial quite a while ago. Back in cold weather, actually. It took me so long to complete because it really wasn't all that interesting. In fact, I would certainly have given up on it had the likes of the Duke, Creighton, and a young Noah Beery Jr. not been in it (the later two, just barely). I'll be more selective for my next serial.

I'll say this, though. It was quite clear even then that Wayne could command a scene. Not knowing who he was, I could see guessing that he would go on to bigger things. The restored version still had fairly a poor audio tract, and the flashbacks made me think once I was accidentally watching the same episode a second time. Not intended to be a historical document, it succeeds in that modest goal. For me, I should have skipped it. AMRU 2.

Stagecoach (1939)

A bunch of people are sharing a stagecoach ride from Tonto, Arizona (not kidding) to Lordsburg, New Mexico. Each has their own back story. The principle problem is that Geronimo is on the warpath, which means he is active in his attacks on the heathen invaders (that'd be us whities). The Calvary has offered an escort for part of the way.

Along the way, they meet up with escaped murderer, the Ringo Kid (John Wayne). Seems Ringo busted out to git the man who shot his paw. And his brother. The man that shot them both. As luck would have it, that man is in Lordsburg. That place is totally hopping.

Ringo hitches a ride, principally because the Sheriff was riding shotgun (youngsters take note: that's what that means!) and will take Ringo into custody once they reach their destination. So, the outlaw joins the group of the wife looking for her soldier husband, the drunken doctor, the banker, the gambler, the hot chick of ill repute, the liquor salesman, the eskimo, the indian chief, the space pilot, the ... ok, I fibbed about a couple of those.

Anyhow, at every stop their prospects look worse and worse. The Calvary can't protect them, evidence of injun attacks is everywhere, and lady-looking-for-husband is getting sick. Whatever shall become of them?

This here is a character study. Most of the people don't know each other and they all have their own secret. As the story progresses and the challenges become more intense, their character is revealed.

Excellent movie. Chuck full of western stereotypes and character actors, this granddaddy of the the modern western is the movie that made John Wayne a star. Before Chuck Norris was Chuck Norris, there was John Wayne. Wayne never gave nobody a karate chop, but at least he could act. Sure, Chuck was a great martial artist, but his acting was absolutely craptacular. Back in the day, nobody was tougher than the Duke. Nobody. AMRU 4.

The Searchers (1956)

Rated the best western by AFI's 10 Top 10 list. I chose this movie based entirely on that fact. I'm not a fan of westerns, but I keep seeing pieces of Clint Eastwood movies and my interest was piqued.

John Wayne returns from the civil war, three years late. The indians lead a diversion to bring our hero away from the homestead, then attack Wayne's brother and his family. Wayne's (Ethan, actually) family is slaughtered, except for his two nieces (a young Natalie Wood playing one), who are captured. Ethan becomes obsessed with rescuing them.

The scenery is great. The plot is surprisingly complex. Ethan's motivation is a mystery at first. There are details that only the most careful viewer will pick up on. I watched this with my 12 year old son. He had the same reaction I had. Interesting, but this is the best western? Ever? Wayne, while being the "hero", isn't really a hero character. Some of the acting was fairly poor (I'm looking at you, Jeffrey Hunter!)

Still, it was worth watching. 3 AMRUs.