John Wayne Poll Part 1

[profblues]

First of two polls featuring John Wayne movies. Pick as many favorites as you wish.

And always feel free to comment.

[erik]

I selected all three films of the John Ford "cavalry" trilogy that Wayne starred in (FORT APACHE; SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON; RIO GRANDE), plus, among others, STAGECOACH (since that's the film that made him a household word).

But as an actor, a true actor and not just an American icon, I think he gave perhaps his best performance opposite Maureen O'Hara in THE QUIET MAN. It helped, of course, that it was "Pappy" Ford in the director's chair again; but that film, to me, was really The Duke at his best in terms of actual acting.

[profblues]

Dec 11, 2013 10:23:57 GMT -5 erik said:

I selected all three films of the John Ford "cavalry" trilogy that Wayne starred in (FORT APACHE; SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON; RIO GRANDE), plus, among others, STAGECOACH (since that's the film that made him a household word).

But as an actor, a true actor and not just an American icon, I think he gave perhaps his best performance opposite Maureen O'Hara in THE QUIET MAN. It helped, of course, that it was "Pappy" Ford in the director's chair again; but that film, to me, was really The Duke at his best in terms of actual acting.

while I think The Quiet Man certainly was both a memorable and good role for him I put his performance as the anti-hero Ethan Edwards in The Searchers ahead of that.

He played a slightly similar, though not as angry or bigoted, anti-hero role in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and his performance as Sgt Stryker in Sands of Iwo Jima got him an Academy Award nomination long before True Grit. And his role of Tom Dunson in Howard Hawk's "Red River" helped make it one of, if not the best Western ever made.

[egoodstein]

Dec 11, 2013 12:16:58 GMT -5 profblues said:

Dec 11, 2013 10:23:57 GMT -5 erik said:

I selected all three films of the John Ford "cavalry" trilogy that Wayne starred in (FORT APACHE; SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON; RIO GRANDE), plus, among others, STAGECOACH (since that's the film that made him a household word).

But as an actor, a true actor and not just an American icon, I think he gave perhaps his best performance opposite Maureen O'Hara in THE QUIET MAN. It helped, of course, that it was "Pappy" Ford in the director's chair again; but that film, to me, was really The Duke at his best in terms of actual acting.

while I think The Quiet Man certainly was both a memorable and good role for him I put his performance as the anti-hero Ethan Edwards in The Searchers ahead of that.

He played a slightly similar, though not as angry or bigoted, anti-hero role in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and his performance as Sgt Stryker in Sands of Iwo Jima got him an Academy Award nomination long before True Grit. And his role of Tom Dunson in Howard Hawk's "Red River" helped make it one of, if not the best Western ever made.

**I agree about all those points, & I voted for those films on this list too. I'm not as huge a fan of JW overall, but I do like him a lot in certain films, and the films themselves. I also agree that Red River is one of the very best Westerns ever made. & Stagecoach really set the standard for Westerns after it & one of the best at that kind of plot still.