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Post by mattgarth on May 26, 2019 20:19:18 GMT
His 112th birthday -- born in Winterset, Iowa as Marion Robert Morrison.
'Duke' was his airedale dog's name, and eventually became his own nickname
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Post by mikef6 on May 26, 2019 21:33:54 GMT
Matt -
In the very early John Wayne film "Telegraph Trail" (1933), his horse (who had second billing-must have had a good agent) was named "Duke."
Our first child was born on May 25, after a long tough time in delivery. When I commented later that if she had held out one more day, he could have been born on John Wayne's birthday, she was not amused.
Apropos your user name and avatar, last week I saw "Red River" for the first time in years. It holds Wayne's second best performance (according to me-after "The Searchers"). Often underappreciated as an actor, perhaps because as he became an icon, more and more of his movies were structured around his image, giving the impression that he "played himself." He is also very good in The Sands Of Iwo Jima” (1949), “Island In The Sky” (1953), “The High And The Mighty” (1954), and “Wings Of Eagles” (1957).
I ran across a statement recently that pointed out that for all of Wayne's fame and recognition factor, he didn't really appear in that many great movies. I would be interested in hearing some comments on that. Did he really appear in "that many" great movies or not? He appeared in a lot of good movies. Does that count?
Thanks for reminding us of the date.
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Post by bravomailer on May 26, 2019 23:21:25 GMT
"Lest we forget."
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Post by OldAussie on May 27, 2019 0:49:18 GMT
His best was the afternoon movie yesterday - Red River (in colour).
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Post by mattgarth on May 27, 2019 0:54:58 GMT
In ... COLOR Sacre bleu ... sacrilege!
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Post by vegalyra on May 27, 2019 2:09:30 GMT
On Memorial Day Weekend, July 4, or Veterans Day, you'd be likely to see a "Duke" war film being played on AMC or TBS back in the late 80s and 90s. It was inevitable... One of my favorite films of his though is Legend of the Lost.
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Post by bravomailer on May 27, 2019 2:46:59 GMT
The Duke is under-appreciated and often maligned as an actor. He was a very good actor and had remarkable presence, though his movies and performances became rather repetitive by the mid-sixties. Unfortunately, today he's running afoul of the thought police, who think they can erase him from our collective memory. That'll be the day.
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Post by TheGoodMan19 on May 27, 2019 4:12:24 GMT
Wayne could turn in some mind numbingly bad performances. The Conqueror, The Green Berets, Jet Pilot. He did a ton of the "funny fat man" performances, McClintock, Big Jake, True Grit. But when he was given a good role, he was as good as anyone, Red River, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and, above all, The Searchers. His best roles was when his character had a darker side (add Sands of Iwo Jima). It would have been fun to have seen The Duke take a truly antagonist role, Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the West type.
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Post by mattgarth on May 27, 2019 11:50:09 GMT
Adding two favorites late in his career: THE COWBOYS (it's RED RIVER -- kids version) THE SHOOTIST (his grande finale) and ... he dies in both
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Post by bravomailer on May 27, 2019 12:55:03 GMT
A lot of the dislike for The Green Berets stems from its politics. Nonetheless, the Duke and his pal Bruce Cabot look way too old and overweight for their parts. And then there's the sun setting in the east at the end.
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on May 27, 2019 13:14:12 GMT
From one of my favorite John Wayne movies, True Grit (1969): He was clearly one of the all-time most beloved movie stars. I was just a kid when he died and did not quite understand who he was, but I could feel the palpable sadness in our house, my stepdad was a western fan.
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Post by teleadm on May 27, 2019 17:39:42 GMT
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Post by bravomailer on May 27, 2019 17:49:42 GMT
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Post by TheGoodMan19 on May 27, 2019 20:01:47 GMT
Just watched this one last night. One of my favorite Duke scenes One of my favorite Duke images (hell one of my favorite film images)
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Post by bravomailer on May 28, 2019 3:03:28 GMT
"Liberty Valance is the toughest man south of the Picketwire . . . next to me."
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Post by phillipsdan83 on May 28, 2019 3:15:06 GMT
Wayne was one of my all time favorites. Check him out in ISLAND IN THE SKY, where he plays the pilot of a transport trying to keep his crew together and insure they survive after it crashes in Greenland. It's one of his most underrated movies.
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Post by mstreepsucks on May 28, 2019 4:05:55 GMT
almost legendary, that's the only thing I can come up with. But I stand by my statement ok?
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Post by twothousandonemark on May 28, 2019 4:47:11 GMT
The Longest Day Donovan's Reef Hatari! Island in the Sky
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Post by kijii on May 28, 2019 5:24:36 GMT
I am really NOT a John Wayne fan--I generally don't like his Westerns or War movies since he rarely changes his delivery or personality from movie to movie, IMO. Same walk, talk, and swagger which seems phony to me. However, I have found a couple of interesting John Wayne movies that go a little beyond what I have learned to expect from him: The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958) is an interesting movie about an aspect of American history we generally don't know much about-- And-- John Ford's The Wings of Eagles (1957) which is a biopic about Frank W. 'Spig' Wead, a naval aviator who became disabled and was forced to start a new career as a writer. He, Wead, received two Oscar nominations, wrote several plays, screenplays, and stories: www.imdb.com/name/nm0915693/?ref_=nmawd_awd_nm
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on May 29, 2019 3:34:11 GMT
True legend worthy of the name. Going to work on - finally - my all time top ten favourite Duke movies. Back tonight to post it.
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