John Wayne: one last shot before the final farewell - Telegraph Classic Movies John Wayne: one last shot before the final farewell In 1976, battling the cancer that would kill him, John Wayne stepped in front of the camera for one final face-off. The result was 'The Shootist’, a rich and elegiac western and, says Philip Horne, a fitting swansong for Hollywood’s most courageous gunslinger. Image 1 of 2 His last stand: John Wayne in a scene from 'The Shootist' (1976), made when he was terminally ill with cancer. John Wayne in The Shootist Photo: PARAMOUNT/ALLSTAR By Philip Horne 5:51PM BST 20 Sep 2010 During the making of The Shootist (1976), Don Siegel’s rich, elegiac western about an ageing gunfighter dying of “a cancer”, its star John Wayne became too ill to film. The actor had had a lung removed twelve years earlier and was now struggling with the stomach cancer that would eventually lead to his death in 1979.

A few days later, when Wayne bravely returned to the set, he picked a quarrel with the director, who had carried on filming a gunfight scene in his absence, over the way his character was shown killing a villain. He forced Siegel to redo the scene, declaring: “Whatever the cause, I would never shoot anyone in the back. It’s unthinkable for my image… I spent many years in this business building up my image.” He certainly did – but he wasn’t the only one. The 6ft 4in Marion Morrison was a former USC American football player with a few bit parts to his rather girlie name, when he was spotted carrying an armchair across the Fox Studios lot by legendary director Raoul Walsh (one-eyed, but sharp-eyed). Walsh cast him in The Big Trail (1930) – a western, the genre Wayne would above all be associated with – and renamed him after Revolutionary War general “Mad Anthony Wayne”. But it was director John Ford who turned Wayne into an all-time star, by casting him as the Ringo Kid, in Stagecoach (1939), which is perhaps the definitive western (though based on a Maupassant novel).

Wayne’s character makes his first appearance standing on the trail, firing into the air to stop the stagecoach and, as the camera whips in to a breathless close-up, he announces that: “You might need me and this Winchester, Curly!” In his dark placket-front shirt, light army-style braces, bandana and broad white hat, Ringo is a dazzling vision of male beauty and heroism. Wayne was already 32, with 78 films behind him – but the freshness of this “Kid” is unforgettable. Related Articles John Wayne's eye patch up for auction 28 Sep 2011 The Shootist opens with a montage of its hero’s past exploits – taken from Red River (Howard Hawks, 1948), Hondo (John Farrow, 1953), Rio Bravo and El Dorado (Hawks, 1959 and 1966). It’s clear this is a summation of Wayne’s career as well as that of his character in The Shootist, JB Books.

Younger film-watchers may not be so aware of the Wayne legend, or of his films – it was against the heroic Wayne, in a sense, that the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone (and then Eastwood) were angled; so too were the Seventies anti-westerns of Peckinpah. Wayne’s fame is probably not dissociable, in fact, from the Cold War era – from anxieties about communism (his quite reactionary politics could be ugly) and gender (it’s often clear that his characters, men’s men, are ill at ease with women). But no one who sees a good John Wayne film (and there are many) will forget his complex, dignified presence. He was large, physically powerful, with a rolling gait, increasingly craggy as time went on – but always a careful watcher of others and a man of few words. He had indomitable courage and a basically decent heart, though also a quick temper and a capacity for black, violent rages. The great Wayne films directed by John Ford don’t figure in The Shootist montage – they’re too distinctive and different in tone.

It was Hawks (at least according to Hawks) who discovered that Wayne could actually act, making him the ruthless Thomas Dunson of Red River – and in that auteur’s view: “If you try to make a western with somebody besides Wayne, you’re not in the sphere of violence and action that you are when you’ve got Wayne.” It was after this that Ford again used him for westerns – starting with the Cavalry trilogy of Fort Apache (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) and Rio Grande (1950), in which he plays respectively youngish, oldish and indeterminately middle-aged characters in three films within a period of two and a half years. Wayne had already turned 40 and the elegiac is the keynote of these films. By the Fifties the western was being reshaped and challenged by new, noirish approaches. Although James Stewart (directed by Anthony Mann) and Randolph Scott (directed by Budd Boetticher) were perhaps the pioneers in the reinvention, Wayne played his part in it, too.

Indeed, he is magnificent as scary, obsessed, conflicted, heroic loner Ethan Edwards, “a man that can go crazy wild”, in Ford’s masterpiece, The Searchers (1956), which was an inspiration for Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976). Without his seniors, Ford or Hawks directing him, though, Wayne could be lazy or wayward and autocratic. In his 1993 autobiography, A Siegel Film, Siegel is amusingly vivid about Wayne’s “difficult” behaviour. In the Sixties and Seventies, a grumpy Wayne complained that in the old westerns antagonists despatched each other by the gun – while in the new ones they preferred to talk each other to death. But as the American critic Andrew Sarris points out, the (highly patriotic) films Wayne himself directed, The Alamo (1960) and The Green Berets (1968) are themselves very talky. Good directors – like Ford, Hawks and Siegel – knew how to pare down Wayne’s dialogue and make use of his surprising subtlety.

Hawks said that on Rio Bravo, where Dean Martin is his wrecked, drunken deputy, Wayne wasn’t at first sure how to play their scenes. The director’s tip: “He’s your best friend, watch him. See whether he is coming through.” And Wayne replied: “OK, that’s enough for me.” It obviously was. Toward the end of his career, Wayne often played parts trading self-consciously on his star image – and sometimes, in True Grit (1969), for which he won his Oscar, and The Cowboys (1972), for example, the films are seriously rewarding entertainment. The Shootist, based on a novel by Glendon Swarthout, is the culmination of this reflective, retrospective tendency. It was known that it might be Wayne’s last film, so there’s a remarkable supporting cast – above all James Stewart in a fine cameo as the Carson City doctor (Wayne and Stewart had co-starred in Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)), but also Lauren Bacall and the young Ron Howard (who would go on to direct Apollo 13 and Frost/Nixon) – as well as the great western veteran Richard Boone.

The movie is set in January 1901 – Queen Victoria has just died – and in Carson City, Nevada, which has telephones, trams and motor cars, and is planning on introducing metalled roads, gas lamps and electricity. It is the whole 20th-century package. However, Wayne’s character, the abrasive JB Books, almost sole survivor of the violent Old West, does not belong in this tame, commercialised new world – about which the film is pretty ambivalent. A succession of venal characters try to exploit the nationwide fame of Books – by interviewing, marrying, burying, or stealing souvenirs from him – while quite a few others want to kill him. The nasty little sheriff wants to drive him out of town. But while the film is tinged with bitter ironies, the touching drama of his relations with his landlady (Bacall) and her restless son (Howard), who idolises Books, plus our certainty that a John Wayne movie is not going to end with its hero dying of cancer, make it an involving, exciting experience. The Shootist is a fitting memorial to a great star – and leaves his image indelibly fixed on our imagination.

Free John Wayne DVDs Get The Shootist free on DVD inside next Saturday’s Telegraph; and another John Wayne classic, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, with Sunday’s paper. Philip Horne is Professor of English at UCL Start your free 30 day Amazon Prime trial» John Wayne Dead of Cancer on Coast at 72 John Wayne Dead of Cancer on Coast at 72 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS os Angeles, June 11 -- John Wayne, the veteran Hollywood actor, died today at 5:23 P.M., Pacific daylight time, at U.C.L.A. Medical Center, a hospital spokesman said. The cause of death was given as complications from cancer. Mr. Wayne, 72 years old, had been hospitalized for treatment of cancer of the lower abdomen since May 2, when he was admitted for his second cancer operation of the year. His lower intestine was partly removed in the operation. Mr. Wayne's second bout with cancer began earlier this year with what was officially described as a routine gall bladder operation. He had entered the Medical Center Jan. 10 and two days later his stomach was removed in a 9*- hour operation when a low-grade cancerous tumor was discovered.

'Duke,' an American Hero by Richard Shephard In more than 200 films made over 50 years, John Wayne saddled up to become the greatest figure of one of America's greatest native art forms, the western. The movies he starred in rode the range from out-of-the-money sagebrush quickies to such classics as "Stagecoach" and "Red River." He won an Oscar as best actor for another western, "True Grit," in 1969. Yet some of the best films he made told stories far from the wilds of the West, such as "The Quiet Man" and "The Long Voyage Home." In the last decades of his career, Mr. Wayne became something of an American folk figure, hero to some, villain to others, for his outspoken views. He was politically conservative and, although he scorned politics as a way of life for himself, he enthusiastically supported Richard M. Nixon, Barry Goldwater, Spiro T. Agnew, Ronald Reagan and others who, he felt, fought for his concept of Americanism and anti-Communism. But it was for millions of moviegoers who saw him only on the big screen that John Wayne really existed.

He had not created the western with its clear-cut conflict between good and bad, right and wrong, but it was impossible to mention the word "western" without thinking of "the Duke," as he was called. By the early 1960's, 161 of his films had grossed $350 million, and he had been paid as much as $666,000 to make a movie--although in his early days on screen, his salary ran to no more than two or three figures a week. It was rarely a simple matter to find a unanimous opinion on Mr. Wayne, whether it had to do with his acting or his politics. Film critics were lavish in praise of him in some roles and shrugged wearily as they candled his less notable efforts; one critic, apparently overexposed to westerns, angered him by commenting, "It never Waynes, but it pours." Mr. Wayne was co-director and star of "The Green Berets," a 1968 film that supported the United States action in Vietnam.

The movie was assailed by many major critics on all grounds, political and esthetic, but the public apparently did not mind; in only six months, it had earned $1 million above its production cost of $7 million. Won Growing Respect As the years passed, Mr. Wayne was recognized as some sort of American natural resource, and his various critics, political and film, looked on him with more respect. Abbie Hoffman, the radical of the 1960's paid tribute to Mr. Wayne's singularity. Reviewing "The Cowboys," made in 1972, Vincent Canby, film critic of The New York Times, who did not particularly care for it, wrote, "Wayne is, of course, marvelously indestructible, and he has become an almost perfect father figure." But years before he became anything close to a father figure, Mr. Wayne had become a symbolic male figure, a man of impregnable virility and the embodiment of simplistic, laconic virtues, packaged in a well-built 6-foot-4-inch, 225- pound frame.

He had a handsome and hearty face, with crinkles around eyes that were too lidded to express much emotion but gave the impression of a man of action, an outdoor man who chafed at a settled life. He was laconic on screen. And when he shambled into view, one could sense the arrival of coiled vigor awaiting only provocation to be sprung. His demeanor and his roles were those of a man who did not look for trouble but was relentless in tackling it when it affronted him. This screen presence emerged particularly under the ministrations of John Ford and Howard Hawks, the directors. Overcame Great Odds Appearances were not altogether deceiving. Mr. Wayne loved adventure and the outdoors. He did believe that things were either right or wrong, and he came back against great odds. In 1964, a malignant tumor was removed from his chest and left lung, and within several months he was on location making another movie. More recently, he found himself the target of much hate mail from the right wing, whose political idol he had been, after he supported President Carter's espousal of the Panama Canal treaties. He did not mind.

Although his basic views had not moderated, his tolerance, it seemed, had. He had even shown up at a function to congratulate Jane Fonda, who was to the left what he was to the right, on winning a screen award. Mr. Wayne made his last public appearance at the Academy Awards ceremony in April, where he drew an emotional standing ovation when he strode out on stage to present the Oscar for best picture. He was recently presented with a special Congressional medal of the kind given to such national figures as the Wright Brothers. Between his first starring role in "The Big Trail" in 1930, and his last one, as the most celebrated gunslinger in the West who finds he is dying of cancer in "The Shootist," in 1976, Mr. Wayne shot his way through generations of film fans with little change in style or personality. He had consciously adapted his posture for that first movie and retained it. He was sometimes inseparable from it in the flesh. Watched Movies Being Made "When I started, I knew I was no actor and I went to work on this Wayne thing," he once recalled. "It was as deliberate a projection as you'll ever see.

I figured I needed a gimmick, so I dreamed up the drawl, the squint and a way of moving meant to suggest that I wasn't looking for trouble but would just as soon throw a bottle at your head as not. I practiced in front of a mirror." His entrance into films was as fortuitous as any made by a young fellow who grew up near the Hollywood badlands. But the Wayne saga actually started much farther east, in the small town of Winterset, Iowa, where he was born May 26, 1907, and was named Marion Michael Morrison. His father, Clyde L. Morrison, had a drugstore, but when Marion was 6 years old, his father, because of ill health, moved the family to Southern California and became a homesteader with an 80-acre farm. Not long after, the family settled in Glendale, where Mr. Morrison again went and opened a pharmacy. His store was in the same building as a theater, and young Marion, who rose at 4 A.M. to deliver newspapers and then, after school and football practice, delivered orders from the store, went to the movies four or five times a week, free.

Even earlier, when he was 7, he had learned about horses and played cowboy. In Glendale, he saw movies being made at the Triangle Studios, where they often shot outdoor scenes. The link between horse and camera was yet to be forged, but the influences were there from the beginning. Along the way he had acquired the nickname "Duke." It came from an Airedale terrier he had had, he used to say as he debunked press releases that tried to explain the moniker as some sort of rubbed-off nobility. Came to Ford's Attention He worked as truck driver, fruit picker, soda jerk and ice hauler and was an honor student and a member of an outstanding football team at high school. His athletic talents brought him a football scholarship at the University of Southern California, but in his second year he broke an ankle and dropped out. While he was still at school, he got a job, as other football players did, as a scenery mover at Fox Films. John Ford was attracted to the youth's hulking physique and made him a "fourth-assistant prop boy." When Mr.

Ford was making a submarine film on location in the channel off Catalina Island, the regular stuntmen refused to go into the water because of rough seas. Mr. Ford asked the prop boy if he would. He did, immediately, and became part of the Ford team. In an early film, Republic Pictures gave him a screen credit as Michael Burn and, in another, as Duke Morrison. When Raoul Walsh cast him as the star of "The Big Trail," his expensive, $2 million western, the director thought that Marion was too sissified a name for a western hero, and "John Wayne" was born. Rode in 40 Westerns The movie was a flop. It had been shot as a talking picture on 72-millimeter film, a "superwestern" designed for large screens that required protection equipment that few movie houses were equipped with. After two nonwesterns, Mr. Wayne retreated into short-order horse operas. Between 1933 and 1939, he made more than 40 westerns, all Grade B or C undertakings, interspersed with several that took him off the range but not into any particular recognition.

Then, like a good guy riding in to relieve the oppressed, his old benefactor, Mr. Ford, came along to cast Mr. Wayne as the Ringo Kid in the Oscar-winning "Stagecoach," the 1939 movie that took westerns from the Saturday afternoon for-kids-only category and attracted the attention of more intellectual film critics. It was a turning point also for Mr. Wayne. His next major role found him in a milieu far from the cactus sets. He played a simple Swedish lad in the crew of a freighter in "The Voyage Home," Mr. Ford's 1940 film based on the sea plays of Eugene O'Neill. Mr. Wayne's work from that point reads like a bill of lading of popular Hollywood wares. He starred with Marlene Dietrich in three films: "Seven Sinners" (1940), "Pittsburgh" (1943) and "The Spoilers" (1942). Others included Cecil B. De Mille's "Reap the Wild Wind" (1942), as well as a slew of World War II movies that embraced Mr.

Ford's "They Were Expendable" in 1945. Later came "Fort Apache" and "Red River," in 1948, and "Three Godfathers" and "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon," both in 1949. In 1952, Mr. Wayne showed off to best effect as the young Irish-American returned to Ireland in Mr. Ford's "The Quiet Man." It was a much-acclaimed film and is still a frequent feature on television. Invested in 'The Alamo' By the late 1940's, Mr. Wayne had already been transformed from a dashing young adventurer to an older one, no less dashing, but in a somewhat more restrained tempo. In "Red River," directed by Mr. Hawks, Mr. Wayne portrayed a ruthless cattle baron, not altogether a good guy, but one with some depth to him. In this instance, Montgomery Clift, the co-star, represented the forces for good. Mr. Wayne invested $1.2 million in 1960 to make "The Alamo," about the fight between the Americans--the good guys--and the Mexicans--the bad guys.

He played Davy Crockett. The picture was very dear to his heart because, he said, "We wanted to re-create a moment in history that will show this generation of Americans what their country still stands for . . what some of their forebears went through to win what they had to have or die*liberty and freedom." He was bitterly disappointed when the film failed. However, he quickly went on to other work: "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," "Hatari" and "The Longest Day," all in 1962; "How the West Was Won" in 1963, and "El Dorado" in 1967, another film directed by Mr. Hawks. In 1969, Mr. Wayne was almost universally hailed when he starred in "True Grit," directed by Henry Hathaway. Mr. Wayne played a disreputable, one-eyed, drunken, fat old man who was a Federal Marshal called Rooster Cogburn. In 1970, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded him an Oscar for his portrayal.

The success of "True Grit" led to "Rooster Cogburn," in 1975, in which he co-starred with Katharine Hepburn in her first western. Mr. Wayne starred in his first television special, "Swing Out, Sweet Land," a paean of patriotism, in 1970, and later became well-known for various television appearances. He never made a television series and had deep reservations about the medium's approach to the western. "Television has a tendency to reach a little," he observed, referring to television westerns' propensities for psychological insights. "In their westerns, they are getting away from the simplicity and the fact that those men were fighting the elements and the rawness of nature and didn't have time for this couch-work." His anti-Communist sentiments led Mr. Wayne to help found the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals in 1944, and he was its president for two terms. The organization, which eventually disbanded, was accused of having given the names of suspected Communists in the film industry to the House Committee on Un-American Activities, although Mr.

Wayne said later that he had never been party to any such thing. Once, interviewed about civil rights, he said: "I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to the point of responsibility. I don't believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people." He said that when he was in school, he was a "socialist," but not for long. He said that he was a rebel, but not one like the youngsters of the late 60's. "Mine is a rebellion against the monotony of life," he said. "The rebellion in these kids*particularly the S.D.S.'ers and those groups*seems to be a kind of dissension by rote." In his later years, Mr. Wayne, who had invested in oil and also in a shrimp business in Panama, among other things, became more financially conservative than he had been. He had not kept a very tight hand on his money earlier, and at one point realized he was not as well off as he had thought. However, he was not impoverished.

He lived with his third wife, Pilar Palette Wayne, who was born in Peru, in an 11-room, seven-bathroom, $175,000 house in Newport Beach, Calif., where he had a 135-foot yacht. He owned cattle ranches in Stanfield and Springerville, Ariz. Mr. Wayne's first two marriages, to Josephine Saenz and Esperanzo Bauer, also Latin Americans, ended in divorces. He had seven children from his marriages, and more than 15 grandchildren. The Shootist (1976) - IMDb IMDb 17 January 2017 4:34 PM, UTC NEWS There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error A dying gunfighter spends his last days looking for a way to die with a minimum of pain and a maximum of dignity.

Director: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC Check out India Spotlight Related News a list of 29 titles created 04 Jun 2011 a list of 46 titles created 07 Dec 2011 a list of 31 titles created 04 Oct 2014 a list of 35 titles created 21 Nov 2014 a list of 36 titles created 8 months ago Search for " The Shootist " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 3 nominations. See more awards » Videos Marshal Rooster Cogburn unwillingly teams up with Eula Goodnight to track down the killers of her father. Director: Stuart Millar In 1909, when John Fain's gang kidnaps Big Jake McCandles' grandson and hold him for ransom, Big Jake sets out to rescue the boy.

Directors: George Sherman, John Wayne Stars: John Wayne, Richard Boone, Maureen O'Hara When his cattle drivers abandon him for the gold fields, rancher Wil Andersen is forced to take on a collection of young boys as his drivers in order to get his herd to market in time to ... See full summary » Director: Mark Rydell Ranch owner Katie Elder's four sons determine to avenge the murder of their father and the swindling of their mother. Director: Henry Hathaway A drunken, hard-nosed U.S. Marshal and a Texas Ranger help a stubborn teenager track down her father's murderer in Indian territory. Director: Henry Hathaway A tough Marshal has a difficult task when his two sons join a gang and rob a bank. Director: Andrew V. McLaglen After the Civil War, Cord McNally searches for the traitor whose perfidy caused the defeat of McNally's unit and the loss of a close friend. Director: Howard Hawks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X Cole Thornton, a gunfighter for hire, joins forces with an old friend, Sheriff J.P. Hara.

Together with an old Indian fighter and a gambler, they help a rancher and his family fight a rival rancher that is trying to steal their water. Director: Howard Hawks Cattle baron John Chisum joins forces with Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett to fight the Lincoln County land war. Director: Andrew V. McLaglen A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a cripple, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy. Director: Howard Hawks A senator, who became famous for killing a notorious outlaw, returns for the funeral of an old friend and tells the truth about his deed. Director: John Ford After the Civil War, ex-Union Colonel John Henry Thomas and ex-Confederate Colonel James Langdon are leading two disparate groups of people through strife-torn Mexico. John Henry and ... See full summary » Director: Andrew V. McLaglen Edit Storyline John Books an aging gunfighter goes to see a doctor he knows for a second opinion after another doctor told him he has a cancer which is terminal. The doctor confirms what the other said. He says Books has a month maybe two left.

He takes a room in the boarding house and the son of the woman who runs it recognizes him and tells his mother who he is. She doesn't like his kind but when he tells her of his condition, she empathizes. Her son wants him to teach him how to use a gun. Books tries to tell him that killing is not something he wants to live with. Books, not wanting to go through the agony of dying from cancer, tries to find a quicker way to go. Written by rcs0411@yahoo.com See All (139) » Taglines: He's got to face a gunfight once more to live up to his legend once more - TO WIN JUST ONE MORE TIME. Genres: 20 August 1976 (USA) See more » Also Known As: Did You Know?

Trivia Although now widely regarded as one of the finest final movies of any star, along with The Misfits (1961) starring Clark Gable and On Golden Pond (1981) starring Henry Fonda , this was never actually intended as John Wayne 's last movie, particularly since it was not until January 1979 - three years after filming had begun - that he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. In July 1978, after recovering from open heart surgery, he announced that he was intending to make a movie called "Beau John" with Ron Howard , but for some reason it never happened. Wayne was ill throughout "The Shootist," and his generally poor health made it difficult for him to get insurance for additional film projects. See more » Goofs During the attempted robbery of Books he shoots a shotgun laying on the ground. The shotgun flies in the opposite direction of what it should when being shot at from where Books was. See more » Quotes John Bernard Books : [Clearly depressed when Hostetler tells him his cancer is fatal] You told me I was strong as an ox!

(United States) – See all my reviews The Shootist is a great swan song to the film career of John Wayne and a great movie on its own merit. The parallels between Wayne's life at the time the film was made and the character(J.B.Brooks) he plays in the movie only add a poignant sadness. This sadness is part of the film, it never lets up. The first jolt of sadness comes when we see Wayne visiting with the town doctor, played by Jimmy Stewart. Wayne is diagnosed with an incurable cancer. This news seems to trouble Stewarts character as much as it does with Waynes. As both characters try to come to grips with this diagnosis, I was left wondering: am I watching the work of two gifted actors play acting in a movie or am I watching two old friends bringing their reality into the movie?. Whatever the case, the scene is very moving. Also in the cast is Lauren Bacall as the recently widowed inn keeper. She helps keep Wayne's character fulfilled and feisty during his last days. Ironicly, this job was something she was familiar with, as she did this in real life with her late husband Humphrey Bogart.

There are many good performances by the rest of the cast. But it is the circumstances under which they were filmed for Wayne, that make his a truly unbelievable performance. There are two of his scenes that stand out for me: 1) Listening to John Wayne and Scatman Crothers haggle over the selling price of Wayne's horse. Yeah, it might not sound like much here in print, but that's just a testimony of how well these two actors pull that scene off. Just great. 2) Seeing John Wayne enter the saloon with a purpose for the last time. Truly one of the most bone chilling cinematic moments of all time. If you love John Wayne then I'm certain that you love this film already. If you can take or leave John Wayne, you might at least like this film. But if you don't care for Wayne or for that matter, if you don't like westerns, you'll probably still like this film. At least I hope so. 9/10. Clark Richards 15 of 16 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes Behind-the-scenes of John Wayne's last film THE SHOOTIST (1976) - YouTube Behind-the-scenes of John Wayne's last film THE SHOOTIST (1976) Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on May 16, 2015 On-set interviews with John Wayne and behind-the-scenes footage of Wayne's last film 'The Shootist' from director Don Siegel. Category John Wayne / Legacy / Biography MARION MORRISON WAS BORN IN IOWA IN 1907, came West with his family in 1914, and pretty soon was being called “Duke” by everyone who knew him, after some local firefighters in Glendale, California, where the family eventually settled, thought it would be fun to give the boy the same nickname as his constant companion, a proud Airedale dog named Duke.

Living with his parents, Clyde “Doc” Morrison, a pharmacist, and Mary “Molly” Brown, and alongside his brother Robert, Duke was academically and athletically quite successful at Glendale High School. His exploits there led to a football scholarship at the University of Southern California (USC), where he attended until a bodysurfing injury ended his football dreams, and led him to look for work at local movie studios to support himself once the Great Depression was in full swing. Duke eventually found a job at the Fox Film Corporation as a member of what they called a swing gang, meaning he was a prop man, moving furniture, material, and equipment around for filmmakers. A few of them felt he was the right build to stand in a few scenes here and there as an extra, starting naturally as a football player in “Brown of Harvard” in 1926 and again in “Drop Kick” in 1927. It wasn’t long before one of Hollywood’s great directors, John Ford, noticed Morrison and gave him a job herding geese on a 1928 film called “Mother Machree.” Eventually, the two of them hit it off and became lifelong friends.

But at the time, Morrison tried to learn about filmmaking from Ford, and Ford kept using Morrison as an extra. Eventually, Ford introduced Duke to his colleague, director Raoul Walsh, who gave Morrison his first starring role, as the cowboy Breck Coleman in the 1930 film, “The Big Trail.” During this production, studio executives gave Morrison a new name in the hopes of making him an easier sell to film audiences, and he readily accepted the moniker “John Wayne,” saying it was OK with him if the people paying his salary wanted to spruce up his name. Throughout the 1930’s, John Wayne diligently and strategically honed his craft while starring in a series of less well-known Westerns features and serials, preferring to spend most of his time with stuntmen and real-life cowboys so that they could teach him the skills necessary to play a realistic cowboy on screen. He developed over this period his signature walk, a fist-fighting style, wardrobe preferences, and performed many of his own stunts.

Then, in 1939, John Ford gave him his big break as the Ringo Kid in the classic film, “Stagecoach.” Wayne’s performance made him a star for good, and earned Ford an Academy Award nomination for Best Director. The 1940’s and ‘50’s saw John Wayne develop into an important figure on the American landscape with a series of starring roles in major Westerns and War pictures. He also toured the world and entertained troops tirelessly for the USO, all while raising a growing family that, by this time, included son Michael, daughter Toni, son Patrick, and daughter Melinda. As the 1960’s and ‘70’s arrived, he added romantic comedies, police dramas, and historical dramas to his portfolio, earned three Academy Award nominations, and finally won the big award in 1969 for his performance as Rooster Cogburn in “True Grit.” His final on-screen performance, as a gunman struck with cancer in 1976’s “The Shootist” is considered among his greatest performances.

Along the way, he survived a 1964 bout with lung cancer that saw him lose a lung and several ribs, and a couple of divorces before remarrying and having three more children—Marisa, Aissa, and Ethan. Later in life, he increasingly spoke out on national issues, and played a central role in helping to get the United States Senate to ratify the Panama Canal Treaties in 1977, shortly before his death. No doubt, he would have kept going if he hadn’t been struck down with stomach cancer in 1979, finally succumbing to the disease that year at the age of 72. Posthumously, John Wayne was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. But perhaps John Wayne’s greatest legacy was his dying wish, which was that his family and supporters use his name and likeness to help the doctors fight cancer—a wish that led to the creation of the John Wayne Cancer Foundation (JWCF) in 1985. Over the years, JWCF has supported research by funding the creation of the Cancer Institute that bears his name, education programs, awareness programs, and support groups. © John Wayne Enterprises, LLC. All rights reserved.

Question: Prior to his death in 1976 what was John Wayne's last film?
Answer: The Shootist