I hope it's a decent transfer, the color was KO even in a not-mint print.
― the increasing costive borborygmi (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 9 June 2015 21:55 (eight years ago) link
These screengrabs look nice: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews22/john_wayne_american_icon_collection.htm#shepherd
― Love, Wilco (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 9 June 2015 22:57 (eight years ago) link
Thanks for the ideas.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 9 June 2015 23:05 (eight years ago) link
btw Ford was either slow or bullshitting when he said he didnt know JW could act until Red River. He's fine here.
― the increasing costive borborygmi (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 10 June 2015 00:57 (eight years ago) link
Wayne's acting is pretty economical of postures, gestures, facial expressions and vocal inflections. They're easy to miss.
― Aimless, Wednesday, 10 June 2015 01:04 (eight years ago) link
btw Ford was either slow or bullshitting when he said he didnt know JW could act until Red River. He's fine here.― the increasing costive borborygmi (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, June 9, 2015 7:57 PM (48 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― the increasing costive borborygmi (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, June 9, 2015 7:57 PM (48 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
ford was famous for insulting wayne (though not as much as he insulted ward bond) and i get the feeling that statement was kind of an insult above all else.
― he quipped with heat (amateurist), Wednesday, 10 June 2015 01:46 (eight years ago) link
ain't that right, pappy?
Wayne has never been less than credible in every one of his major films (I guess The Alamo is major). Watching In Harm's Way for the first time during the holiday break, I was moved by how quiet and courtly he can be.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 10 June 2015 02:03 (eight years ago) link
in harm's way is a great film
― he quipped with heat (amateurist), Wednesday, 10 June 2015 02:09 (eight years ago) link
might be the only great film produced by a studio in 1965, actually.
― he quipped with heat (amateurist), Wednesday, 10 June 2015 02:10 (eight years ago) link
tbh i think the idea that john wayne was a bad actor is mainly popular with ppl who have never watched a john wayne movie
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Wednesday, 10 June 2015 02:11 (eight years ago) link
and from decades of terrible imitations/lampoons.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 10 June 2015 02:20 (eight years ago) link
― he quipped with heat (amateurist), Tuesday, June 9, 2015 10:09 PM
I like Bunny Lake is Missing but I thought Preminger's thread snapped with The Cardinal. I checked it out, ready to face some ponderosity, but no! The editing rhythm was beautiful and the elisions almost Ozu-like.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 10 June 2015 02:22 (eight years ago) link
yeah, i was surprised by it, too. bunny lake is missing is a masterpiece... until the ending, which is hasty and something of a letdown.
― he quipped with heat (amateurist), Wednesday, 10 June 2015 02:39 (eight years ago) link
I like a lot of things in IHW and Bunny, but neither really works for me.
― the increasing costive borborygmi (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 10 June 2015 02:57 (eight years ago) link
Two extraordinary things about Hondo, his OK 3D western directed by John Farrow:
He and Geraldine Page (her film debut) play really well together.
Wayne describes his character as part Indian. That has to be the only time.
― skateboards are the new combover (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 5 July 2015 16:25 (eight years ago) link
Saw it years ago and, yeah, their pairing was odd and persuasive -- a bit like Wayne and Clift.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 5 July 2015 17:08 (eight years ago) link
Just finished the Scott Eyman bio: excellent.
The above encouraged me to (re-)watch Wake of the Red Witch, which should be considered one of Wayne's better ones. He's terse and mean in this, perhaps uncustomarily cruel. It's a bit convoluted in construction and the action scenes are awkward, but the dialogue has a real bite to it. Gail Russell is not much of an actress but has a truly otherworldly look at least.
Took a look at Hondo also and one can see why it was a favorite of Wayne's. It seems to effectively condense his ideas about the West and it also looks great. Maybe a little too simple to be a great film though.
― Josefa, Tuesday, 17 January 2017 17:01 (seven years ago) link
^carrying on...
Saw a 35mm print of Wake of the Red Witch (1948) last night at a (second) retro of Republic studio films restored by the Film Foundation; it was introduced by Martin Scorsese, who pegged it (occasionally quoting his cinephile pal Bertrand Tavernier) as a "heightened" romance with "a fight with a giant octopus" "influenced by the Brontes." (or, Wuthering Heights at Sea.) Luther Adler plays Wayne's antagonist, a South Pacific shipping magnate and romantic rival for Gail Russell, for all he's worth. Very strange, but certainly gives the lie to the idea that Wayne didn't play any unhinged sadists before The Searchers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMamNIofWBU
(rumor has it the rubber octopus was the one later stolen by Ed Wood)
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Friday, 10 August 2018 15:25 (five years ago) link
thought this piece was superb:
https://lithub.com/on-john-wayne-cancel-culture-and-the-art-of-problematic-artists/
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Friday, 21 June 2019 19:35 (four years ago) link
fabulous. thx for posting
― Οὖτις, Friday, 21 June 2019 19:50 (four years ago) link
Very good, and I didn't know the factual basis of The Searchers.
The fact that Wayne is dead makes the films less problematic for me. Also, the Rock Hudson story shows that there's ambiguity even in someone who professed opinions as vile as some of Wayne's.
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Friday, 21 June 2019 20:27 (four years ago) link
well "he was one of the good ones", I assume
― Οὖτις, Friday, 21 June 2019 20:42 (four years ago) link
agree that the dead are less problematic, you aren't supporting them financially for one thing
― Οὖτις, Friday, 21 June 2019 20:43 (four years ago) link
Haven’t read the whole thing yet and am still more of a Red River than Searchers guy, but yeah.
― TS The Students vs. The Regents (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 21 June 2019 21:19 (four years ago) link
herself ("she" for the strict anglicans) is just after reading didion's piece on him over several meetings around the filming of katie elder and was surprised by the gentleness with which she treats the subject
― godfellaz (darraghmac), Friday, 21 June 2019 21:29 (four years ago) link
Damn that was excellent. And like Mrs Dmac I was struck by the gentleness of the Didion interview too. Quite unexpected.
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 22 June 2019 00:04 (four years ago) link
I like that
― Dan S, Saturday, 22 June 2019 00:08 (four years ago) link
I wonder if Duke ever found out that Ford was likely bisexual (as Maureen O'Hara did)
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 22 June 2019 01:36 (four years ago) link
When the Ward Bond rehabilitation comes I'm gonna kill myself
― Josefa, Saturday, 22 June 2019 02:10 (four years ago) link
Feel like I just read something unsavory about him in Me Cheeta.
― If I were a POLL I’d be Zinging (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 22 June 2019 02:33 (four years ago) link
According to all accounts he was an obnoxious loud-mouthed reactionary asshole. Nobody liked him except for John Wayne, who was his bestie.
― Josefa, Saturday, 22 June 2019 02:36 (four years ago) link
Good actor though
― Josefa, Saturday, 22 June 2019 02:37 (four years ago) link
Just found this in The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, by David Thomson:
But that begins to take us into his strange career as boaster, bully, boozer, and member of the unwholesome John Ford gang. As such, there are many stories about Bond’s stupidity, his uncouthness, and his being the butt of jokes—and sadly these are more entertaining than many of the films he made. Which is not to say that Bond was a hopeless case:
― If I were a POLL I’d be Zinging (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 22 June 2019 02:43 (four years ago) link
he made Wayne look like a mild Red-basher
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 22 June 2019 02:45 (four years ago) link
I've given The Searchers about six chances; still think it's as overlit, broadly written and acted, and pokily directed as I did twenty years ago. I've given up because Ford and Duke made at least four better cowboy films less revered.
― recriminations from the nitpicking woke (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 22 June 2019 02:47 (four years ago) link
That has more or less been my experience as well
― If I were a POLL I’d be Zinging (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 22 June 2019 02:59 (four years ago) link
Speaking of Ward Bond, do yourselves a favor and don't do a deep dive looking into Walter Brennan. Hoo-boy, what an asshole...
― frustration and wonky passion (C. Grisso/McCain), Saturday, 22 June 2019 03:01 (four years ago) link
with or without teeth?
― recriminations from the nitpicking woke (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 22 June 2019 03:03 (four years ago) link
Both!
― frustration and wonky passion (C. Grisso/McCain), Saturday, 22 June 2019 03:03 (four years ago) link
5th-best Ford-Wayne western is still pretty good
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 22 June 2019 03:05 (four years ago) link
I liked The Searchers the one and only time I saw it years ago. The only thing that threw me was the goofy mid-film fight scene (Jonathan Lethem's amazing essay on the film had already defended/contextualized the racial stuff for me). But yeah, of the Ford/Wayne collabs I've seen, Fort Apache is at least as good and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence is definitely superior.
Has anyone seen either of the films Wayne made as a (co-)director? Are they as embarrassing as rumoured?
― Herman Woke (cryptosicko), Saturday, 22 June 2019 03:14 (four years ago) link
The Green Berets is. The Alamo is only embarrassing as an Oscar contender, which is what Wayne campaigned for it to be.
― Josefa, Saturday, 22 June 2019 03:23 (four years ago) link
I like The Searchers the way I like Blood Meridian. It’s depressing & violent & I wouldn’t ever casually recommend it but there’s something sort of mythological/biblical about it that I really like & that keeps me watching it every now and then. goth-western? idk.
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 22 June 2019 03:41 (four years ago) link
the searchers is not a perfect film, but i think wayne's performance in it is just as good as everyone says. the character as written is meant to be fairly mysterious and contradictory, and he conveys that really well. ward bond is pretty good in it too. definitely some fairly weak attempts at comic relief in there, but mostly what i remember is the incredible bleakness of so much of it, especially toward the beginning. wayne's quiet reaction to realizing that his brother's family has been brutally killed is probably his most moving on-screen moment.
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Saturday, 22 June 2019 07:11 (four years ago) link
Did anyone (else) read the Scott Eyman boo?
― If I were a POLL I’d be Zinging (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 22 June 2019 20:02 (four years ago) link
I mean the lionization of The Searchers is largely in part due to its messiness. Ford certainly made more airtight Westerns, but this is the one that broke things apart. Occupies a space similar to Vertigo in my eyes. Not one that succeeds as much in the ways the more straight genre films did, but ultimately the most interesting.
― circa1916, Sunday, 23 June 2019 02:18 (four years ago) link
xp I read the Scott Eyman bio. Thought it was good, it revealed sides to the man I wasn't aware of. I read it back-to-back with the Bob Hope bio by Richard Zoglin, so that was an interesting comparison.
― Josefa, Sunday, 23 June 2019 14:11 (four years ago) link
man, I love Hope (thru the mid '50s) but his life sounded fairly dull (aside from the infidelities), so I didn't read that.
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 23 June 2019 14:12 (four years ago) link
I learned a great term from that Eyman bio, dog heavy, meaning the under assistant West Coast Promotion Man to the main heavy, who comes out and kicks the dog.What’d you think of the Hope bio?
― If I were a POLL I’d be Zinging (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 23 June 2019 14:19 (four years ago) link