The stand out movie The Quiet Man, starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara was shot in and around the village of Cong in County Mayo so, making a mental note of the name of the place, I decided that if I was … Read more
When it comes to songs being sung over the credits of any John Wayne Western then the number one spot goes to the Sons of the Pioneers singing the theme to The Searchers. After that maybe El Dorado and True … Read more
I’m only reviewing the following movie simply because it’s a Western and it has John Wayne in it, although he probably only appears for about two minutes in a film that runs for approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes. So what’s … Read more
A question for all you John Wayne fans out there – in what year did our hero make the film Rio Bravo? If you answer 1959, when Wayne starred in the film directed by Howard Hawks, then you’d be wrong. … Read more
The Longest Day (1962) I admit to this being one of my all time favourite WWII films that just happens to have John Wayne in it. It’s not strictly a John Wayne WWII movie, as he features alongside a positive plethora of … Read more
Operation Pacific (1951) Now. What’s not to like about Operation Pacific? It’s John Wayne’s first WWII movie of the 1950s AND it’s a submarine movie as well and I just love submarine films. Whilst not exactly in the same league as Das … Read more
I recently wrote an article listing my 10 Best John Wayne Westerns I saw as a child. The reaction was very positive but quite a few people lamented the omission of John Wayne classics such as Red River, McLintock and She Wore … Read more
The eagle-eyed among you will note that this website is called MostlyWesterns.com and the John Wayne fans will acknowledge that The Quiet Man movie isn’t actually a Western. The Quiet Man – A Western Movie I wanted to write about … Read more
The Wild West has produced a vast amount of cultural imagery so if I watch a western movie there are certain icons of the Old West that I wouldn’t be surprised to see and many that I would expect. image … Read more
At the end of The Searchers, John Wayne famously stands in the doorway as the family he has helped to reunite disappear into the darkness of the cabin in front of him. Before turning away into the four winds that … Read more
I first met Andrew McLaglen in the early summer of 1998. A producer friend of mine, Gareth Owen, who is still based at Pinewood, suggested we send Andrew a copy of my script for a film called Connemara Days, which … Read more
By my reckoning the first film John Wayne appeared in that touched upon the subject of the second World War was John Ford’s rather melancholy The Long Voyage Home, released in 1940. The boat on which Wayne serves as a … Read more
…and slightly beyond.Like a lot of people who grew up in the 50s and 60s – mostly boys I have to admit – John Wayne was the ultimate hero and John Wayne Westerns were the best movie experience. He kicked … Read more
Back in the early 90s I was reading a book by the now-deceased British film director Lindsay Anderson (he directed If, O Lucky Man and Britannia Hospital among others) when I came across the mention of a meeting Anderson had … Read more
I first made contact with Harry Carey Jr., or ‘Dobe’; as he came to be known, back in 1998. I’d met up with the film director Andrew McLaglen at Pinewood studios to discuss a script I’d written about the making … Read more
In the preface to a book dedicated solely to a collection of essays on The Searchers (The Searchers: Essays and Reflections on John Ford’s Classic Western, edited by Eckstein and Lehman) one of the editor’s mentions a video installation set … Read more
They say you should never meet your heros as they’re bound to let you down or disappoint in one way or another. I’ve been very lucky to have met both my musical hero, Brian Wilson, and also my film hero, … Read more
Early John Wayne Films Directed by John Ford There is a suggestion in a number of Wayne filmographies that his first appearance in a John Ford film was as an extra in the silent Mother Machree, released in 1928. The … Read more
This is a short celebration of some of those great movie double bills that I remember from the 1960s. Prior to the advent of video / DVD, the only way you could watch one of your favourite movies again after … Read more