{"id":4194,"date":"2018-07-05T17:42:22","date_gmt":"2018-07-05T16:42:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/?p=4194"},"modified":"2019-05-31T20:38:43","modified_gmt":"2019-05-31T19:38:43","slug":"john-waynes-movie-moments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/john-waynes-movie-moments\/","title":{"rendered":"John Wayne\u2019s Memorable Movie Magic Moments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_65 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/john-waynes-movie-moments\/#John_Waynes_Memorable_Movie_%E2%80%98Magic_Moments\" title=\"John Wayne&#8217;s Memorable Movie &#8216;Magic Moments&#8217;\">John Wayne&#8217;s Memorable Movie &#8216;Magic Moments&#8217;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/john-waynes-movie-moments\/#Red_River\" title=\" Red River\"> Red River<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/john-waynes-movie-moments\/#The_Quiet_Man\" title=\"The Quiet Man\">The Quiet Man<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/john-waynes-movie-moments\/#The_Searchers\" title=\"The Searchers\">The Searchers<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/john-waynes-movie-moments\/#The_Alamo\" title=\"The Alamo\">The Alamo<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/john-waynes-movie-moments\/#Stagecoach\" title=\"Stagecoach\">Stagecoach<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/john-waynes-movie-moments\/#Hondo\" title=\"Hondo\">Hondo<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/john-waynes-movie-moments\/#Rio_Bravo\" title=\"Rio Bravo\">Rio Bravo<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"John_Waynes_Memorable_Movie_%E2%80%98Magic_Moments\"><\/span>John Wayne&#8217;s Memorable Movie &#8216;Magic Moments&#8217;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<p>Back in the days before DVDs and YouTube I used to try to capture on VHS tape from the TV what I considered to be those \u2018magic moments\u2019 in a John Wayne movie when Duke gets to express himself either with a memorable speech, or a silent gesture, a piece of dialogue or a casual look that just stops you in your tracks and says \u2018yep. That\u2019s John Wayne alright\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>I thought I\u2019d share some of the contents of that long-lost VHS tape.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s invariably more than one example of a memorable moment in a John Wayne film worth highlighting but I\u2019m choosing the one that impresses me the most.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t have any particular favourite \u2018moment\u2019 so they\u2019re not in any specific order of preference, but they\u2019re all John Wayne, and that\u2019s good enough for me.<\/p>\n<h2 data-css=\"tve-u-1646b23021c\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Red_River\"><\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3168 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/redriver-1-728x546.jpg\" alt=\"Poster of Red River starring John Wayne\" width=\"728\" height=\"546\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/redriver-1-728x546.jpg 728w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/redriver-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/redriver-1.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\" \/><br \/>Red River<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A lot of people have pointed out the almost balletic movement of Wayne\u2019s body when he shoots Cherry Valance prior to the climactic showdown between Dunson and his adopted son Matt in Red River.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s all done in one take, so no cutting away or cheating with an edit by Howard Hawks in this sequence.<\/p>\n<p>Valance calls Dunson out, Dunson just keeps on walking then pulls his gun, swivels, shoots Valance, gets hit with a bullet himself, grabs his side then turns and continues marching towards the man who took his herd away from him.<\/p>\n<p>Pure Perfection.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-3338\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/the-quiet-man-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"540\" height=\"522\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/the-quiet-man-2.jpg 540w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/the-quiet-man-2-300x290.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 data-css=\"tve-u-1646b23021c\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Quiet_Man\"><\/span>The Quiet Man<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Somewhere in a field in Ireland, just a few miles outside of the village of Cong in County Mayo, there still lies the remains of a stone wall that momentarily bore the weight of the great man himself.<\/p>\n<p>After an argument, a very angry Sean Thornton has been abandoned by his wife, Mary Kate, and is left to walk a long way home.<\/p>\n<p>He strides across a field, straddles the wall, then lights a cigarette. He takes a puff or two then, after a silent moment of contemplation, Thornton discards the barely-smoked object behind him with a dramatic sweep of his arms then carries on trudging across the field.<\/p>\n<p>The small interlude on the wall with the cigarette serves to dissipate his anger, and Wayne signals that moment to the audience just by movement, body language and gesture alone.<\/p>\n<p>Even so, I still wouldn\u2019t have wanted to be in Kate\u2019s shoes when he got home \u2013 although cross-dressing isn\u2019t exactly my cup of tea.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4198 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/WayneSearchers-728x410.jpg\" alt=\"John Wayne in The Searchers\" width=\"728\" height=\"410\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/WayneSearchers-728x410.jpg 728w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/WayneSearchers-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/WayneSearchers.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 data-css=\"tve-u-1646b23021c\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Searchers\"><\/span>The Searchers<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>I could have made numerous observations on the gestures and silent facial expressions that Wayne utilises to communicate the emotional turmoil lurking just beneath the surface of Ethan Edwards.<\/p>\n<p>But I pick this moment in the film because it signifies the point where life is never going to be the same for him again.<\/p>\n<p>Ethan and his fellow compatriots have been lured away in pursuit of a stolen herd of cattle whilst Scar and his Comanche warriors attack the unprotected homesteads the men have left behind.<\/p>\n<p>Whilst everyone rushes back to check on the fate of their loved ones, Ethan stops to tend to his horse first to make sure the animal can make the return journey.<\/p>\n<p>As he wipes the animal down he looks sorrowfully off into the distance, both he and the audience knowing instinctively that he will be too late to save his brother\u2019s family.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text thrv-inline-text\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/uproxx.com\/tv\/breaking-bad-the-searchers-glenn-frankel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n<h2 data-css=\"tve-u-1646b23021c\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3761 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Alamo-1-728x332.jpg\" alt=\"The Alamo scene John Wayne\" width=\"728\" height=\"332\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Alamo-1-728x332.jpg 728w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Alamo-1.jpg 1023w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\" \/><\/h2>\n<h2 data-css=\"tve-u-1646b23021c\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Alamo\"><\/span>The Alamo<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Wayne as Crockett expends a lot of energy trying to convince his fellow Tennesseans that standing up to Santa Anna is the right thing to do, going so far as faking a letter from the Mexican despot himself in which he threatens to \u2018chastise\u2019 the defenders \u2018even unto death\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Despite Crockett\u2019s protestations that he actually wrote the letter his men still decide to throw their lot in.<\/p>\n<p>Later on a decision is made to leave the mission but Bowie backtracks and stands tall with Travis behind \u2018the line in the sand\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s at this moment that there\u2019s a refreshingly honest and quite believable reaction by Wayne as he sits on his horse, not realising that his men have already started to dismount in order to join Travis.<\/p>\n<p>He looks to either side of him in complete surprise as he finds himself almost the last to dismount and stay with his men \u2013 \u2018even unto death\u2019.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3383 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/john-waynefb-4-728x381.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"728\" height=\"381\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/john-waynefb-4-728x381.jpg 728w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/john-waynefb-4-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/john-waynefb-4-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/john-waynefb-4.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 data-css=\"tve-u-1646b23021c\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Stagecoach\"><\/span>Stagecoach<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Ringo Kid emerges from the darkness, Winchester in hand, as he slowly moves towards a final confrontation with the Plummer Gang.<\/p>\n<p>You can tell he\u2019s in no hurry as he waits to pick his moment.<\/p>\n<p>There is no hesitation in his stride as he moves purposefully down the street of Lourdsburg, almost as if he relishes stalking the three men who killed his brother.<\/p>\n<p>Ringo continues towards the gang then, bending his left knee, suddenly throws himself forward, firing even before he hits the ground. All it takes is three shots.<\/p>\n<p>Justice has been served in true John Wayne style.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3162 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/hondo-1-715x550.jpg\" alt=\"John Wayne in Hondo poster\" width=\"715\" height=\"550\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/hondo-1-715x550.jpg 715w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/hondo-1-300x231.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/hondo-1.jpg 850w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 715px) 100vw, 715px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 data-css=\"tve-u-1646b23021c\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Hondo\"><\/span>Hondo<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The post-credit sequence to Hondo is very similar to the beginning of The Searchers, with Wayne appearing from out of the landscape as if from nowhere, then slowly moving towards a lonely cabin under the close observation of the woman of the house.<\/p>\n<p>This time, however, JW isn\u2019t on horseback.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s carrying his saddle and accompanied by a dog but there\u2019s a majesty to the way in which Wayne walks out of the desert towards the camera, an effect heightened for audiences who saw the film in 3D upon it\u2019s first release in 1953.<\/p>\n<p>No words are required. All you need to know is that he\u2019s here to make things right, even if he does think a woman\u2019s place is in the kitchen.<\/p>\n<h2 data-css=\"tve-u-1646b23021c\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Rio_Bravo\"><\/span>Rio Bravo<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>I don\u2019t know if Duke ever studied at the Bolshoi ballet company, or if it was just Howard Hawks who encouraged our boy to bust some moves<\/p>\n<p>But the way he smacks Job Burdette (Claude Akins) across the face with his rifle in Rio Bravo is almost as balletic as when he guns Cherry Valance down in Red River.<\/p>\n<p>Having just been clumped by Dude (Dean Martin) in the previous scene, John T. Chance \u00a0(JW) \u00a0is in no mood to take prisoners.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"tve_image_frame\" style=\"width: 100%;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"tve_image wp-image-4204\" style=\"width: 100%;\" title=\"rio-bravo-dean-martin-john-wayne\" src=\"\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/rio-bravo-dean-martin-john-wayne.jpg\" alt=\"rio-bravo-dean-martin-john-wayne\" width=\"1023\" height=\"578\" data-id=\"4204\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/rio-bravo-dean-martin-john-wayne.jpg 1023w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/rio-bravo-dean-martin-john-wayne-728x411.jpg 728w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1023px) 100vw, 1023px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text thrv-inline-text\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/silverscreenings.org\/2016\/06\/15\/the-restored-dean-martin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n<p>You just know he\u2019s aching to smack someone in the chops, and unfortunately for Burdette he\u2019s the victim of choice.<\/p>\n<p>Goaded on by Dude, Chance swipes Joe with his rifle then, and this is the icing on the cake, literally pirouettes as he performs a graceful 360 degree turn, following the momentum of the weapon in his hands, as the man with the dented face crumples to the ground.<\/p>\n<p>In reality Burdette suffers the full force of Chance\u2019s anger at Dude \u2013 but who ever said life was fair?<\/p>\n<p>Coming soon &#8211; part 2 of this article in which we consider some of John Wayne&#8217;s memorable magic verbal moments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[88,110],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4194"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4194"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5547,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4194\/revisions\/5547"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}