{"id":4466,"date":"2018-11-04T16:39:47","date_gmt":"2018-11-04T16:39:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/?p=4466"},"modified":"2019-01-10T14:43:52","modified_gmt":"2019-01-10T14:43:52","slug":"john-wayne-shootouts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/john-wayne-shootouts\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 John Wayne Western Shootouts"},"content":{"rendered":"<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-wayne-shootouts\/#John_Wayne_Western_Shootouts_%E2%80%93_My_Top_10\" title=\"John Wayne Western Shootouts &#8211; My Top 10\">John Wayne Western Shootouts &#8211; My Top 10<\/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-wayne-shootouts\/#The_Shepherd_of_the_Hills_1941\" title=\"The Shepherd of the Hills (1941)\">The Shepherd of the Hills (1941)<\/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-wayne-shootouts\/#The_War_Wagon_1967\" title=\"The War Wagon (1967)\">The War Wagon (1967)<\/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-wayne-shootouts\/#Stagecoach_1939\" title=\"Stagecoach (1939)\">Stagecoach (1939)<\/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-wayne-shootouts\/#Red_River_1948\" title=\"Red River (1948)\">Red River (1948)<\/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-wayne-shootouts\/#Chisum_1970\" title=\"Chisum (1970)\">Chisum (1970)<\/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-wayne-shootouts\/#El_Dorado_1966\" title=\"El Dorado (1966)\">El Dorado (1966)<\/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-wayne-shootouts\/#True_Grit_1969\" title=\"True Grit (1969)\">True Grit (1969)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/john-wayne-shootouts\/#The_Shootist_1976\" title=\"The Shootist (1976)\">The Shootist (1976)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/john-wayne-shootouts\/#The_Man_Who_Shot_Liberty_Valance_1962\" title=\"The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)\">The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/john-wayne-shootouts\/#Rio_Bravo_1959\" title=\"Rio Bravo (1959)\">Rio Bravo (1959)<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"John_Wayne_Western_Shootouts_%E2%80%93_My_Top_10\"><\/span>John Wayne Western Shootouts &#8211; My Top 10<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<p class=\"p1\">I\u2019ve been writing about Westerns and John Wayne in particular for a couple of years now, covering <a href=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/9-more-of-john-waynes-leading-ladies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">JWs leading ladies<\/a>, co-stars, <a href=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/john-wayne-movie-punch-ups-winner\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">punch-ups<\/a> etc., so it comes as a bit of a surprise, even to me, that I\u2019ve yet to take a look at my favourite shootout sequences from John Wayne Westerns. To remedy the situation, I now humbly submit to our loyal readership my top 10 JW gunplay scenes.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4469\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4469\" style=\"width: 910px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4469\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shepherd-of-the-hills.jpg\" alt=\"Shepherd of the Hills poster\" width=\"920\" height=\"755\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shepherd-of-the-hills.jpg 920w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shepherd-of-the-hills-670x550.jpg 670w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 920px) 100vw, 920px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4469\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/myfavoritewesterns.com\/2018\/01\/13\/henry-hathaway-director-of-westerns-the-shepard-of-the-hills-1941\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>source<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Shepherd_of_the_Hills_1941\"><\/span>The Shepherd of the Hills (1941)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">I had to include the face-off between Duke and Harry Carey Senior from this film in the list because it caught me totally by surprise the first time I watched it a while back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">A permanently angry JW doesn\u2019t take too kindly to stranger Carey, who turns out to be his father, so they eventually get to have it out. Slowly approaching each other in a meadow, JW raises his rifle to shoot, only to be outdrawn by dad, who unexpectedly plugs his son first.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Now call me old-fashioned, but when a father shoots his son you\u2019d think he\u2019d aim for an arm or a leg or something from which there\u2019s a slight chance of recovery, but Carey is not so considerate, planting the bullet square in JWs belly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Of course, being John Wayne he naturally recovers from the kind of wound that would kill any other man. He once said that he learned a lot from Harry Carey Senior. I\u2019m assuming that included learning to draw first the next time around.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4470\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4470\" style=\"width: 910px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4470\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/The-War-Wagon.jpg\" alt=\"The War Wagon movie scene with John Wayne Kirk Douglas\" width=\"920\" height=\"518\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/The-War-Wagon.jpg 920w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/The-War-Wagon-728x410.jpg 728w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 920px) 100vw, 920px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4470\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.moviehousememories.com\/war-wagon-1967-podcast-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>source<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_War_Wagon_1967\"><\/span>The War Wagon (1967)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">Not exactly the most outstanding Wayne shootout if I\u2019m honest, but watching JW and Kirk Douglas gun down a couple of hired killers is always a pleasure to behold when there\u2019s nothing else on TV.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">They say that hindsight is a wonderful thing, and it sure as hell would have been for John Wayne if he\u2019d plugged Bruce Dern first off when he had the chance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Instead, Kirk Douglas got to shoot him instead and obviously missed, because the \u201cvermin-ridden son-of-a-bitch\u201d that turned out to be Mr. Dern, or Hammond as he\u2019s called here, just upped and changed his name to Asa Watts and ended up leading a bunch of low-down no good rustlers who would put our boy six feet under a few years later in The Cowboys.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">It\u2019s quite ironic that Wayne\u2019s choice of target happens to be Chuck Roberson, who was also JWs stand-in at the time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">I did like the exchange between Douglas and Wayne after the gunfight though. Douglas claims \u2018mine hit the ground first\u2019. Wayne goes one better and tells Douglas that \u2018mine was taller\u2019.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4471\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4471\" style=\"width: 910px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4471\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/stagecoach.jpg\" alt=\"Stagecoach 1939 with John Wayne &amp; Claire Trevor poster\" width=\"920\" height=\"726\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/stagecoach.jpg 920w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/stagecoach-697x550.jpg 697w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 920px) 100vw, 920px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4471\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tarnmoor.com\/2017\/02\/19\/favorite-films-stagecoach-1939\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>source<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Stagecoach_1939\"><\/span>Stagecoach (1939)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">I\u2019ve already referenced in previous articles the <a href=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/stagecoach-first-john-wayne-john-ford\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">climactic shootout at the end of Stagecoach<\/a>, in which John Wayne as the Ringo Kid administers frontier to the mangy Plummer gang who done killed his brother.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">What I\u2019ve not really addressed before is the atmospheric use of shadows and light employed by director John Ford to elevate the sequence from the mundane to the truly memorable, a style he employs to similar effect in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, more of which later.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The three \u2013 doomed \u2013 members of the Plummer gang emerge from one end of the darkly lit street into the light, after which JW slowly slips from out of the shadows in front of them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Armed with his trusty Winchester, hopefully not the one he would use later in The Shepherd of the Hills, JW strides purposefully towards the gang, then throws himself to the ground, shooting as he goes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Ford then cuts away from the action, leaving the audience pondering the fate of the Ringo Kid. It\u2019s only when Luke Plummer, the gang leader, walks into the saloon then falls down dead that we realise the Kid has won through.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">A great end to a truly great film.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Red_River_1948\"><\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3168\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/redriver-1.jpg\" alt=\"Poster of Red River starring John Wayne\" width=\"920\" height=\"690\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/redriver-1.jpg 1024w, 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\" sizes=\"(max-width: 920px) 100vw, 920px\" \/>Red River (1948)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">Having already singled out the gunfight that takes place between John Wayne and John Ireland towards the end of the film as a <a href=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/john-waynes-movie-moments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">memorable moment in Wayne\u2019s work<\/a>, I thought I\u2019d select an earlier sequence from the film instead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Wayne, becoming increasingly more nasty and paranoid as tough trail boss Matt Dunson takes on three of his men who have decided to desert the ship, so to speak.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Watching it again I noticed that the trio is lead by none other than Tom Tyler, who also came to a sticky end courtesy of Duke in Stagecoach.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Dunson is initially unarmed but what Tyler and his compadres don\u2019t realise is that Walter Brennan is sat out of sight ready to throw a loaded rifle Dunson\u2019s way. Dunson catches the weapon and sends the trio to hell, with no return ticket.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">He then calls out the rest of the cowboy herders, telling them he \u2018hates quitters, especially those not good enough to finish what they started\u2019.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">It\u2019s a seminal moment in the film because Dunson\u2019s actions here initiate the eventual \u2018mutiny\u2019 in which his herd is taken away from him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Not that I\u2019m qualified to give the great man sage advice when it comes to gunplay, but sometimes you just have to shoot, shut up and walk away.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Chisum_1970\"><\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3755\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/chisum-1.jpg\" alt=\"Chisum John Wayne poster\" width=\"920\" height=\"694\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/chisum-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/chisum-1-728x550.jpg 728w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 920px) 100vw, 920px\" \/>Chisum (1970)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">I do love a good old \u2018laughing Mexican stand-off\u2019 scene, and Chisum contains the only example of a sequence such as this in which John Wayne gets the chance to strut his stuff.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Catching up with the rustlers who have taken his horses, Chisum is greeted by a whisky-swilling south of the border sort who attempts to put JW off his stride with a grin as wide as a Cinemascope screen, but of course, it doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">It never does.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">After a brief exchange in which the Mexican rustler, played by one Lloyd Battista if I\u2019m correct, asks if Chisum has brought any gold or silver along with him to repurchase his own horses. Chisum replies \u2018No. Just lead\u2019 and then pays the gentleman in kind.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">JWs co-stars, including the great Ben Johnson, take out the rest of the gang, but, as ever, it\u2019s Duke\u2019s show. And don\u2019t none of you forget it.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4472\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4472\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4472\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/El-Dorado.jpg\" alt=\"El Dorado still\" width=\"660\" height=\"330\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4472\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.moviehousememories.com\/el-dorado-1967\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>source<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"El_Dorado_1966\"><\/span>El Dorado (1966)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">There\u2019s more than one good shootout sequence in this Howard Hawks \/ JW movie.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">I was tempted to go for the confrontation in the saloon between Robert Mitchum\u2019s sheriff, J.P. Harrah and villain Bart Jason, played by Ed Asner, but seeing as Duke was just a bystander in that scene I\u2019ve opted for the showdown between him and hired gun Nelson McLeod, played by Christopher George.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The \u201cprofessionalism\u201d that both Wayne and Hawks felt was missing in the Gary Cooper film, High Noon, in which Coop calls on the townspeople to help him once Frank Miller hits town, was one of the reasons they made Rio Bravo, a riposte to the politics of&nbsp; Carl Foreman\u2019s script for the film.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Both Wayne and Hawks keep that theme running in El Dorado when Wayne\u2019s character, Cole Thornton, turns up to confront McLeod with a paralysed right hand on account of a bullet lodged in his spine. McLeod points out that Thornton\u2019s \u201cgun hand is no good\u201d.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp; <\/span>The following dialogue ensues.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\">[Thornton] \u201cYou just give me time to get down off this wagon and we\u2019ll find out\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">[McLeod] \u201cWhy should I give you any time?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">[Thornton] \u201cCall it professional courtesy\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\">And that\u2019s where McLeod makes his mistake.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">As Eli Wallach, Tuco the bandit, says in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, \u201cwhen you have to shoot, shoot. Don\u2019t talk!\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Thornton leaps from the wagon, plugs McLeod &#8211; professionally &#8211; four times in the gut, takes some buckshot from a stray bullet courtesy of James \u2018Mississippi\u2019 Caan in the leg, before shooting another bad guy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Not bad for a one-armed cripple, I\u2019d say.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4473\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4473\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4473\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/true-grit.jpg\" alt=\"John Wayne in True Grit Real Photo Still\" width=\"810\" height=\"887\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/true-grit.jpg 810w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/true-grit-502x550.jpg 502w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 810px) 100vw, 810px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4473\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0065126\/mediaviewer\/rm478989824\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>source<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"True_Grit_1969\"><\/span>True Grit (1969)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">If you\u2019re looking for a classic John Wayne shootout then it doesn\u2019t get more classic then this. The top-notch script helps as well, the exchange between Rooster and Ned Pepper probably one of the most-quoted of all Wayne movies:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\">[Rooster] I mean to kill you in one minute, Ned, or see you hang in Fort Smith at Judge Parker\u2019s convenience. Which shall it be?<br \/>\n[Ned] I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man.<br \/>\n[Rooster] Fill your hands, you son-of-a-bitch!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\">Instead of taking aim at Pepper and the other three members of the gang with his trusty Winchester, Rooster grabs the reins in his mouth then gallops hell for leather towards the outlaws, blasting away with both rifle and handgun.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">I notice Rooster \/ Wayne gets two of the men in the back, although I guess that\u2019s allowed seeing as they\u2019re trying to do him in as well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">One of the four rides off, leaving Rooster and Ned to face each other down. Ned shoots Rooster\u2019s horse, which falls and traps him by the leg.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Just as Pepper raises his gun to finish Rooster off, the Rhinestone Cowboy himself, Glen Campbell, comes to the rescue and shoots Ned Pepper from way up on the bluff.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Not that anyone was ever in any real danger. After all, it\u2019s only make believe \u2013 and I promise that\u2019s the last Glen Campbell song I\u2019m going to try and shoehorn in.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">What also makes this such a great scene is both the spectacular Colorado locations used by director Henry Hathaway and Elmer Bernstein\u2019s wonderful soundtrack.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">All-in-all a great late career moment for Mr. Wayne.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">And he won an Oscar too. Not bad for a one-eyed fat man.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4474\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4474\" style=\"width: 910px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4474\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/john-wayne-the-shootist-bar-scene-3.jpg\" alt=\"The Shootist bar scene lobby card\" width=\"920\" height=\"728\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/john-wayne-the-shootist-bar-scene-3.jpg 920w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/john-wayne-the-shootist-bar-scene-3-695x550.jpg 695w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 920px) 100vw, 920px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4474\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.moviemem.com\/products\/lobby-cards\/the-shootist-vintage-lobby-card-5-john-wayne-lauren\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>source<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Shootist_1976\"><\/span>The Shootist (1976)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">We all know how this is going to end for John Wayne \u2013 badly. It\u2019s still a fairly intense sequence to watch though.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Famed gunslinger JB Books is dying, and all those with a grudge turn up at the local saloon to help put Books out of his misery. Cobb, Pulford and Sweeney, played respectively by Bill McKinney, Hugh O\u2019Brien and Richard Boone, all take turns trying to finish JW off.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Books ascertains where the three are when he stands with his back to them in the saloon, watching their reflection in the mirror on the other side of the bar.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">First up is Cobb who tries to shoot Books in the back. Books jumps behind the bar then administers two bullets-worth of lead poisoning to Mr. Cobb.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Up jumps Sweeney and shoots Books in the left shoulder.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Presumably, physics wasn\u2019t exactly top of the school curriculum back in 1901 as Sweeney then inexplicably charges Books with a wooden table in front of him as a shield, unable to appreciate the tendency for bullets to go through wood. Two down, one to go.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Pulford lands another bullet in Books then creeps up to the front of the bar, both men aiming to finish the duel off.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Books catches Pulford\u2019s reflection in a glass on the bar and waits as Pulford sticks his head out before planting a bullet between the eyes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Then it gets nasty, with a bullet-ridden Books dispatched with two blasts of a shotgun by, of all people, the bartender.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Arriving just a little bit too bloody late, Ron \u2018Richie Cunningham\u2019 Howard takes out the bartender before throwing the gun away, indicating that the whole blood-thirsty gun slaughter thing isn\u2019t for him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Books nods silently in agreement then expires. It\u2019s as good an action sequence that one might expect from Dirty Harry director Don Siegel, so I\u2019d say that director, script, supporting cast and Elmer Bernstein\u2019s soundtrack served Mr. Wayne well in his final film.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4476\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4476\" style=\"width: 910px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4476\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Liberty-Valance.jpg\" alt=\"Photo still from The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance\" width=\"920\" height=\"616\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Liberty-Valance.jpg 920w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Liberty-Valance-728x487.jpg 728w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Liberty-Valance-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 920px) 100vw, 920px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4476\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.moviemem.com\/products\/lobby-cards\/the-shootist-vintage-lobby-card-5-john-wayne-lauren\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>source<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Man_Who_Shot_Liberty_Valance_1962\"><\/span>The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">Two shootouts for the price of one \u2013 and it\u2019s a John Ford movie too.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Although the three-way duel between Rance Stoddard (James Stewart), Valance (Lee Marvin) and Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) is obviously filmed on a studio set, the shadowy showdown is highly reminiscent of the climactic Ringo Kid \/ Plummer gang confrontation at the end of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/great-movie-stagecoach-1939\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stagecoach<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">And Lee Marvin, along with Henry Brandon, drips pure evil like no other villain in a John Wayne movie. He\u2019s a sadistic bully who prolongs Stewart\u2019s pain by first shooting him in the arm, firing at Stewart as the wounded man reaches for his gun on the ground, before aiming at his opposite number and promising to put a bullet \u201cright between the eyes\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Surprisingly, Stewart manages to get out a lucky shot and Valance drops in the dirt.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">There\u2019s a touch of a Brokeback Mountain moment when the death of the villain is greeted by quite a plaintive cry from Floyd, one of Valance\u2019s cronies, played by the ever-reliable Strother Martin, but maybe that\u2019s just me giving full rein to my penchant for seeking out the hidden subtext that lurks beneath the surface of the narrative.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Then it gets complicated because lo and behold, it turns out things are not what they seem.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Doniphon later spills the campfire beans to Stoddard, who in the meantime has turned his fame as the killer of Valance into a political career, snaffling Doniphon\u2019s gal, Hallie, in the process. Beings as this is JW we\u2019re talking about, he doesn\u2019t beat about the bush, he just comes right out and says:<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cYou didn\u2019t kill Liberty Valance \u2013 think back, Pilgrim\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">We then see the confrontation from Doniphon\u2019s perspective, standing in the alleyway across from the street and putting a bullet into Valance the same time Stoddard fires.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">It\u2019s interesting to see that Doniphon waits while Valance wounds Stoddard before finishing the gunfight off.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Rule number one: don\u2019t play around with JWs gal. It might get you shot.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Rio_Bravo_1959\"><\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-4477\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/rio-bravo.jpg\" alt=\"Rio Bravo shootout scene photo still\" width=\"920\" height=\"672\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/rio-bravo.jpg 920w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/rio-bravo-728x532.jpg 728w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 920px) 100vw, 920px\" \/>Rio Bravo (1959)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">Unless the protagonists are dancing to an Ennio Morricone soundtrack, a subject I\u2019m going to leave for another time, a cowboy shootout has to be short, sharp and to the point \u2013 and the bad guy has to die at the end.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Although not the climactic sequence to Rio Bravo, I nominate the face-off between John T. Chance and Colorado on one side, and the three Nathan Burdette goons on the other, as my favourite JW shootout scene.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Rio Bravo is quite a long film, and the action sequences are few and far between but when they do come along they\u2019re well worth waiting for.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The bad guys get the drop on Chance out in the street, forcing him to drop his gun belt before ordering him to let Joe Burdette out of jail.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Colorado saunters out onto the street from the local hotel, previously having overheard the confrontation outside and priming Feathers to throw a vase through the window in order to distract the villains.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">When the plant sails through the window, Colorado throws Chance his trusty <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=F5ut0kxHFp0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Winchester Model 1892 Saddle Ring Carbine<\/a> \u2013 the stuff you can find out on the internet these days is absolutely phenomenal &#8211; and the two of them gun the varmints down, Chance also putting another notch on his rifle by shooting an extra baddie at the end of the street.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">A few things to mention about this scene. First off, it gives Colorado the chance to redeem himself with Chance after having turned down a request for help from the beleaguered sheriff.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">He\u2019s now part of the group, whether he likes it or not, along with Stumpy and Dude, tasked with fending off Burdette and his men until the Marshal arrives, so we\u2019re now reassured everything is going to work out fine for the good guys &#8211; and he can sing too.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Secondly, the scene takes part the morning after a night of passion between Chance and Feathers so what with him being somewhat tired and worn out to say the least, I\u2019m guessing Chance would have appreciated all the help he could get.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Thirdly, the hat worn by the villain on the right is so ridiculously outlandish \u2013 he looks as though he\u2019s just mugged Tom Mix and stolen it from him &#8211;<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp; <\/span>the man deserves to die purely for crimes against cowboy fashion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Also, I love the fact that the hotel Colorado emerges from is called The Alamo.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Not only does it bring to mind the fact that Chance and his group are under siege in the jailhouse throughout most of the film, but Wayne gets free publicity for his next directorial effort. What\u2019s not to like?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>John Wayne Western Shootouts &#8211; My Top 10 I\u2019ve been writing about Westerns and John Wayne in particular for a couple of years now, covering JWs leading ladies, co-stars, punch-ups etc., so it comes as a bit of a surprise, &#8230; <a title=\"Top 10 John Wayne Western Shootouts\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/john-wayne-shootouts\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Top 10 John Wayne Western Shootouts\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4470,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[122,121],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4466"}],"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=4466"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4466\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5039,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4466\/revisions\/5039"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}