{"id":5507,"date":"2019-05-17T13:16:54","date_gmt":"2019-05-17T12:16:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/?p=5507"},"modified":"2019-05-17T13:16:59","modified_gmt":"2019-05-17T12:16:59","slug":"john-wayne-his-rifle-pony-and-hat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/john-wayne-his-rifle-pony-and-hat\/","title":{"rendered":"John Wayne &#8211; His Rifle, Pony and Hat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"556\" height=\"388\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/undefeated4.jpg\" alt=\"John Wayne in The UNdefeated on horse with gun\" class=\"wp-image-5512\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The idea originally was to see if we could match all of JWs \u201cthree good companions\u201d \u2013 his weaponry, the horse he rode in on and the hat he wore \u2013 for the majority of his big-name Westerns. There is so much information out there to work with but trying to collate and match that info by film alone was always going to be a bit of an ask. Instead, we\u2019ve decided to take a look at each item separately, matching hardware, horse and hat by title wherever possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\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-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/john-wayne-his-rifle-pony-and-hat\/#John_Waynes_rifles_and_handguns\" title=\"John Wayne&#8217;s rifles and handguns\">John Wayne&#8217;s rifles and handguns<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/john-wayne-his-rifle-pony-and-hat\/#John_Waynes_horses\" title=\"John Wayne&#8217;s horses\">John Wayne&#8217;s horses<\/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-his-rifle-pony-and-hat\/#John_Waynes_hats\" title=\"John Wayne&#8217;s hats\">John Wayne&#8217;s hats<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/john-wayne-his-rifle-pony-and-hat\/#Information_Sources\" title=\"Information Sources\">Information Sources<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"John_Waynes_rifles_and_handguns\"><\/span>John Wayne&#8217;s rifles and handguns<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A Colt handgun appears to have been Duke\u2019s weapon of choice throughout his gun-totin&#8217; days, whether it be a Colt 1878, an 1851 Navy, 1860 Army or the ubiquitous Single Action Army model. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All told the Colt featured in over twenty-five of JWs Westerns from \u201cThe Big Trail\u201d all the way down the line until his final movie, \u201cThe Shootist\u201d, with the Single Action Army taking a starring role in all but one of those films. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s difficult to work out how many scum-sucking-dirt-bag cowboys bit the dust at the business end of Duke\u2019s flaming Colt without going through all of the movies in question and counting the dead bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> Seeing as we\u2019re talking about films such as \u201cThe Sons of Katie Elder\u201d, \u201cTrue Grit\u201d, El Dorado\u201d, \u201cThe War Wagon\u201d, \u201cBig Jake\u201d and \u201cRooster Cogburn\u201d, in which Duke promoted frontier justice with extreme vigour, we\u2019ll take a guess and just say quite a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/winchester92-1-1-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"John Wayne &amp; the winchester92\" class=\"wp-image-3318\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/winchester92-1-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/winchester92-1-1-728x410.jpg 728w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/winchester92-1-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/winchester92-1-1.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>JW sure did like his Winchester as well, particularly in conjunction with the Colt. In fact, he was so enamoured of the combination of these two weapons that he paired them in approximately ten of his Westerns from \u201cRed River\u201d right through to his final film, \u201cThe Shootist\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Duke sported four separate models of Winchester in all, the Model 1892 which he used in eight films, the Model 1892 Saddle Ring Carbine, the services of which Ringo offers to Curly in \u201cStagecoach\u201d and which he used in five of his movies, the model 1894 in two films, and the Winchester 1866 \u201cYellow Boy\u201d which he used once only, in \u201cFort Apache\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He seemed to favour a smaller hand gun every now and then, employing a Remington 1866 Derringer in \u201cRio Bravo\u201d, \u201cBig Jake\u201d and \u201cThe Shootist\u201d, using it to sneaky effect in the last title on a bushwhacker who picks on the wrong man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"John_Waynes_horses\"><\/span>John Wayne&#8217;s horses<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Horse-wise there would appear to be about seven four-legged friends that mainly appeared with Duke over the years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First onto the race course would appear to be a white thoroughbred called Starlight who did the honors for JW in ten of his 1930s oaters, including titles such as \u201cWest of the Divide\u201d and \u201cSanta Fe Stampede\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"842\" height=\"610\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/John-Wayne-horse-1.jpg\" alt=\"John Wayne on Starlight, his horse\" class=\"wp-image-5514\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/John-Wayne-horse-1.jpg 842w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/John-Wayne-horse-1-728x527.jpg 728w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 842px) 100vw, 842px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Second runner in the field is another very memorable white thoroughbred called Duke, which kind of complicates things a bit, although his real name apparently was Sheik, also appearing with the two-legged Duke in six movies back in the 1930s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Duke \/ Sheik first propped JW up in \u201cRide Him Cowboy\u201d (1932), in which the horse stomps the villain to death. Later that same year Duke also pushes another villain over a cliff to an equally deserved fate in \u201cHaunted Gold\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not only is this horse psychotic, it turns out to be extremely intelligent as well, working out who the villain was in \u201cRide Him Cowboy\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He also saves the day at the end of \u201cSomewhere in Sonora\u201d (1933) by ringing a bell to warn the local townsfolk they\u2019re about to be attacked by an outlaw gang, and then later on later getting the same townsfolk to help save JW. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is all done of Duke\u2019s own volition without the aid of whistled commands or instructions. Thinking about it, all of this should have been obvious seeing as he was billed as \u201cDuke \u2013 The Miracle Horse\u201d but either way it\u2019s downright spooky, which might have made a better name than Duke, thus avoiding a lot of confusion in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Dollor-Big-Jake.jpg\" alt=\"John Wayne on his horse Dollor in Big Jake\" class=\"wp-image-5522\" width=\"509\" height=\"267\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Third-placed is Dollor, a sorrel distinguished by a strip of white down the face who held the big man up in the saddle towards the latter days of Wayne\u2019s career in six of his movies, \u201cBig Jake\u201d, \u201cThe Cowboys\u201d, \u201cThe Train Robbers\u201d, Rooster Cogburn\u201d, The Shootist\u201d and \u201cTrue Grit\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>John Wayne actually rode two horses in \u201cTrue Grit\u201d, the fourth-placed Beau, who also possessed a white stripe on his face but not as wide as the one sported by Dollor, who was used for JWs fence-leaping stunt right at the end of the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fourth place alongside Beau is Banner who appeared in four JW films, \u201cAngel and the Badman\u201d, \u201cShe Wore a Yellow Ribbon\u201d, 3 Godfathers\u201d and \u201cHondo\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"492\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Banner-Angel-and-the-Badman.jpg\" alt=\"John Wayne on his horse Beau in ANGEL AND THE BADMAN\" class=\"wp-image-5525\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Beau served in the cause for \u201cThe Comancheros\u201d, \u201cThe Sons of Katie Elder\u201d, The War Wagon\u201d and \u201cTrue Grit\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second-to-last runners are Alamo and Steel, Alamo being a horse actually owned by Wayne himself which he rode \u2013 naturally &#8211; in \u201cThe Alamo\u201d as well as \u201cMcLintock\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Steel matches Alamo\u2019s total of two appearances, first off for \u201cTall in the Saddle\u201d and secondly for \u201cThe Conqueror\u201d, a film Steel decided might not look best on his CV. The rear is brought up by Sammy and Zip, these last two appearing in just one film each, \u201cA Lady Takes a Chance\u201d and \u201cEl Dorado\u201d respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whilst ridin\u2019 and a shootin\u2019 bad men and pesky Injuns, Duke also had to contend with keeping his hat on at the same time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"John_Waynes_hats\"><\/span>John Wayne&#8217;s hats<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a suggestion that Wayne always wore the same hat in each of his Westerns but although this is disproved simply be checking out the films themselves, he did appear to wear the same hat on numerous occasions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, you can see him sporting the same headwear, a cavalry hat with a pinched front, in both \u201cHondo\u201d and \u201cRio Bravo\u201d. I think he may have worn it first in \u201cRio Grande\u201d and, by the time he uses it in \u201cRio Bravo,\u201d it\u2019s looking pretty battered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"920\" height=\"518\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Wayne-Bravo-hat.jpeg\" alt=\"JOhn Wayne in Rio Bravo\" class=\"wp-image-5517\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Wayne-Bravo-hat.jpeg 920w, https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Wayne-Bravo-hat-728x410.jpeg 728w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 920px) 100vw, 920px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Wayne also apparently wore the same hat in at least six films, including \u201cThe Sons of Katie Elder\u201d and \u201cThe Comancheros\u201d, although in the latter he also wore two other hats as well.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He also wore two different hat designs in \u201cThe Searchers\u201d, a black one adorned with a hatband which he wore for most of the film, and a wide-brimmed white hat in a couple of other scenes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"554\" height=\"361\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Searchers-Wide-Brimmed-Hat.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5529\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Not being an expert on headwear I have to assume that some of the hats JW wore would come under the heading of a Stetson, which presumably might include some of the headgear already mentioned as well as those he wore in \u201cThe Shootist\u201d and \u201cThe Man Who Shot Liberty Valance\u201d. The only hat I know I can definitely be sure of in terms of make and style is the coonskin one he wore in \u201cThe Alamo\u201d. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"476\" src=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alamo-Coonskin-Hat.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5530\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Information_Sources\"><\/span><em>Information Sources<\/em><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:12px\">Rifles and Handguns<br><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imfdb.org\/wiki\/John_Wayne\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/www.imfdb.org\/wiki\/John_Wayne<\/a><br>Horses<br><a href=\"http:\/\/www.b-westerns.com\/hoss-jwayne.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/www.b-westerns.com\/hoss-jwayne.htm<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.johnwayne-thealamo.com\/forum\/viewtopic.php?f=16&amp;t=1861\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.johnwayne-thealamo.com\/forum\/viewtopic.php?f=16&amp;t=1861<\/a><br>Hats<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefedoralounge.com\/threads\/john-waynes-akubra.58130\/page-3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.thefedoralounge.com\/threads\/john-waynes-akubra.58130\/page-3<\/a><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The idea originally was to see if we could match all of JWs \u201cthree good companions\u201d \u2013 his weaponry, the horse he rode in on and the hat he wore \u2013 for the majority of his big-name Westerns. There is &#8230; <a title=\"John Wayne &#8211; His Rifle, Pony and Hat\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/john-wayne-his-rifle-pony-and-hat\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about John Wayne &#8211; His Rifle, Pony and Hat\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5507"}],"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=5507"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7089,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5507\/revisions\/7089"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostlywesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}