The Ugly Side of John Wayne

during the 40s 50s and 60s the world of cinema was ruled by one genre westerns the hit formula that mixed open deserts and starry skies with mind-boggling gun-fighting sequences and a hero that epitomized courage and in some cases even recklessness worked every single time and john wayne was the king of this genre his deep voice combined with his brooding looks made him the ideal western hero for many many decades wayne was the symbol of american freedom through films like red river true grit and the searchers wayne not only exhibited his acting range but also became etched in our memories as the man who defined the american western protagonist so it's not surprising that when we think of westerns cowboys and gunslingers today we think mostly of john wayne in this video we'll tell you some interesting facts about the star and also shed light on his ugly side he wanted to be a professional football player john wayne was born marion robert morrison to clyde leonard morrison and mary alberta brown on may 26 1907 in winterset iowa when he was seven years old the family moved to california as a child wayne's best friend was a dog named duke the two were almost never seen without each other due to this love for his dog wayne soon came to be known as duke wayne had a towering personality since the beginning which made him a natural athlete wayne went to college at the university of southern california on a football scholarship and majored in pre-law he was an active member of trojan knights and sigma chi at the time it seemed that wayne had a successful sports career in front of him however he suffered a body surfing accident which led to a terrible collarbone injury after the incident not only did all of wayne's football dreams come to an end but his scholarship was also taken away and he dropped out of university this was during the great depression and wayne was desperate for money he took up a job as the prop guy for fox film corporation his injury may have quashed his football dreams but he eventually got to play a football player in brown of harvard and dropkick his struggle lasted over a decade like any other successful actor wayne too had to go through his days of struggling it was director john ford who discovered wayne's acting talent and offered him a small role in the 1928 silent film mother mccree during the shooting of the film wayne became close friends with ford it was ford who introduced wayne to raul walsh who gave wayne his first big break in the big trail the film was a mediocre hit and did not establish wayne as a star however it certainly made him a well-recognized face throughout the 1930s wayne kept waiting for his big break unfortunately it didn't come the decade mostly saw him starring in low-budget western movies though wayne wasn't getting the roles he wanted he used the decade to his best advantage devoting himself to studying the quintessential western hero it was during the 30s that wayne developed the idiosyncratic walk that would eventually make him so famous he also learned to do his own stunts wayne got his big break at the end of the decade in 1939 ford offered him the role of the ringo kid and stagecoach and the film changed his career and all the work he'd been putting in finally paid off red river established him as a major movie star wayne enjoyed significant popularity during the early 40s however the film that established him as a major movie star came in 1948 directed by robert hawkes red river was a massive hit the film narrated the story of tom dunson played by john wayne and his son matt garth played by montgomery cliff many believe the film had strong homosexual undertones however this was the 40s and if the film had any hidden messages they went unnoticed red river however was a major critical and commercial success and went on to win two academy awards in 2008 the american film institute ranked red river as the fifth greatest western of all time with red river wayne impressed many people and one of these people was his old friend john ford and the quiet man changed his image after watching wayne play tom dunson in red river ford cast him in the 1952 film the quiet man a film that was quite different from everything both ford and wayne had done in the past in this romantic comedy wayne played the role of sean thornton an ex-boxer who goes back to ireland to purchase his family farm audiences were used to seeing wayne firing shots in deserted streets in open deserts the quiet man did the opposite it transported wayne to a green and beautiful ireland and audiences were happily surprised moreover it made him fall in love with the bell mary kate danahar played by maureen o'hara the film was a hit grossing 3.8 million at the box office it won john ford an oscar for best director though the film did not win wayne an oscar it certainly played a key role in changing his image after the quiet man wayne got many opportunities to explore his acting range further with varied roles john wayne was a major movie star and people loved him however he was imperfect in his own ways did you know the man was often criticized for his far-right beliefs and he was even accused of racism we'll get to john wayne's ugly side in a minute in the meantime if you're enjoying this video don't forget to like and subscribe to our channel wayne delivered perfect entertainment in rio bravo wayne played the lead in the 1959 western rio bravo a film that not only achieved commercial success but was also selected for the national film register due to its cultural historical and aesthetic significance the actor portrayed the character of john t chance the sheriff of the texan town rio bravo who arrests a murderer and fends off the bad guy to ensure justice is served rio bravo was a fun film in an understated way as a viewer you wouldn't have gushed over it once the end credits rolled but you were bound to enjoy it while it lasted outside the u.s rio bravo got mixed reviews the story of rio bravo was taken from a short story by the same name credited to a b.h mccampbell the story played a big role in the film's success as one of the best parts about the production was the plot which featured a band of misfits who gave way for abundant comedy later in the biography howard hawks the silver fox of hollywood we find out bh mccampbell was none other than hawks's eldest daughter barbara the searchers features wayne's best performance to date another masterpiece from the two-decade-long ford and wayne partnership that produced more than 25 films was the 1956 technicolor western the searchers widely acclaimed as the best western of all time the searchers is a rare film that was a critical and commercial success in its era and continues to be regarded as one of the greatest films ever made almost 70 years later in the searchers wayne delivered what can arguably be labeled as his acting career's best performance he played ethan edwards a veteran who returned home after eight long years only to witness the murder of his brother's family and subsequently rescue a niece who is abducted on a deeper level the movie focuses on white settlers racist attitudes towards the native settlers and themes of abduction captivity and rape that white women were subjected to warner brothers distributed the searchers and in what was a first at the time the production house produced and broadcast a behind-the-scenes program the movie inspired several films over the later decades in fact the 2016 canadian drama searchers is partially based on it without the racism aspect true grit won him an oscar finally after most of wayne's golden years as an actor were behind him his skill was finally recognized with an oscar the 1969 western true grit brought home the oscar for wayne who played the role of texan u.s marshal rooster coburn the movie is a namesake of the 1968 novel by charles portis true grit features wayne as a tough-as-nails one-eyed veteran who's killed more than five dozen men in eight years but all in the line of duty or self-defense the character was so well received wayne was made to reprise it in the 1975 sequel rooster coburn wayne even received a golden globe for his performance in true grit but of course the award was overshadowed by the long-awaited oscar his political beliefs and racist comments got him into trouble wayne was a far-right supporter all the way which was difficult at the time since hollywood was flooded with far leftists the actor who was always at odds with other board members at the screen actors guild decided to change the way things were and co-founded the motion picture alliance for the preservation of american ideals to push back against the leftist movement at the time wayne also played a part in the blacklist of communists in hollywood while wayne's political opinions raised questions his racist remarks tarnished his image the most in an interview wayne acknowledged the descent in the black community saying it was justified still he backtracked by saying he believed in white supremacy till the day blacks were educated and deemed fit to assume authority not only did his comments spell trouble then they recently stirred anger when they resurfaced with many demanding the orange county's john wayne airport be renamed some of john wayne's personal and political beliefs and comments got him into trouble but the man was a cinematic legend his countless epic performances as the original protagonist in hollywood to embody courage and heroism made him a star wayne's skill at his craft was extraordinary and he managed to win hearts with box office successes as late as in his 70s wayne passed away from stomach cancer in 1979 at the ucla medical center leaving behind millions of fans with a legacy like none other what was more surprising to you that he didn't get an oscar until later in his career or his history of racist comments let us know in the comments section and if you enjoyed this video don't 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Channel: Facts Verse

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Id: H1ZjCWGgsYU

Length: 9min 42sec (582 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 16 2020