Category Archives: John Wayne

Blood and Sand: “The Longest Day” (1962)

     “The Longest Day”   (1962) (Originally published June 23, 2013)     Darryl F. Zanuck’s monumental war epic depicting the events of the D-Day invasion of World War 2 has the disadvantage of not only following dozens of characters … Continue reading

Posted in 1960's cinema, drive-in cinema, Drive-In Movies, Film, Film Reviews, John Wayne, movie reviews, Movies, Reviews, Richard Burton, war movies, World War II | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Concession Stand Bites: “The War Wagon” (1967)

“The War Wagon” (1967) Starring John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Howard Keel, Robert Walker Jr. Bruce Cabot, Keenan Wynn. Written by Clair Huffaker, based on his novel. Directed by Burt Kennedy. Standard serio-comic western which places Wayne in the rare role … Continue reading

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Concession Stand Bites: “Legend of the Lost” (1957)

“Legend of the Lost” (1957) Starring John Wayne, Sophia Loren, Rossano Brazzi, Kurt Kasnar. Written by Ben Hecht and Robert Presnell. Directed by Henry Hathaway. In Timbuktu, adventurer Joe January (Wayne) is hired by a mysterious man named Paul Bonnard … Continue reading

Posted in John Wayne, movie reviews, Movies, Reviews, Romance, Sophia Loren, women, writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Only Way to Fly: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Feb. 2018 Edition, Vol. 747

The Only Way to Fly: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Feb. 2018 Edition, Vol. 747      How often does this happen to you? You are waiting in endless airport security lines. The attending TSA agents are more suspiciously handsy … Continue reading

Posted in books, clint eastwood, comedy, humor, James Stewart, John Wayne, movie reviews, Movies, Reviews, silent movies, war movies, writing | Tagged | 5 Comments

All Quiet on the Western Omelette: Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Jan. 2018 Edition, Vol. 1/2 & 1/2

All Quiet on the Western Omelette:  Classic Film Images Photo Quiz, Jan. 2018 Edition, Vol. 1/2 & 1/2     The start of a new year brings with it it’s own set of leftover problems to which the average person … Continue reading

Posted in books, comedy, food, John Wayne, Movies, silent movies, westerns, women, World War II | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Border Crossing: “The Undefeated” (1969)

      “The Undefeated”  (1969)     The American Civil War has received relatively little serious attention in Hollywood, generally serving as a backdrop or as a passing reference point in the larger scheme of like period romantic dramas … Continue reading

Posted in History, John Wayne, Mexico, movie reviews, Movies, politics, Reviews, Romance, the Civil War, westerns, writing | Tagged | Leave a comment

Cowboys Will Be Boys: “The Sons of Katie Elder” (1965)

           “The Sons of Katie Elder”  (1965)      If the challenge for any film is for that movie to deliver an original and memorable experience, then that challenge may become doubly daunting in the case … Continue reading

Posted in Drive-In Movies, Film, Film Reviews, John Wayne, movie reviews, Movies, Reviews, westerns, westerns, writing | Tagged | 1 Comment

Rambling Rogues: “Hatari!” (1962)

          “HATARI!”      (1962)         When considering the 1962 wildlife adventure “Hatari!”, it often appears as though director Howard Hawks has created the world’s first feature-length music video (discounting Disney’s “Fantasia” as having grander artistic aspirations) as throughout … Continue reading

Posted in Africa, Film, Film Reviews, Howard Hawks, John Wayne, movie reviews, Movies, Reviews, Romance, women, writing | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Littled Big Man: “Duke: We’re Glad We Knew You” edited by Herb Fagen

Littled Big Man: Duke: We’re Glad We Knew You edited by Herb Fagen      If one attempts a brief summation of a message one is left with in Herb Fagen’s tributary book Duke: We’re Glad We Knew You, it’s that its subject- … Continue reading

Posted in acting, biography, book reviews, books, Film, History, John Wayne, Movies, politics, Reviews, westerns, writing | Tagged | 1 Comment

SPECIAL SUPER BOWL EDITION: FEB. 2015 CLASSIC MOVIE IMAGES QUIZ, VOL. 39-27

Once again it is time for America’s favorite competitive game- no not that sorry excuse of homoerotic excess (outside of a stag film where can you see more concentrated hugging, butt slapping and feverish embracing?) called American football  -but the … Continue reading

Posted in blogs, Charlton Heston, comedy, Film, football, humor, John Wayne, Movies, Puzzles, sports | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“Baby, It’s Cold Outside”: DEC. 2014 CLASSIC MOVIE PHOTO QUIZ, VOL. 222

“BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE”: DEC. 2014 CLASSIC FILM IMAGES PHOTO QUIZ, VOL. 222 Welcome to yet another edition of the international Interweb’s favorite bored game, the CSR monthly CLASSIC FILM IMAGES PHOTO QUIZ, brought to you- as always  -by those … Continue reading

Posted in books, Cold War, comedy, Film, horror, John Wayne, Movies, science fiction, silent movies, war movies, women | 1 Comment

Treading Water in a Desert: “The Train Robbers” (1973)

     If one considers the staggering volume of western stories related on both the big screen and  television (this latter sausage grinder of ideas devoured such an incomprehensible amount of scripts that even the occasional trace of originality would be … Continue reading

Posted in Film Reviews, John Wayne, movie reviews, Movies, Sam Peckinpah, westerns, writing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Out to Pasture: “Rio Lobo” (1970)

     “Rio Lobo” reeks of exhaustion. The final film in the lengthy and often illustrious career of director Howard Hawks, this western is a continuation of a pattern of laconic narrative drifting that has increasingly characterized the greater number … Continue reading

Posted in 1970's movies, Film, Film Criticism, Film Reviews, John Wayne, movie reviews, Movies, Reviews, westerns, writing | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Soapy Skies: “The High and the Mighty” (1954)

    Buoyed by the extremely hummable (and certainly whistle worthy) theme music of Dmitri Tiomkin and a particularly sympathetic performance by John Wayne (though in role he is far too young to be sensibly cast), William A. Wellman’s film of … Continue reading

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Better Dead Than Red: “BLOOD ALLEY” (1955)

              There is no mistaking on which side of the political coin the 1955 William Wellman  film “Blood Alley” was stamped, as it is a right-wing, anti-Communist diatribe of the most unabashedly jingoistic variety, highlighting … Continue reading

Posted in 1950's movies, China, Film, Film Reviews, John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, movie reviews, Movies, Reviews | Tagged | Leave a comment

Classic Film Images Photo Quiz: Vol. 2014

YOU’VE NEVER LOOKED BETTER, NOW THAT YOUR FACE IS PARALYZED WITH BOTOX:  JANUARY 2014 CLASSIC FILM IMAGES QUIZ, VOL. 2014      Here we are again with America’s favorite waste of time, the monthly Classic Film Images Quiz, brought to you … Continue reading

Posted in art house cinema, blogging, cinema, Culture, Drive-In Movies, Film, Film Reviews, humor, Jean-Louis Trintignant, John Wayne, movie reviews, Movies, Puzzles, Reviews, women | 1 Comment

The Western’s Last Stand: “True Grit” (1969)

      By 1969, the Western as a film genre had begun to be officially- but prematurely  -declared dead, in no small part due to the overabundant proliferation of western programs on television. Yet, that same year found the … Continue reading

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Hand-Me-Downs: “True Grit” (2010)

    Typical laconic Coen brothers film with as equal a derivation from Portis’ enjoyable but vastly overrated novel as the 1969 Henry Hathaway original. Although the Coens extract a more pronouncedly acute sense of accuracy in their mise-en-scene, the … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Film Reviews, John Wayne, movie reviews, Movies, Reviews, Uncategorized, westerns | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Blood and Sand: “The Longest Day” (1962)

    Darryl F. Zanuck’s monumental war epic depicting the events of the D-Day invasion of World War 2 has the disadvantage of not only following dozens of characters over dozens of different locations, but also the input of three … Continue reading

Posted in 1960's cinema, drive-in cinema, Drive-In Movies, Film, Film Reviews, John Wayne, movie reviews, Movies, Reviews, Richard Burton, war movies, World War II | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

At War With War: “The Green Berets” (1968)

________________________________________________________________       John Wayne’s production of “The Green Berets” (it would be ludicrous to ascribe credit to another individual) was the only Hollywood studio film to directly deal with the Vietnam War during the conflict, and would remain so for … Continue reading

Posted in 1960's movies, Culture, drive-in cinema, Drive-In Movies, Film, Film Reviews, John Wayne, movie reviews, Movies, war movies | Tagged , , | 3 Comments