I always find this movie a little sad to watch, I guess because John Wayne looks so old and almost feeble here. This is a much different role from the "Cowboys," where he consciously played an old man. This is the kind of movie he should have made five or ten years earlier. In addition, the plot itself is so feeble that if John Wayne and Ben Johnson weren't in it, no one would watch it. Still I feel an obligation to watch it whenever it's on, perhaps out of loyalty to the Duke for all the great movies he made. Even at age 66, he still had an undeniable presence that transcended the quality of a particualr movie. (And Ann Margret's not bad to look at either!)
Gold, Graves, & Gold Hunt Fever
I saw this John Wayne movie for the first time sometime around 1983. From several reviews posted here one can say it has received mixed reviews. All I know is that I enjoy the movie whenever I see it, and the movie seems to be one of his westerns that is seldom shown on TV.
His role here is not too dissimilar to many of his others, and his 'usual suspects and friends' bolster the starring list. But it is somewhat unusual that Ann Margaret Olsen appears in a western, and while I have always been counted among her fans, I don't find anything too exceptional in the role she fills. But the 'twist' in the ending involving her role is a dandy.
Among several items in this movie I like is the appearance of Rod Taylor, a sometimes underrated and overlooked actor. And I still have good memories of CHUKA, a western he made a long time back that is very good.
I like this western and will rewatch it, and have no problem recommending it to anyone who likes JW movies.
One of the worst of Wayne's
Although it is great to see Wayne seeing him is about the best in this film. I did not really care about these people riding left and right. It has to be something about the story, because the actors are a great bunch of people. I expect Wayne always to be real hero, but here it is not so. Take any other Wayne, even those of the 30's rather than this one.
Although scarcely seen in its original 3-D, and entirely out of sight for a decade and a half after its producer-star died, Hondo has maintained a high rep among John Wayne fans--and it wasn't even directed by Howard Hawks or John Ford. (Actually, Ford did shoot some second-unit stuff while visiting Wayne on location.) Half-breed Hondo, companioned only by an antisocial dog, tends to be more sympathetic toward the Apaches than toward the white society he occasionally scouts for. He falls into uneasy friendship with a New Mexico farmwoman (Geraldine Page) whose husband deserts her for long stretches, and whose son (Lee Aaker) is blood brother to the local Apache chieftain. A good, spare frontier tale--Louis L'Amour via James Edward (Angel and the Badman) Grant--in which... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): John Wayne - Geraldine Page Director(s): John Farrow DVD Release Date: Released the 11 October 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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John Wayne and Kirk Douglas make a delightful duo in this comedic Western in which Wayne seeks revenge on a ruthless mine owner (Bruce Cabot) who had him framed and sent to prison. Upon his release, Wayne recruits Douglas in a scheme to raid and rob one of Cabot's gold-laden wagons, despite the fact that Douglas had been offered good money to kill Wayne. He joins Wayne instead (the potential profits being much greater), and they set out to ambush the War Wagon, so named because it's heavily armored, mounted with a Gatling gun, and guarded by a dozen gunmen on horses. Costarring Keenan Wynn and Howard Keel as a wise-cracking Indian, The War Wagon was a Western precursor to the action buddy films of the 1980s and '90s, serving up plenty of exciting action and constant comic relief.... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): John Wayne - Kirk Douglas Director(s): Burt Kennedy DVD Release Date: Released the 18 August 1998 Usually ships in 24 hours
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After turning down the role of Dirty Harry, John Wayne made up for lost time by starring in this pretty-good 1974 police drama. Shot on location in a gritty pre-Microsoft Seattle, McQ finds John Wayne butting heads with fellow cops and local crime elements as he investigates the murder of a fellow cop and friend. Wayne is obviously a bit long-in-tooth to be taking on this kind of role, but the script allows for some decent character development, including Colleen Dewhurst in a brief but memorable role as a washed-up barmaid, and the action sequences by veteran director John Sturges still hold up well. For anyone who cares, a key drug-heist sequence was shot in the hospital that now houses Amazon.com's Seattle headquarters. --Kristian St. ClairMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): John Wayne - Eddie Albert Director(s): John Sturges DVD Release Date: Released the 03 May 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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John Wayne personally produced many of his '50s films, which is why some of them have languished in corporate limbo following his death. The High and the Mighty was one of his most popular vehicles (no pun intended). This long, necessarily sedentary drama aboard an endangered airliner is a CinemaScope bridge between 1932's Grand Hotel and 1970s disaster movies. Despite Wayne's iconic presence as a pilot--now copilot--who survived the plane crash that wiped out his family, it's an ensemble movie with an impressive cast: Robert Stack sharing the cockpit, Oscar® nominees Claire Trevor and Jan Sterling, Laraine Day, Robert Newton, Paul Kelly, John Qualen, Regis Toomey, the ubiquitous Paul Fix, and director William A. Wellman's good-luck character actor Douglas Fowley.... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): John Wayne - Claire Trevor - Laraine Day Director(s): William A. Wellman DVD Release Date: Released the 02 August 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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