OT - Favorite John Wayne Movies

[BfromCT]

Those of us of a certain age who grew up when the Hollywood Studies were still in their prime remember the leading men of the era. They included Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Henry Fonda, Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, and Spencer Tracy. The biggest of them all, in my humble opinion, was the Duke, John Wayne. What follows are my five favorites.

“Stagecoach” (1939) - Directed by John Ford and filmed in Monument Valley, this classic western was John Wayne’s breakout role.

“They Were Expendable” (1945) - WWII movie about PT-Boats set in the Philippines and directed by John Ford. Based upon a true story.

“Fort Apache” (1948) - Another John Ford western, the first of his cavalry trilogy, also starring Henry Fonda.

“The Quiet Man” (1952) - Still another John Ford movie filmed in Ireland and co-starring Maureen O’Hara.

“The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence” (1962 - A classic western also starring Jimmy Stewart and Lee Marvin about western myth and reality.

Honorable mention - “Circus World” (1964) - This may not be one of John Wayne’s best but it is on my list because I attended a performance of this circus used as background in West Berlin in 1964.

I'll be interested in reading the comments of others.

 

[MooseJaw]

My favorite Duke movie happens to be the one I'm watching at the time. Love The Quiet Man, Love Rooster, "Right Naby."

 

[Cuango]

The Quiet Man

Stagecoach

Angel and the Badman

The Searchers

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

Hondo

Fort Apache

Rio Grande

Red River

Three Godfathers

 

[uconnfan68]

"True Grit" and "The Cowboys"

 

[hoophuskee]

Not in order,

Red River
El Dorado
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Ture Grit
The Searchers
Big Jake

 

[veryolddog]

I enjoyed all of the above. But, the one JW movie that impressed me the most was "The Sands of Iwo Jima".

 

[mjm88]

 

[Topsail]

I enjoy them all….. no wonder he changed his name from Marion Morrison would not be fitting as a rough and tumble guy…The Duke

 

[Monte]

TRUE GRIT: I ain't never seen no Texacan who hasn't drunk water out of a horse's footprint.

 

[Kaizen]

Red River

 

[dbmill]

My favorite John Wayne movies were all directed by either John Ford or Howard Hawks. I like others as well, but these are my favorites.

Not in order.

Stagecoach
Rio Grande
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
The Quiet Man
The Searchers

Red River
Rio Bravo
El Dorado

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

As a HUGE John Wayne I love all the above movies!
Some that have not been mentioned yet:
Back to Bataan
The Longest Day
They Were Expendable
Operation Pacific
Flying Leathernecks
The Long Voyage Home
Flying Tigers
Fighting Seabees
Big Jim McLain
Trouble Along The Way
Island In The Sky
Hondo
The High And The Mighty
Wings Of Eagles
The Alamo
The Comancheros
Hatari
How the West Was Won
The Sons Of Katie Elder
The Green Berets
Hellfighters
McQ
The Shootist (his last right before he died)

 

[Blueballer]

In Harms Way
True Grit
El Dorado
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Searchers
The Cowboys
The Shootist

 

[Skeets]

The Sands of Iwo Jima
In Harms Way
The Green Berets

However, my wife has the entire dialog to the Hellfighters memorized.

One of my favorite lines: "I'm going to wrestle me a grizzly and kiss me a pretty girl. (Walter Brennan) I hope he don't get them mixed up like the last time."

 

[CL82]

TRUE GRIT: I ain't never seen no Texacan who hasn't drunk water out of a horse's footprint. If ever I meet one of you Texas waddies who ain't drunk water from a hoofprint, I think I'll... I'll shake their hand or buy 'em a Daniel Webster cigar."

That is a great line, but there are so many in that movie.

My three favorites John Wayne movies are:
True Grit
The Quiet Man
The Cowboys

 

[cohenzone]

How can UConn fans love anyone nicknamed “Duke”?

 

[Ozimoto]

Have seen most of the ones mentioned. I don't there is such a thing as a "bad" John Wayne movie.

 

[Oldschoolbb]

 

[Viet Vet]

I enjoyed all of the above. But, the one JW movie that impressed me the most was "The Sands of Iwo Jima".

No surprise there. Semper Fi!

 

[oldude]

Lots of great John Wayne movies listed by my fellow BY’ers. “The Quiet Man” was always at the top my list. But I’ll list another John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara classic western that’s always fun to watch…”McClintock”, along with my favorite John Wayne western, “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.”

 

[Puppy Love]

Have seen most of the ones mentioned. I don't there is such a thing as a "bad" John Wayne movie.

I don’t think there’s any such thing as a good one, so we are even.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I grew up loving all things John Wayne, from the formulaic young man westerns to his middle aged classics like Big Jake, but all time favorite crossed the pond. The Quiet Man. My favorite line: "Here's a good stick to beat the lovely lady."

 

[Zarathustra]

Lots of great John Wayne movies listed by my fellow BY’ers. “The Quiet Man” was always at the top my list. But I’ll list another John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara classic western that’s always fun to watch…”McClintock”, along with my favorite John Wayne western, “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.”

I've give a second vote for "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon"!

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

The John Wayne and John Ford trilogy,
Rio Grande
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
Rio Bravo
Were a masterpiece in film making, the only slight downer was it had to be filmed in black & white and viewers missed out on the beautiful country side that the stories were told at!
Magnificent scenery!

 

[Steelerone]

Wow, wow, wow. Trying to pick a favorite movie with "The Duke" is like attempting to name the best Pizza House in the entire United States or the favorite ice cream. What amazes me as I look through the favorites list is the really great actors and actresses who appeared with him. Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Mongomery Cliff, Jimmy Stewart, Lee Marvin, Maureen O'hara, Gail Russell. These were stars in their own right but next to John Wayne they were co-stars. If you look at the length of his career and the movies he starred in you can honestly say that he is in his own category as far as Hollywood is concerned.