Reviews of movies with John Wayne.
Grade: D-
Synopsis: A cowboy (John Wayne) uncovers the secrets behind an abandoned mine haunted by the mysterious Phantom.
Even by his early B-Western standards, Haunted Gold is one of John Wayne’s low points. Lacking both Yakima Canutt’s famed stunt work, and Gabby Hayes as Wayne’s customary sidekick, this Warner Brothers entry is missing the only two bright spots in Wayne’s early work. MORE »
Grade: D+
Synopsis: A semi-fictionalized account of Col. David “Mickey” Marcus’s (Kirk Douglas) efforts in building the Israeli army on the eve of their independence.
Cast a Giant Shadow starts out well enough. You know it’s playing fast and loose in the accuracy department, but with a cast that includes Kirk Douglas, John Wayne, Angie Dickinson, and Yul Brynner, who cares? MORE »
Grade: B
Synopsis: A Calvary officer (John Wayne) watches as his ambitious and arrogant commanding officer (Henry Fonda) leads the company into a massacre.
Fort Apache was the first installment in director John Ford’s unofficial Calvary Trilogy, followed by She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) and Rio Grande (1950). Featuring a very grim ending, this first outing is easily the darkest of the three, and, were it not for its somewhat awkward epilogue, could serve as a strong anti-war film. MORE »
Grade: D+
Synopsis: A Boston druggist (John Wayne) travels to California where he rivals a local heavy (Albert Dekker) for the attentions of a saloon singer (Binnie Barnes).
In Old California offers a different look for John Wayne early on, as his top hat and topcoat are a far cry from the ten-gallon Stetson and jeans we’re used to seeing the Duke wear. It’s a nice change, and one that amplifies the story’s early light comedy. Unfortunately, this proves to be the film’s high point. MORE »
Grade: C
Synopsis: A Chicago police detective (John Wayne) travels to London to extradite a mobster (John Vernon).
Brannigan is a fairly routine, but nonetheless fun, 70’s cop flick notable chiefly as one of the few “modern” films of star John Wayne’s later career.
This film, along with Wayne’s previous outing McQ (1974), were made after Wayne realized his folly in turning down the lead in the wildly successful Dirty Harry (1971), and, as such, both are really Dirty Harry clones featuring Wayne dishing out his brand of justice while dealing with an uptight bureaucracy. It’s a good fit for the Duke and he seems to take the role with just the right amount of salt, delivering most of his lines with a half-grin and a wink toward the audience. MORE »
You are currently browsing John Wayne.
You can also browse John Wayne movie reviews:
by Date Viewed
by Grade
Or you can browse all John Wayne posts:
by Title
You can subscribe to the John Wayne feed, which contains only John Wayne posts and comments, or subscribe to my master feed that contains everything.
Copyright © 2007-9 Frank Showalter