I'll behave from now on. To be honest, I haven't seen Big Jake in a long time, so I had to pull it up on imdB to refresh my memory. But as soon as I saw the name of Jake McCandles, I remembered and yes I did like it a lot! It's typical JW but with the added attraction of Miss O'Hara which many folks tend to forget when discussing the Wayne/O'Hara teamings. Now that you've reminded me, I always knew there was something there at the back of my mind niggling at me when talking about McClintock, and Big Jake is it. I preferred their reunion much more in BJ than MC. It's another JW rip roarin', rootin', tootin' example and I'm sure if you add it to your Netflix, you can count on a terrific John Wayne weekend.
Anne
Hee! I don't mind being called Blondie at all, really! And I have all three movies now in my lineup so as soon as they arrive and I've watched them I'll report back here. I feel like I've been "missing something" all these years I've failed to see them before.
I have seen his 70s era police shows, Brannigan and McQ and thought they were OK, if not great. I think I'll prefer him back in the saddle.
And thanks, Chris, for the further details---while I wish Maureen could have been in the movie longer, I'm sure it's still fun to watch.
A full day and night of Duke's westerns air this Wednesday, December 22nd on TCM:
All Times Eastern.
(sorry I could not "bold" the last few titles for clarity...but this board still does not let me edit/type
after a certain point!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Grrr....)
6:00 AM Rio Lobo (1970)
A Civil War veteran searches for the traitor behind a friend's death. Cast: John Wayne, Jorge Rivero, Jack Elam. Dir: Howard Hawks. C-114 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format
8:00 AM Fort Apache (1948)
An experienced cavalry officer tries to keep his new, by-the-books commander from triggering an Indian war. Cast: John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Shirley Temple. Dir: John Ford. BW-128 mins, TV-PG, CC, DVS
10:15 AM She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949)
An aging Cavalry officer tries to prevent an Indian war in the last days before his retirement. Cast: John Wayne, Joanne Dru, Ben Johnson. Dir: John Ford. C-104 mins, TV-PG, CC, DVS
12:00 PM Rio Grande (1950)
A cavalry unit located on the Mexican border must control Indian uprisings. Cast: John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Ben Johnson. Dir: John Ford. BW-105 mins, TV-PG, CC
1:45 PM The Searchers (1956)
An Indian-hating Civil War veteran tracks down the tribe that slaughtered his family and kidnapped his niece. Cast: John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Natalie Wood. Dir: John Ford. C-119 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format
3:45 PM 3 Godfathers (1948)
Three outlaws on the run risk their freedom and their lives to return a newborn to civilization. Cast: John Wayne, Pedro Armendariz, Harry Carey, Jr. Dir: John Ford. C-106 mins, TV-G, CC
5:33 PM Short Film: Holiday Greetings 1941 With Lewis Stone (1941)
A Christmas greeting from Lewis Stone, sent specially to servicemen overseas and their families during the 1941 holiday season. BW-2 mins,
5:45 PM The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
A ranch-owner's four sons vow to avenge their father's death. Cast: John Wayne, Dean Martin, Martha Hyer. Dir: Henry Hathaway. C-122 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format
7:48 PM Short Film: John Wayne Bio (1962) BW-4 mins,
8:00 PM True Grit (1969)
A young girl recruits an aging U.S. marshal to help avenge her father's death. Cast: John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell. Dir: Henry Hathaway. C-128 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format
10:15 PM Rio Bravo (1959)
A sheriff enlists a drunk, a kid and an old man to help him fight off a ruthless cattle baron. Cast: John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson. Dir: Howard Hawks. C-141 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format
12:45 AM McLintock! (1963)
A cattle baron fights to tame the West and his estranged wife. Cast: John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Stefanie Powers. Dir: Andrew V. McLaglen. C-127 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format
3:00 AM Big Jake (1971)
A rancher leads the posse out to recover his kidnapped grandson. Cast: John Wayne, Richard Boone, Patrick Wayne. Dir: George Sherman. C-110 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format
5:00 AM The Man From Monterey (1933)
A U.S. Cavalry officer tries to protect Spanish landowners in California. Cast: John Wayne, Lillian Leighton, Donald Reed. Dir: Mack V. Wright. BW-57 mins, TV-G, CC
"There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education." -- Will Rogers
I am excited about the Ford films of course, but I remember really liking The Sons of Katie Elder the one time I saw it years ago. I hope I can watch it this time.
I am also excited about The Man from Monterey, I think that was the B movie I liked best when Wayne had his day last year or the year before.
I hope to record The Man From Monterey...I don't think I've ever seen it. I thought it might be in that big DVD pack of 25 of his "B" films, but it's not.
I wish I could be home to enjoy these, rats. But I'll be zipping to the break room to change the channel plenty of times.
"There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education." -- Will Rogers
.
I'll most certainly be in front of the TV on Wednesday, and when I'm not, my DVR will be going strong. Thank goodness I got a last minute order for a scarf and hat, and so I'll have something to do while I'm watching during those hours, in addition to being able to get a gift for the young fellow who takes my garbage out all the time.
I'm only sorry they didn't schedule El Diablo because to me, it is better than Rio Bravo (not just because of Mitchum but also James Caan), and I wonder when TCM will be able to show Chisum. If the Western Encore channel can show it, it seems to me that it would be available for TCM as well.
One other thing I'm anxious to see is the new Jeff Bridges version of True Grit. Normally, I hate remakes, but I've heard this is very different from the JW version. Apparently the director does it from a different point of view than the original did. I also usually resent remake actors, but in this case, Jeff Bridges is a fine actor, and I expect he will do a first class job as Rooster Cogburn. I resented Steve Martin for doing Father of the Bride because in addition to a comedy, it is also a great love story between father and daughter, and I though Martin was arrogant to think he could equal Spence. Even worse was Warren Beatty thinking he could equal the likes of Cary Grant in An Affair to Remember.
Anne
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AMC has been airing Chisum a lot recently (including today), so that may be why TCM didn't get it. TCM also recently played El Dorado back-to-back with For a Fistful of Dollars, which supposedly inspired Hawks to make El Dorado in sort of rebuttal (similar to how he made Rio Bravo to parry High Noon). I don't know if that's true, but it's interesting to compare the two. in each film the lead (Wayne/Eastwood) is a hired gun who enters a sort of "feud" situation between two factions. As you can imagine, there is clear lines between lawful and lawless in Hawksie's movie, and nobody seems lawful in Leone's world (though it starts to clarify somewhat toward the end).
I would have liked to see Stagecoach, especially for that grand entrance of Duke's. But I watched my DVD twice today instead.
Not sure if I'll get to the True Grit remake. I never cared for Bridges, nor the Cohen brothers. I do believe they would make it entirely differently, and not attempt a total copy. But I just don't feel any interest. I was tremendously disapppointed in the last western remake I saw, 3:10 to Yuma, and it starred an actor I LIKE a lot (Crowe) but I still hated it. So no more remakes for me.
"There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education." -- Will Rogers
Stagecoach just aired on TCM yesterday (Saturday) afternoon. It was fun to watch it again.
And TCM recently (in the last month) ran *El Dorado*. It had been many years since I had seen it and liked it a great deal more this time. Wayne and Mitchum had good chemistry together.
As for True Grit, even MrC has expressed an interest in seeing it. Maybe the day after Christmas.....
Looking forward to the talk post-Wayne day!
Lynn in Lake Balboa
"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."
"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese
Peter Bogdanovich can drive me crazy at times with his imitations and his incessant "And then Cary (Orson, Fritz, etc) said" but when he writes he leaves all that affectation behind and that makes reading his takes on film much more enjoyable.
Here's a piece he wrote a few years back on Rio Bravo
I really love what PB wrote about character driven plot, and Hawk's economy in visual storytelling. I also like that he appreciates Wayne main strength - his ability to react to situations, and more importantly, to actors, on an individual case-by-case basis. Wayne is brilliant at really connecting with his co-stars.
That was a great article, which is actually helping me to write down my impressions of a totally different movie. Bogdanovich is wonderful at finding the core themes of the director's work and discussing how that core plays out throughout their career.... and sometimes it isn't as obvious as it seems. You can translate a lot of his observations (of why certain directors are good) to other films and topics, which is what I appreciate in his writing. It has scope.
As for PB's annoying habits, I find the same goes for me with Dick Cavett. I always loved him, but I get irritated with his tone when I see or hear him lately. When he writes, that tone is not there. It really is an art to write well about classic movies or stars or directors or to do criticism in general. Both men started out writing, and one can see a vast difference when they put pen to paper between their old school thoughtfulness and the current crop of "writers" who work for the large newspapers. Nowadays, a good piece of film criticism means I didn't spot any mistakes. I'm in mourning.
And I have all three movies now in my lineup so as soon as they arrive and I've watched them I'll report back here. I feel like I've been "missing something" all these years I've failed to see them before. 
