The Silver Screen Oasis

I asked this question under John Wayne movies on the People of Film, topic but nobody seems to have an answer, so I'll try here:

Did anyone notice the exact duplicate of what was supposedly John Ford's home office to the studio office that Ward Bond had in Wings of Eagles? I liked the motif in the John Ford documentary, so just an hour or so later, when I saw Bond's 'set' office, I couldn't help wondering what copied what.

Last night was the first time I saw Rio Lobo, and I have to say 'What a difference in the actors'! Only the old men, JW, Jack Elam, Jim Davis, and Victor French, did any believable acting. The younger people were all stiff and seemed to be reading their lines, with no inflection at all. i.e. none of them were what could be termed legitimate actors. Have any of them gone on to bigger and better?

Did anyone else notice either of these things, or have any comments?

Anne

The younger actors, in Rio Lobo, seemed to have no personality, something that thirty plus years later seems to be the norm.

I hate to say it but I was amazed at how bad I found Rio Lobo to be, and not just for so much of the acting. The sets, illumination, dialog, and plot were far below average for a Western, in my opinion.

I saw Rio Lobo at the theatre, when it was originally released, and I too was amazed on how BAD it was.

I don't think any of the younger actors in "Rio Lobo" ever went on to anything in acting, but I think one of the females became a successful producers for a while.

Todd McCarthy's biography of Hawks says that "Rio Lobo" was a pretty unhappy experience. Wayne basically took the film over from Hawks. Despite this, John Ford visited the set one day and cursed Hawks for still directing while he (Ford) could not.

In subsequent interviews, Hawks was very down on the actresses in "El Dorado" and "Rio Lobo," complaining that they ignored his advice and wanted to make their characters loveable instead of tough.

I saw RIO LOBO when it was first released and was SO disappointed at how poor it was ,all down to the script of course. But such a comedown for Wayne and Hawks. You wonder how they could make such a bad western with all their experience.

Did anyone notice the exact duplicate of what was supposedly John Ford's home office to the studio office that Ward Bond had in Wings of Eagles? I liked the motif in the John Ford documentary, so just an hour or so later, when I saw Bond's 'set' office, I couldn't help wondering what copied what.

I think they copied Ford's real office. I read in an interview (can't remeber which one) Ford complained he came to the set to discover his office had been ransacked for the film. The oscars, the saddle were really his.

dee