Remembering the John Wayne of my childhood by Kaye Spencer #johnwayne #westernfictioneers #oldwest

(1) John Wayne: May 26, 1907 to June 11, 1979

Growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, John Wayne was an important part of my life. His name was synonymous with cowboys, the Old West, and America. He WAS the Old West. He was my superhero before I knew what that word meant. I idolized him whether he played a gunfighter (Stagecoach), a sheriff who faced down the bad guys (Rio Bravo, El Dorado), an almost villain (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Searchers), or a gold prospecting, reluctant groom (North to Alaska).

He was ‘a man’s man’ from his walk to his talk. You knew where you stood with him. He was straight-forward, self-sufficient, rugged, and dependable. His signature steely-eyed expression when his eyes narrowed to slits with the warning he’d taken all he was going to take would send me scooting to the edge of my seat in anticipation of the bad guys getting what was coming to them.

As Rooster Cogburn, he metaphorically tackled Hell with a bucket of ice water when he clamped the bridle reins between his teeth and took off down that mountain slope rifle in one hand and a six-shooter in the other. What an iconic scene. (True Grit)

When Big Jake came to my hometown theater, I took my then five-year-old brother to see it. He loved it so much we went back every day for the week it played.

The night my mom took us to the drive-in to see Hatari!, my dad couldn’t go with us, because one of our cantankerous Angus cows was in the corn field and he was out chasing her around on a little Ford tractor to get her back where she belonged. The irony of the plot of the movie and my dad with his tractor that night still gives me a chuckle.

(2) One of the many cover versions for the dvd

Back then, I didn’t know what onscreen chemistry meant. I just knew that John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara were the greatest movie couple. I was convinced they were married. You can imagine my shock and disappointment when I learned this wasn't the case. They were so perfect together, that this crushing reality was inconceivable to my 10 (ish)-year-old mind. When I was a little older, though, I wasn't quite so disappointed they weren't married, because I had a teenage crush on him when I better appreciated his masculine appeal.

(3) The Quiet Man

But age and experience changes a person’s perspective. When I re-watch McLintock! or The Quiet Man I cringe at the way the male/female relationships were portrayed. I also struggle with Hatari!, although I loved this movie when my child’s eyes saw it simply as an exciting cowboy adventure in Africa. The romance between John Wayne’s and Elsa Martinelli’s characters was so much fun. But as an adult, the running down and capturing wild animals to relocate them to zoos is problematic for me.

Still, I occasionally watch these movies, because I remind myself I shouldn’t judge movies (or books for that matter) by contemporary standards, expectations, and mores. They are to be taken for the entertainment they provide and for the glimpse at a different historical and cultural time period and what I can learn from it.

It would be easy to reminisce about all of the John Wayne movies that have stayed with me through the years and also talk about how his characters influenced, in some way, every male protagonist I write: The Sons of Katie Elder, The War Wagon, Hondo, Three Godfathers, The Comancheros, Alamo…

(4) Rio Bravo

But I won’t. Instead, I’ll end with a scene from my favorite of his movies, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

On this 39th anniversary of his death, what are your memories of John Wayne?

Until next month,

Kaye Spencer

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Image References:
(1) 20th Century Fox, John Wayne - 1961, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons.2018.06-09.
(2) Hatari! (from Kaye Spencer’s movie collection)
(3) The Quiet Man movie still. Maureen O’Hara and John Wayne. https://www.pinterest.com.  Saved by Mary Kate Knoll. https://pin.it/3ntbyuct645dkp. 2018.06-09.
(4) Howard_Hawks' Rio_Bravo_trailer_(26).jpg: Trailer screenshot derivative work: Liorek (talk), John Wayne portrait, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons. 2018.06-09

TRUE GREEN, an Irish Western! by MEG MIMS

Faith and Begorrah! It's an Irish Western!

Well, perhaps that's a bit of a stretch. But The Quiet Man *IS* set in the north and west of the Emerald Isle. It has *the Duke* -- a famous Western cowboy movie star! It has *horses* and a *horse race*! It has romance and *Maureen O'Hara*, who also starred as the Duke's wife in several other great westerns! It has a *great fight*! And not just between the Duke and his brother-in-law, either. Duke and Mo "duke it out" too.

In fact, I would have named this movie TRUE GREEN ... for the bits of real Irish language, Irish-born actors, and lush setting. The Quiet Man was filmed in Ireland for the most part. And it's a lot like the westerns we know and love -- an old-fashioned, men-were-men, women-were-women-and-belonged-in-the-home style of story.

It has a "fish out of water" plot, which allows the Duke to learn the local ways after breaking the rules, and then learn that following the rules doesn't always bring him what he expects either. "Mo" gets to show off her own Irish roots and portray a loving woman, yet fierce in the battle to uphold her dignity and pride in what she deserves - her dowry.

Due to her stubborn brother, she has to fight both him and her new husband! Her brother, the village "Squire," is portrayed by Victor McLaglen - British, not Irish, by birth - and another favorite actor utilized in other movies by John Ford. He also was a prizefighter in his youth, the first boxer to take on heavyweight champion Jack Johnson in 1909. Victor does a fair job boxing the Duke in the movie. They both look like they had a fun fight.

Did you know The Quiet Man was first published as a short story in the Saturday Evening Post? John Ford read it, bought the rights for $10 (TEN DOLLARS??) but before he could get financing for the film, he was told to make a western first. Rio Grande also starred John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, with Ford directing. But Ford won the Best Director Academy Award that year for The Quiet Man, which also won Best Cinematography. Indeed! Both well deserved.

Keep an eye on the minor characters in the film, from the pub owner to the local widow, the priest, the minister without a parish since all the residents are Catholic, and Michaleen Oge Flynn - played by Barry Fitzgerald to fine effect - the village's matchmaker. I think he's the best quirky character of the lot. You have to cheer him on and smile at his way of looking at things.

But all of the actors gave fine performances, as well as the Irish extras who no doubt had a blast being in the movie. The green beauty of Ireland is stunning. To the left is the cottage where the movie was filmed, and I've also included an image of the bridge in the gorgeous countryside. What's not to like about such lovely green meadows, charming cottages, quiet village life -- which harbors an underlying layer of healthy gossip about residents -- as in any American western town!

Even the music in the movie gives the viewer a sense of place, with Irish airs and a melody penned by an Irish policeman/songwriter, called "The Isle of Inisfree."

On St. Patrick's Day, I'll be popping in The Quiet Man and enjoying a good Irish western. I'll get my teapot out, make some soda bread or perhaps some scones. Or maybe I'll have a McDonald's shamrock shake! I am an American, after all.

And here's the cover of my newly released sequel to my Spur-Award winning western historical mystery, Double Crossing...  showcasing the continuing adventures of Lily and Ace. Double or Nothing is available on Amazon for Kindle, and will also be available in print soon! Check out the book trailer by clicking here!!

A mysterious explosion. A man framed for murder. A strong woman determined to prove his innocence.

October, 1869: Lily Granville, now heiress to a considerable fortune, rebels against her uncle’s strict rules in Sacramento, California. Ace Diamond, determined to win Lily, invests in a dynamite factory for a quick “killing,” but his status as a successful businessman fails to impress her guardian. An explosion in San Francisco, mere hours before Lily elopes with Ace to avoid a forced marriage, sets off a chain of unforeseen consequences.

Despite Lily’s protests that her new husband has been framed, Ace is dragged off to jail as the culprit. Evidence mounts against him. Lily must learn who was actually behind the diabolical plan… and save Ace from the hangman’s noose. Will she become a widow before a true wife?

Here are the BUY LINKS to the Amazon Kindle, B&N Nook and Smashwords.