When John Wayne broke by way of to bona-fide film stardom in John Ford’s 1939 basic “Stagecoach,” he shortly established himself as essentially the most bankable actor within the movie trade. Not each Wayne image was a smash hit, however they virtually all the time turned a tidy revenue. Provided that he was remarkably prolific all through the prime of his profession, making a number of motion pictures per yr, this meant his followers got here to anticipate a sure degree of high quality from the star — in any other case, they might’ve stopped displaying up at a sure level.
For those who’re new to the flicks of John Wayne, and also you’re on the lookout for a superb place to begin, you are able to do no higher than the aforementioned Western, which established his swaggeringly laconic persona. However when you get that one out of the best way, there are lots of completely different paths you possibly can take. You would attempt considered one of his warfare movies or watch The Duke get completely steamrolled by Barbara Stanwyck within the pre-Code basic “Child Face.”
If, nevertheless, you wish to see the cocksure Wayne get challenged for actual in a correct Western, there are lots of terrific choices. “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” and “The Searchers” are full-on Ford-directed classics, whereas Mark Rydell’s “The Cowboys” (and its sensational John Williams rating) would possibly shock you. However if you wish to see somebody not solely stand as much as Wayne, however often blow him off the display, the film you are on the lookout for is Howard Hawks’ “Crimson River,” and it is streaming free of charge in the mean time!
Crimson River pits old-school Wayne versus new-school Montgomery Clift
Wayne performed a number of outright bastards all through his profession, however, with the potential exception of Ethan Edwards in “The Searchers,” I am undecided he is ever been greater than as rancher Thomas Dunson in “Crimson River.” Decided to drive his 10,000 cattle to Missouri whatever the appreciable danger. Using with him is his adopted son Matt, a younger man with rising confidence and a larger sense of decency performed by 28-year-old Montgomery Clift in considered one of his first big-screen roles.
The story itself isn’t riddled with surprises. It is principally “Mutiny on the Bounty” with Wayne because the captain and Clift because the cost who usurps his command. We sympathize with Matt, however Hawks and his screenwriters (Borden Chase and Charles Schnee) painting Dunson as a tough man preventing like hell to make sure the survival of his livelihood. The ranch is his life, and Dunson has killed to guard it. The movie finds Dunson at a precarious second; he is being challenged by his son, who would not wish to go in for the form of bloodshed that is marked his father’s life, and when he cannot persuade the previous man to reasonable his viciousness he throws him over.
Dunson’s not one to lose a battle, so we all know there can be a reckoning between father and son. It is a spectacular battle, one which’s doubly charged when you think about Hawks has pitted unfussy movie actor Wayne versus method-trained Clift. Are there higher Westerns? No, not likely (Metacritic says it is Wayne’s greatest). Simply Westerns which might be good in several methods.
“Crimson River” is at present streaming free of charge (with adverts) on The Roku Channel, Pluto TV and Freevee. It is also free sans adverts on Hoopla.
