Introduction
In a legendary career spanning more than six decades, there is no denying that John Wayne has cemented his legacy as one of the true legends of Hollywood’s Golden Age. The Academy Award-winning actor has starred in some of the most iconic films ever to be made. He’s also worked with directors such as John Ford, Howard Hawks, and Cecille B. DeMille, legends in their own right. Wayne has become a part of the zeitgeist and, right or wrong, a symbol of American patriotism for almost the last 80 years
However, with this fame and stardom has come controversy, scandal, and accusations. The Playboy interview, why he didn’t serve in World War II, and allegations of racism and bigotry. These have followed “The Duke” for much of his career, and have only gotten stronger and louder in the decades since his passing in 1979. Cinema Scholars breaks all of this down in its latest Scholars Spotlight, a two-part series on the legendary John Wayne.
Beginnings
Marion Robert Morrison was born in Winterset, Iowa in 1907 and was a whopping thirteen pounds at birth. Raised a Presbyterian, his father Clyde Morrison was a pharmacist of Scottish descent. His mother, Mary, was of Irish ancestry. Marion’s grandfather, Marion Mitchell Morrison was a veteran of the ‘American Civil War. In 1914, when he was seven years old, young Marion moved with his family to resettle in Glendale, California. The family struggled financially.
It was in Glendale that members of the local firehouse started calling young Marion “Big Duke.” This was because he would be seen walking through the neighborhood with his Airedale terrier dog, named “Duke.” Big Duke and Little Duke became inseparable, and the name Duke would stick with him for the rest of his life. Marion excelled in his studies at Wilson Middle School and played football for his school team.
Because Duke was a gifted and sizable 6’4 athlete, he was recruited by the University of Southern California to play college football on a minuscule $280 per year scholarship. At USC, Duke was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and played football for the Trojans under hall-of-fame coach Howard Jones. It was also during this time that Duke and other members of the team began to work part-time at the Fox Film Corporation.
Setbacks and Opportunities
While at USC, Duke was hired as a prop boy and sometimes extra by actor Tom Mix and director John Ford. It’s believed that this was a favor to coach Jones by Mix, who was a rabid USC football fan and was given free tickets to the games. Ford had first noticed Duke in 1928, who was herding a flock of geese during the production of Mother Machree (1928). Duke quickly developed a rapport with Ford and Mix. John Wayne’s friendship with Ford would turn into one of the great actor/director collaborations in cinema history.
As Duke’s Junior year in college was about to begin, he suffered a devastating body surfing accident. As a result, he broke his collarbone and his promising football career quickly came to an end. Duke lost his athletic scholarship, and, without the money to pay for college, was forced to leave USC. This is a true “sliding doors” moment because if Duke hadn’t had that accident, finished college, and, perhaps, played professional football, the landscape of American western cinema may look very different today.
Duke was broke and left with no choice but to now throw himself into becoming a successful prop man and trying to learn the “trade” of acting. As a result of his friendship with Mix and Ford, starting in the mid-1920s, Duke had uncredited roles in several films. These included Bardelys the Magnificent (1926), Brown of Harvard (1926), and The Dropkick (1927). During this period, the struggling “actor” was only given on-screen credit, as Duke Morrison, once. This was for Words and Music (1929), directed by James Tinling.
The Big Break
In the late 1920s, there was purportedly a script being passed around Hollywood called The Oregon Trail. Originally offered to director John Ford, he turned it down and passed it along to his friend, and fellow director, Raoul Walsh. Renamed The Big Trail (1930), the part of a young trapper helping a group of settlers to move west along the Oregon Trail was first offered to screen legend Gary Cooper. He turned down the role. Legend has it that Walsh then asked Ford for casting recommendations. Ford recommended still unknown Duke Morrison because he:
“liked the looks of this new kid with a funny walk…like he owned the world”
Walsh had also seen Morrison around the Fox lot, moving furniture and props effortlessly. The director liked what he saw and took a chance on the 23-year-old. As per numerous biographers, Fox Film Corp. found the name Marion Morrison “inappropriate” and wanted it changed. Walsh suggested the name, Anthony Wayne, taken after American Revolutionary general “Mad Anthony” Wayne. Fox chief Winfield Sheehan felt the name sounded “too Italian.” Walsh then came up with “John Wayne.” The rest is history. Duke’s pay was increased to a whopping $105 per week.
The Big Trail was set to be the first big-budget “outdoor spectacle” film released in the sound era. With a massive budget for the time of over $1.2 million and a huge cast of actors, extras, local Native Americans, wagons, cows, horses, chickens, buffalos, pigs, and dogs, young John Wayne had a lot riding on the success of his first starring role. Fox even had the film shot in two different ways; standard 35 mm and in the new 70 mm Grandeur film process. New and innovative cameras and lenses were used.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be and The Big Trail bombed commercially. During the Great Depression, most theatres weren’t willing to spend the money on technology to support the new widescreen format. Only a small handful of theaters saw this truly groundbreaking film as it was meant to be seen. While the film has since gone on to be hailed by critics, 23-year-old John Wayne was dropped by Fox. The actor was now relegated to starring in low-budget serials and features. Duke would make his bones for the next 9 years on Hollywood’s Poverty Row.
Grinding It Out
The term “Poverty Row Western” was slang for Hollywood films that were released between the 1920s and the 1950s. They were predominately put out by smaller studios. Duke Wayne, between the years 1930 and 1939, starred in over 80 of what was unkindly referred to as “horse operas.” During this period, the Western genre was starting to change and Duke was at the center of this. He changed the way a “hero” in a Western could fight and portray himself. The stereotype of only fighting in a civil manner went out the window when Wayne started appearing on screen. The actor would later state:
“Before I came along it was standard practice that the hero must always fight clean…The heavy was allowed to hit the hero in the head with a chair or throw a kerosene lamp at him or kick him in the stomach, but the hero could only knock the villain down politely and then wait until he rose…I changed all that. I threw chairs and lamps. I fought hard and I fought dirty. I fought to win”
Grinding it out for almost a decade, Duke gained valuable experience both as an actor and a stuntman. During this time the actor released sixteen Westerns for Monogram Pictures (released as Lone Star Productions) and an astonishing thirty-four films for Republic Pictures. It should be noted that Republic produced some solid films with strong scripts, good actors and directors, and halfway decent budgets. During the period between 1930 through 1938, John Wayne appeared in a mind-boggling 60 films.
Stardom
The Stage to Lordsburg was a short story that John Ford optioned the rights to after its publication in 1937. In the ensuing eight years after The Big Trail, Duke had grown into a veteran B-movie actor as well as a friend to Ford. One day, aboard Ford’s boat, The now Oscar-winning director showed Duke the script for the retooled and retitled Stagecoach (1939). Ford asked Duke who might be good for the part of the Ringo Kid. Sheepishly, Duke recommended Lloyd Nolan. Ford, as he was known to do, called Duke an “idiot” and stated that he wanted him for the part. Duke’s life was about to change forever.
Ford had shopped his latest project to several Hollywood studios. However, all of them turned him down. This was for several reasons. First, big-budget Westerns were going out of style and not worth the added expense of difficult location shoots. Second, Ford insisted on using an unproven John Wayne for the key role of the Ringo Kid. Ford approached independent producer Walter Wagner who also had reservations about casting Wayne in a lead role in an “A” western. Wagner wanted Duke replaced by Gary Cooper.
John Ford, however, refused to budge. He wanted Duke Wayne in the role, or the film would not be made. Eventually, the two came to a compromise. Wagner agreed to put up $250,000, half of what Ford had been looking for in terms of financing. Additionally, Ford agreed to give top billing to Claire Trevor. The actress was already a proven star. All throughout production on Stagecoach, Ford was merciless towards Duke. The director abused him in front of the cast and crew relentlessly. There was a reason for Ford’s awful behavior. Duke later reflected:
“The second day on the picture, there’s quite a big scene going on…To keep me busy in the background, he has me washing my face and drying it. He’d say, ‘Cut, all right.’ He’d look over at me and say, ‘Let’s do it again.’ Now I become conscious that he’s certainly paying a lot of attention to me with that scene going on over there. He says, ‘Cut! Duke, you’re dabbing your face! Can’t you wash?!’ And I said, ‘I am washing!…What more can I do?!’” Finally, all the crew, all the actors, the cast was completely on my side. From then on, I had the cast helping me, you know, as my first time really in the big time working with so many top people…I know he planned it that way”
Stagecoach was released in March 1939 and was a critical and commercial success. Ford’s rolling of the dice on John Wayne had paid off. Ford was now confident that Wayne would become the next “everyman” star, much in the mold of Duke’s close friend, Gary Cooper. The film has since gone on to be lauded as one of the greatest westerns ever made. Orson Welles even praised its merits, stating he watched it numerous times in preparing to film his masterpiece, Citizen Kane (1941). It should be noted that legendary critic Roger Ebert, back in 2011, slammed the film for its portrayal and depiction of Native Americans. This would be a recurring theme with both John Wayne and John Ford.
World War II
In December 1941, 34-year-old John Wayne’s career was finally starting to blossom. He was also married and supporting a wife and four young children. Nevertheless, the bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii started a chain of events that resulted in the United States declaring war on the nation of Japan, and Germany and Italy declaring war on the US, three days later. All members of society, including Hollywood, were eager to fight, support the troops, and help in any way possible. John Wayne registered for the draft and was subsequently told that he was ineligible to serve because he was married and, as stated, supporting four children. He was classified as 3A.
However, by 1943, with the war still raging on, the military needed able bodies to serve. Duke’s status was amended to 1A eligible. This was partly because the maximum age to serve had been extended to 63. Still, voluntary enlistments had ended by 1943 and the only way to get overseas and join the fight was via the draft. Further, Duke’s 1A status was challenged by Republic Pictures. They had the rising star under contract to make one film per year as well as the ability to loan him out to other studios.
Republic Pictures was still a fringe Poverty Row studio that desperately wanted to continue to be relevant in the motion picture business. In order to do this, they needed their new star to continue working. The studio wanted Wayne’s status deferred and Duke didn’t have a say in the matter. He was an employee of Republic Pictures. Subsequently, the government granted the request. As to whether Duke really wanted to serve, it appears that he did. In May 1942, Duke wrote to his friend John Ford who was now a Commander in the Navy Reserves, and heading up the motion picture unit which documented the war:
“Have you any suggestions on how I should get in? Can you get me assigned to your outfit, and if you could, would you want me? How about the Marines? You have Army and Navy men under you. Have you any Marines or how about a Seabee or what would you suggest or would you? No I’m not drunk. I just hate to ask for favors, but for Christ sake you can suggest can’t you? No kidding, coach who’ll I see..”
Finally, in the National Archives, there are historical documents that show John Wayne writing to William Donovan at the OSS. He was desperately trying to get a job in what would eventually become the CIA. Donovan even sent Duke back an acceptance letter into the bureau’s photographic unit. However, he never received the letter which was instead mailed to his ex-wife who never told him about it. Duke most likely had contacted Donovan on advice from John Ford.
During WWII, Duke was determined to do what he could to support the troops. Throughout his first overseas USO tour in 1943, the actor performed twice daily for over three months. He visited the southwest Pacific as well as the front lines and bases throughout Australia, New Britain, and New Guinea. Duke visited hospitals and spent time with injured soldiers. Upon returning back to the United States, Duke reflected on his time overseas during a press conference. He spoke about the brutal conditions and the courage of the troops:
“There where 130 degrees is a cool day; where they constantly scrape flies off; where matches melt in their pockets and daisy cutter bombs take legs off at the hip…They will build stages out of old crates then sit in the mud and rain for three hours just to hear somebody say “Hello, Joe.”
Freedom To Choose
While John Wayne’s star was rising, he was still under contract to Republic Pictures. In fact, the only reason that he was able to star in Stagecoach in the first place is that Republic Pictures agreed to loan Duke out to Walter Wagner, for a hefty fee. Wayne would renew his contract with Republic in May 1943, which lasted thru October 1945. During this period, he filmed a mixture of WWII-themed films such as The Fighting Seabees (1943) and westerns like Dakota (1945). His salary was now almost $45,000.00 per film. More importantly, if Duke was “loaned” to another studio, salary overages were split equally between Wayne and Republic Pictures.
John Wayne’s final contract with Republic Pictures was a seven-picture deal that began on October 1945 and ended on January 14, 1952. His base salary was now a whopping $100,000 per film. During this productive and creative period, Duke starred in such classics as Angel and the Badman (1947) and Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), for which Duke was nominated for his first Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Most importantly, since this new contract was a seven-picture deal, there was no “loan-out clause” The result was that Duke was able to work for other studios, pick and choose his scripts, and negotiate the best possible salary.
By the end of WWII, Duke was established as one of the top stars in Hollywood. Further, it would be the non-Republic films that he starred in during this period, before 1952, that would cement his legacy as one of the great screen legends. Fort Apache (1948) and She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949), both produced by Argosy Pictures, showed a side of Duke that no one had ever seen before. His characters had pathos and depth. He was also acting and not just reacting. There may be no better example of this than Red River (1948), directed by Howard Hawks. The film is one of Duke’s very best. For John Wayne, the best, and worst, were still yet to come.
To read Part Two, Click Here.
