Michael Munn - John Wayne : The Man Behind the Myth

21184_ch00.i-xiv.qxd 12/18/03 1:41 PM Page i JOH N WAY N E

T h e M a n B e h i n d T h e My t h 21184_ch00.i-xiv.qxd 12/18/03 1:41 PM Page ii 21184_ch00.i-xiv.qxd 12/18/03 1:41 PM Page iii JOH N WAY N E

T h e M a n B e h i n d T h e My t hM IC H A E L MU N N

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Published by New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. This is an authorized reprint of a hardcover edition published by Robson Books, a member of the Chrysalis Group plc. For information address Robson Books, The Chrysalis Building, Bramley Road, London W10 6SP.

First Electronic Edition March 2005

Copyright Michael Munn, 2003

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21184_ch00.i-xiv.qxd 12/18/03 1:41 PM Page v For all the victims and heroes of 9/11

21184_ch00.i-xiv.qxd 12/18/03 1:41 PM Page vi 21184_ch00.i-xiv.qxd 12/18/03 1:41 PM Page vii Contents

Foreword

ix

A Communist Conspiracy Revealed

From Marion to Duke

Call Him Wayne

Happy Trails, Unhappy Wedlock

Enter Ringo

B Pictures and Politics

Dietrich and DeMille

The War Years

Cold War in Hollywood

A New Bad Marriage

Stardom at Last

Waynes Crusade for Freedom

Quiet in Ireland

Assassins

From the Mighty to the Mongols

The Bloody Battle of Burbank

Searching for the Darkness

Duke Meets Nikita

The Alamo

Working Twenty Years for Nothing

Winning the West, the War, and Wild Africa

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CONTENTS

Life Is a Circus

Licking the Big C

The Vietcong Sniper

Oscar

Last Roundup

Dirty Duke

The Last Ride

The Absolute All-Time Movie Star

Postscript

Filmography

Sources

Bibliography

Index

21184_ch00.i-xiv.qxd 12/18/03 1:41 PM Page ix Foreword

I have a great affection for the man they called the Duke.

There are numerous actors I have a great admiration for, and there are a great many I think were better actors than Wayne. But I can think of only three I have real affection for, and John Wayne is one of them.

One reason simply has to do with his screen persona. I liked

and still likewatching Wayne on screen. Some of his work has touched my life. I cant think of another film that portrayed courage as inspiringly as The Alamo, which was the film that turned me on to Wayne in 1960 when I was just eight. I dont think the critics who savaged the film knew what they were talking about, and I say that with confidence, having been taught a valuable lesson from Laurence Olivier who said, Critics, laddie, know fuck all!

My affection grew when I met Wayne. I spent several days on the set of his only British film, Brannigan, which was filmed in London in the summer of 1974. The first day was spent largely in his trailerjust me and the Duketalking about his life and work, and he also wanted to know all about me.

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FOREWORD

He took a liking to me, partly because I simply wanted to know everything I could learn about the filmmaking business he loved so much. My ambition in those days was to write and direct films. I think too he was impressed by my knowledge of his career and he patiently answered the countless questions I put to him. I knew that Wayne knew as much about moviemaking as anyone, but he said,

Kid, youre talking to the wrong fella. You wanna speak to

[Howard] Hawks, or [Raoul] Walsh, or [Henry] Hathaway. Its a goddamn shame you didnt get the chance to speak to Pappy. I knew that when he spoke of Pappysometimes he called him

Coachhe meant John Ford who had died the previous year.

He also listened while I made observations about his work, both positive and negative. Not once was he patronizing. He askedor maybe he told Brannigans director Douglas Hickox that I should be allowed to spend several days on the set of the film to observe the process of filmmaking. That way, I got to know Wayne better than I ever dreamed was possible.

Another reason for my affection was the fact that we shed a few tears together. Thats not the kind of experience you can have and remain unaffected.

Being with John Wayne was a bit like being in a John Wayne film, because what you see on screen is pretty much what you get in real life. When I told him, You somehow feel like youre an old friend to me, he said, Thats how I hope young people and older peoplethink of me. When you come to see a picture of mine, I want you to know that Im not going to do anything that will make you uncomfortable. I want you to know that you wont be disappointed in me. You may not like every film, and Ive certainly made some stinkers, but its important to me that my fans will always come back because they know I wont be mean, I wont be small, and like an old friend, I wont let them down.

During the days I spent on the set, I tried not to make a nuisance of myself by being in Waynes face all the time. Every time he passed by me, he said, Hi, kid, how ya doing? and every day he made the effort to talk to me over a cup of coffee. He made me feel I was his friend. Hed ask me what I thought of the latest scene. I actually knew a bit about moviemaking because Id worked with 21184_ch00.i-xiv.qxd 12/18/03 1:41 PM Page xi FOREWORD

xi

John Huston a bit, and Id give my honest opinion. When a scene was being shot in Piccadilly Circus in which a red letter box (or

mailbox, if youre American) was used, I told Wayne that a letter box would not be located on a pedestrian island the way it was for the scene. He listened attentively with his arms crossed, and said,

Youre right. But weve got to show the American audience London landmarks they recognize, or they wont believe its London. And there was nowhere else to put the damn thing.

No matter what I said, he never put me down. Occasionally he said, Thats a damn good idea, kid. Ill talk to Hickox. Ive no idea if any suggestions I made were actually used. But he somehow managed to make me feel important. How could I not feel affection for him?