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Celebrating the Duke's 100th Birthday many studios rolled
out boxed sets from the small companies to the large covering
both important and trivial films that John Wayne made during
his lifetime. Universal's set falls somewhere in between
these two extremes; while I wouldn't exactly classify many
of these as classics, there are some good films here as
well as some near misses that are still enjoyable for the
Duke's fans. ***
Cecil B. DeMille's "Reap the Wild Wind" wasn't really
designed as a Wayne vehicle at all-in fact Ray Milland is
really the star of the film but Wayne gives a solid supporting
performance in this film that follows two salvage companies
that are fighting over the spoils of clipper ships crashed
on the shoals of the Key West area in the mid-19th century.
Loxi Claiborne (Paulette Goddard) and Capt. Phil Philpott
(Lynne Overman) fight over the spoils with King Cutler (Raymond
Massey). Loxi falls for Captain Jack Stuart (John Wayne)
who is rescued from his destroyed ship. Company lawyer and
Stuart's rival for Loxi Stephen Tolliver (Ray Milland) returns
to investigate the cause of the crash. ***
This DeMille potboiler won an Oscar for Best Visual
Effects and was nominated for two more . With a top notch
cast, it's pretty easy to overlook the flaws in the film.
It's a solid bit of entertainment even if the melodrama
has aged the film for younger audiences. ***
"Rooster Cogburn" is a sequel to "True Grit" although
it lacks much of the gritty character of the original film
Martha Hyer (who wrote the original screenplay for "True
Grit" as well) does a good job of creating material for
Wayne and co-star Katherine Hepburn to play with. When a
small Indian Nation is attacked by thugs, Eula Goodnight
the daughter of the minister who helped look after the Indians
hires Marshal Cogburn to chase down the thugs and bring
them to justice. ***
"Rooster Cogburn" plays as a nice sequel to "True Grit"
with Wayne and Hepburn doing outstanding work at delivering
Hyer's witty dialogue. As with many Wayne westerns of the
time, "Rooster Cogburn" has a top notch supporting cast
including the terrific character actors Anthony Zerbe, the
late Richard Jordan ("Logan's Run"), John McIntire and Strother
Martin. ***
"The Hellfighters" was made in 1968 and features Wayne
as a contractor hired to come in and blow up oil fields
that have caught on fire. Featuring nice performances by
Katherine Ross, the late Jim Hutton and Vera Miles, "The
Hellfighters" is a solid if predictable adventure film directed
by long-time Wayne director Andrew V. McLaglen ***
"The War Wagon" was often a staple on network TV during
the 70's which isn't a surprise given the star power of
Wayne and Kirk Douglas. Written by Clair Huffaker (from
his novel) "Wagon" is a solid western adventure but nothing
extraordinary. Wayne plays Taw Jackson who has just returned
from prison. He wants the gold and land that Frank Pierce
(Bruce Cabot) stole from him. Jackson's unlikely partner
in this venture is Lomax (Douglas) a man who had conflicts
with Jackson before. Jackson's plan is to steal a large
shipment of gold that Pierce is having delivered. ***
"The Spoilers" was made in 1942 and features a third
billed Wayne performing opposite Marlene Dietrich and Randolph
Scott. A western set during the gold rush in Alaska the
film has been remade a number of times to varying effect
over the years. The 1942 version is a solid bit of entertainment.
Miner Roy Glennister (Wayne) and his partner Dextry (Harry
Carey) fight to save their gold claim from Alexander McNamara
(Scott) the commissioner in the area. ---
Image & Sound:
All the films look quite good with the films from "War
Wagon" the least impressive looking to me. Still colors
are good for those films shot in color and images although
occasionally soft look pretty decent. Audio is adequate
with dialogue coming through clear. ---
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