1. Big Jake (1971)
2. The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
3. The Horse Soldiers (1959)
4. The Alamo (1960)
5. The Quiet Man (1952)
6. Donovan's Reef (1963)
7. The Comancheros (1961)
8. Rio Bravo (1959)
9. El Dorado (1966)
10. Rio Lobo (1970)
There's no point in my memory where John Wayne wasn't part of my movie-viewing experience. I've been watching his Westerns since before I could probably talk. Big Jake is not just my favorite John Wayne Western, but it's one of my top five movies of all time. John Wayne movies are like comfort food, and I return to them again and again.
There was a statue of John Wayne at the bank we used to go to when I was young, which was Great Western (I'm still mad it's gone, and sometimes slip and call my current bank Great Western). They also handed out posters of John Wayne once, and I still have mine. It's one I should frame at some point. I used to wear a silver bracelet like his, just because he did.
Rio Lobo, on the other hand, I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with. This movie got watched an awful lot when I was young. I had a big crush on Jorge Rivera for awhile. I love this movie (particularly the beginning) with one BIG EXCEPTION -- I cannot stand Jennifer O'Neill in this movie. She almost single-handedly ruins the whole picture with her inability to act or deliver her lines. She drives me insane. If you remove her (and Sherry Lansing), everything else goes fine, swimmingly, delightfully! Jack Elam is hilarious, Chris Mitchum is earnest and cute. But then, here comes Jennifer O'Neill's character, and I just cringe. So, a love-hate relationship indeed.
(next up... Jimmy Stewart)
3 comments:
Where's Hatari, that's one of my guilty pleasures!!
I've seen that one only once, alas. I'm a big Hardy Kruger fan, so I liked it because of him, but I'm not too fond of the animal stuff.
You left off the Man Who Shot Liberty Valence. It may not have been his best movie, which it wasn't, but him and Lee Marvin work, as in well with each other.
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