I go to Blockbuster to get a John Wayne picture. Any John Wayne picture. Their set-up SUCKS. They no longer put the classics in their own section – they mix them in – which, in theory, is cool – but it does make it hard to find things. Because … you have to get into the Blockbuster mindset in order to figure out what THEY think a certain movie is. Oh, so they think THIS is a drama … ooooookay.
They need to have a Western section. Sorry. I know they’re action films, but they’re WESTERNS. THEY ARE THEIR OWN GENRE.
But here’s what was beautiful (although frustrating for me, in my impatient state):
EVERY John Wayne movie was out. They had quite a few films in stock – but ALL of them were rented.
I went to find Stagecoach. Already out. Okay. Let’s try Rio Bravo. Out. Hmmm. Plan C. Went to go find The Searchers. Out. Went to go find Man who shot Liberty Valance. Out. Sands of Iwo Jima. Out. She wore a yellow ribbon. Out. Quiet Man. Out. True Grit. Out.
GodDAMMIT. I was so KEEN on seeing John Wayne that I stood there, in the grimy blue-carpeted space of my local Blockbuster, frustrated, feeling completely helpless. For a moment. I thought: “But … but … I want to see him NOW …”
And then in the next second, another feeling washed over me – a deeper realization of what had just happened … and how it completely validated the sensations that Peter Bogdonavich’s gorgeous essay had awoken in me … not only that, but it confirmed the points Bogdonavich had made:
Every John Wayne film in that store was rented.
It hit me again.
Every John Wayne film in that store was rented.
Yeah, they have 50 copies of Herbie the Love Bug Unplugged, yeah, they have 800 copies of Troy placed right by the door because THAT IS WHAT THE PUBLIC WANTS … and that’s fine …
but every John Wayne film in that store was rented.
I felt this sweep of emotion go over me … overpowering really … my throat clogged up … and standing there, in that glaringly-lit inartistic horribly set-up Blockbuster: I felt that actor’s enduring greatness all around me.
They just don’t make ’em like that anymore.
Was it like finding out that you had to ask for Queen at the checkout counter?
Laura –
you’re sweet to remember.
Yeah, I guess it is a very similar experience.
Wayne’s enduring popularity. You STILL can’t keep his videos in the store. Very very moving to me.
I can’t believe it. It’s so so so good. I will be posting MANY excerpts when I finish it.
I’m imagining you cracking your knuckles.
Their set-up SUCKS. They no longer put the classics in their own section – they mix them in –
Sheila, EVERY time I’m there I think, Fecking (I got fecking from you and my friends dig it.) idiots. Can’t you just have a “Classics” section? How hard would that be?
Quiet Man.
“There’ll be no locks or bolts between us Mary Kate – except for those in your own mercenary little heart.”
And you KNOW how he says, “Mary Kate.”
Don’t get me started.
_______________________________________________
I hate Blockbuster, but if you want to stare at desperate Latinas clinging to their “man” and children screaming that they want to see the animated of the month, or gay guys cruising the “Foreign” section, then Blockbuster is an ok place. Plus, there are not many other options these days. I used my Blockbuster card in “fecking” Rome, Italy for God’s sake!
Then there’s this. (I had to resort to Google to get the exact lines.)
Mary Kate Danaher: It’s a bold one you are! Who gave you leave to be kissin’ me?
Thornton: So you can talk!
Mary Kate Danaher: Yes I can, I will and I do! And it’s more than talk you’ll be gettin’ if you step a step closer to me!
Thornton: Don’t worry – you’ve got a wallop!
Mary Kate Danaher: You’ll get over it, I’m thinkin’.
Thornton: Well, some things a man doesn’t get over so easy.
Mary Kate Danaher: Like what, supposin’?
Thornton: Like the sight of a girl coming through the fields with the sun on her hair… kneeling in church with a face like a saint…
Mary Kate Danaher: Saint indeed!
Thornton: …and now coming to a man’s house to clean it for him.
Mary Kate Danaher: But… that was just my way of bein’ a good Christian act.
Thornton: I know it was, Mary Kate Danaher. And it was nice of you.
Mary Kate Danaher: Not at all.
I will and I do!
Iknow it was, Mary Kate Danaher.
He uses her full name.
Ok. I’ll stop now. It’s time for bed,
BTW, Have you seen How Green Was My Valley featuring “young Master Roddy McDowell?”
The Green Berets is still one of my all-time favorite movies.
Patrick – for some reason, the contemptuous little quotation marks you put around the word “man” made me laugh out loud.
I think I need to do a whole post about The Quiet Man … I love that you know huge chunks of it (or all of it???) by heart.
Maureen O’Hara said that John Wayne was her best friend in the business. They worked together many times. She loved him dearly.
Bless you, Sheila. The Duke–it seemed for a long time that is was the accepted thing to denigrate his acting as him playing himself over and over. Most people don’t realize how hard he worked to become the actor he was. It is hard to name anyone who had more prescence on the screen. The Quiet Man, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Searchers, Donovan’s Reef(A fun film), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, True Grit, The Shootist(Not a great flick, but Wayne and Bacall are great), Red River, Rio Bravo, The Conqueror(OK, scratch that one), etc, etc. I always loved John Wayne. For one thing, my Grandfather looked, and was built, a lot like him. The two of us used to watch all the cowboy movies and TV shows together. Wayne made it OK for men to enjoy movies. It is nice to see the Duke’s work praised and appreciated.
DBW – yeah, he started out as a prop guy. Which, I think, says a lot about who he was. He was a collaborator. He loved the entire process of making movies. He never went to his trailer in between takes – like so many actors do. He hung out with the crew.
And when the time came to act – he just DID IT.
I will compile a ton of quotes from the Bogodnavich essay – it just makes you LOVE him.
Also, how damn FUNNY he was … he sounds like he would have been a riot to hang out with.
And it was very tough for people to transcribe his interviews in a form that it would be okay to print, because every other word is a swear. hahahaha He had a total trash mouth.
To me, there’s more to the Duke than his acting skills. He’s always reminded me of my father. the big strong silent type, using words sparingly. noble, honest. A man of a different era. They dont make them like the Duke anymore.
One of my fave John Wayne movies, apart from all the other great ones mentioned above, is “In Harm’s Way.” I must have seen that movie a million times and every time I catch in on the tube, I watch it.
Then there’s the Shootist, Sons of Katie Elder..the list goes on and on.
I only own two DVDs. One is Its a Wonderful Life and the other is Who shot Liberty Valance. The Duke and Jimmy Stewart in the same flick? Pure feckin gold.
Well, the studio system – with all its faults – was set up to take care of their major stars – like Wayne – in a way that studios are not set up today.
So when we say “they don’t make ’em like that anymore” – we are also talking about how stars are ‘created’. Stars are free-agents now. THEY run Hollywood, for better or for worse. We’ve got some great actors today, of course – but you don’t get that MYTHIC quality around them – not because they don’t have it in them, but because the entire studio system is not set up to create and nurture that myth.
The John Wayne “persona” was sort of found and created – through his early movies with John Ford. But it took 10 years for him to get “the role” that would really solidify it in the public’s mind.
And once the studios realized what they had – they made SURE to nurture that persona.
This world is completely dead in Hollywood. I think it needed to die, it was WAY too top-heavy – but that’s one of the reasons why those old actors, the Bogarts, the Waynes, the Marilyn Monroes – have an elevated appeal that crosses over generations. Hollywood was openly in the myth-making business back then. They aren’t now.
Oh, and funny thing – John Wayne said that he just blatantly was imitating John Ford in all his great roles with that director. “I just imitated him … because he loved that character – he had a real affection for that character – so I figured it was a part of him he wanted to come out …”
Except the walk. The John Wayne walk really was how he walked.
One other thing about Wayne–he had class. When Jane Fonda, with whom he disagreed about most things political, was being run through the ringer for her Vietnam antics, he sent her a letter or telegram that said, “Don’t let the bastards get you down.” There is a social grace to that that I admire.
DBW – I didn’t know that – that is very classy. Yeah. He loved acting more than he loved politics.
When Bogdonovich interviewed him, after it was all done – Wayne stood up, took a moment – and shouted, “Christ … it was good to talk about pictures! All anyone wants to talk to me about is fucking politics. Jesus CHRIST!”
hahahahaha
Also, sorry – I love how those old-timers called them “pictures”.
I just love that. Such a better word, I think, than “movies”. :)
Another thing I learned about him that I really liked:
He was very generous to up and comers. Be they actors or directors. He loved newbies – he loved their enthusiasm – becuase that was one of the things he never lost: his enthusiasm for the work he did. He hated being around cynical “over it” people.
Oh God, The Duke is by far one of my favorite actors of all time! Who can for get “The Cowboys”? In my opinion, one of his best roles. I got to see him once when I was a small boy while they were filming “Rooster Cogburn” in New Mexico. All I remember is this giant figure, but not scary or imposing. I only wish I knew then just what a rare and special day it was. I didn’t get it until many years after his death. While living in England, I finally understood just how important he was. The British folks I knew ADORED him. I sure miss his work; thank GOD for DVDs!! Thanks Sheila for bringing back some wonderful memories. I think I’ll watch The Cowboys tonight
Rude1 – wow. You got to see him in person!!
Mark Rydell (who directed him in … hmmmm. can’t remember) … talked about how incredible he was with the kids in the film. In between takes, the kids would literally climb all over his body. He would be sitting there looking over his script, in his chaps and vest, with kids hanging off him like little chimps.
hahahaha
A classic actor. One of the all-time greats!
Damn. How did I forget to put The Cowboys in my list. The Duke bites the dust, and is revenged by boys. No, I have something in my eye.
DBW –
ohhhhhh. :) Yup – John Wayne, for some reason, makes me get things in my eye as well.
Okay. That’s it. I need to start to build up my DVD collection of John Wayne stuff so I can see it WHENEVER I WANT. I have every single movie Cary Grant ever made IN MY HOUSE. Even the god-awful Touch of Mink. I can see Cary Grant whenever I want. Same with Bogart. I have every important Bogart movie at my command.
I have now realized I need to have John Wayne in my apartment as well.
Sheila, you can borrow any of mine anytime!
DBW, yep, The Cowboys do that to me too. I still remember the first (and one of the few) time I saw my father cry. The Alamo…
“I have now realized I need to have John Wayne in my apartment as well.”
No problem, little lady. A nice little gal like you can have me anywhere you want. Just give me a holler. I always had a thing for redheads.
Mr. Wayne – That is awfully kind of you, but I truly fear that you are TOO BIG to fit in my apartment. I can’t picture you in my hallway. You would overpower my teeny urban kitchen. We’d have to go hang out up on the roof and drink whiskey.
Little Lady, the roof sounds fine. Now, I don’t know that I’d trust myself on a roof with a lady like yourself, that is, after too many whiskeys. I mean even a gentleman has limits to his restraint. I may be too big for your living room, but you look like you’d fit just about perfect in mine–and in my arms. I guess I’m sayin’, “It’s a date.”
I am flirting with John Wayne on my blog right now.
Life is beautiful.
Flirting? I just thought we were coming to terms–real social like.
You’re probably right, Duke. I’m out of practice.
The other thing about the Blockbuster being completely out of John Wayne films: This is called market research. And it didn’t cost Blockbuster a penny. Actually, there are lessons there for the whole industry.
Dearest: I saw Frank Gorshen do an imitation of John Wayne bowling. That Wayne walk! love, dad
Ken –
yeah, you’re right about that, come to think of it!!!
The whole Blockbuster thing is baffling to me – I truly think it’s a horrible chain, unless you want the latest movies.
It’s convenient – but it really sucks, in general. Movie selection, the set up, the staff are just IGNORANT and unhelpful … at least where I live.
Strange that they’re so successful.
Actually, you nailed it: convenience. Blockbuster is ubiquitous (spell it right, he said to himself through gritted imaginary teeth), and they’re more aggressively marketed than any other chain (and any independent). For the average person who is not at all a film buff, they’re probably okay. Who needs helpful staff to find Titanic the month it comes out?
But think of it: as hard as Blockbuster made it (unintentionally, no doubt) to find and rent every John Wayne film in the place, persons unknown took the trouble to do it anyway.
I would say “go make more pictures like that,” but obviously it’s not that easy.
Ken –
hmmmmm. Very interesting.
Blockbuster sucks – Netflix Netflix Netflix.
And they’re currently selling some nice bundles of Wayne DVDs now – I think the one I got had The Cowboys, The Searchers, Stagecoach, and Rio Bravo.