Stunt doubles

[PJ Hardtack]

Just watched John Wayne in "Chisum". There were several scenes where it blatantly obvious that it was his stunt double who took all the falls in the fight scenes.

There was also a lot of shooting done with no visible reloads. Did we care when the movie was current?

I liked the way the Duke made reference to God with regard to the old saw - "No law west  of Dodge and no God west of Pecos."

The Duke said - "Wherever people go, there will soon be law and find out that God was already there."

[Major 2]

By the time the Duke had done "Chisum" he was 64 years old , had his left lung removed 6 years earlier, and just 9 years to live.
I suppose we "went"  to "A John Wayne MOVIE" .... he was that great a draw....
A year earlier, he'd done True Grit .... he even survived two clunkers in McQ & Brannigan and had the Shootist as his swan song.

When you ask , Did we care when the movie was current?  I think...NO ...he was JOHN WAYNE still bigger than life.

If he's on I still watch over and over

Favorites

The Quite Man , Searchers, Donovan's Reef , They Were Expendables , Blood Alley, Wings of Eagles , The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance , Operation Pacific ,  Sands of Iwo Jima , Horse Soldiers,  In Harm's Way , McLintock  & the Cavalry Trilogy

In no particular order    

[PJ Hardtack]

Gee, this November I'll be the Duke's age when he passed away! Sobering thought. I too am a cancer survivor, just over 5 years in remission. Makes every day a GOOD day; not to die, but to LIVE!

Every once in a while when I find myself wallowing a little or indulging in a hissy fit of some sort, I give my head a shake and remind myself of the 11th Commandment - "Thou shalt not whine!".

I've learned to find the beauty in a rainy day or doing a dirty job. It's all good.

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[nagantino]

John Wayne and Elvis. Now there's a pair. When I was younger and Big John was still making movies, I would never have gone to see either John Wayne or an Elvis movie. Why? Because we saw them as old. Dumb ehhh. Having said that the best Christmas I remember was when the BBC first showed True Grit. The Shootist was a good movie and shows that any actor, no matter who, needs a good director and a good script. How often does that happen?
Stunt doubles are always a source of mirth. One of the worst offenders was The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. That fight scene in the bar exposed some bad stuntdoubling. But because of the action and the editing of this scene (and the whole movie) I will hear no criticism of a single second of it.

[Major 2]

Up date: just after I wrote the above..

John Wayne in " Operation Pacific"   WW II  Submarine film ..... I watched 

Wed. night will have the "Quiet Man "  Pretty sure I'll be watching

[The Elderly Kid]

John Wayne like to do his own stunts where feasible, but he made a number of movies with Ben Johnson and Johnson often doubled for him on horse stunts. Wayne was just nowhere near the caliber of horseman that Johnson was, plus Johnson was almost identical in size and build, a rare combination.

[PJ Hardtack]

I always enjoy "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" for the performances of Bogey and Walter Huston.

The story line is also quite a moral play, showing how the love of money can corrupt a man's soul and poison his mind.

And who ever will Forget - "Badges? What badges? We don' need no steenkin' badges .... "; and the fight was on ..... !

[Major 2]

Ben Johnson was fine horseman he was wrangling and doing the Roman Riding in Fort Apache.
 During shooting, a team of horses stampeded pulling a wagon with three men on board . Johnson, stopped the runaway wagon, and saved the men.

Yakima Canutt normally doubled the Duke. 

[PJ Hardtack]

I believe that it was Yakima that did that famous stunt of being dragged under the coach by the runaway team.

I saw a doc where Wayne gave full credit to Canutt, Carey Jr. and Ben Johnson for their work in his movies. We won't see the like of them for a while.

[hp246]

Ben Johnson and Yakima Canutt were both World Champon Rodeo Riders in there own right.

[The Elderly Kid]

Wayne was an acto rand athlete who learned to ride for the movies. Johnson and Canutt literally grew up in the saddle. Incidentally, Canutt choreographed the chariot race for "Ben Hur," and Yakima Jr. did the stunt driving for Charleton Heston. In another bit of luck like the Wayne/Johnson rsemblance, Yakima Canutt, Jr. bore an amazing resemblance to Heston, both facially and in build. Look at pictures of the famous incident where Ben Hur goes over the front of his chariot and has to scramble off the traces and back in. Even in semi-closeup photos you'd swear it was Heston, but it was young Canutt.

[nagantino]

Ben Hur is an interesting one.  Movie critics would often make reference to someone in the background scenes wearing a wristwatch but I've looked and never seen it despite numerous viewings. I watched The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing last night with Burt Reynolds who did lots of his own stunts, and how he kept that wig, sorry Hair Unit on, during a fight with Jack Warden was a miracle.