John Wayne once revealed the worst western he was in

No movie star has ever had a better understanding of what their audience wants and how to make it happen than John Wayne. From his breakout performance in the year John Ford's 1939 masterpiece “Stagecoach” Going forward, Wayne was considered one of Hollywood's safest box-office bets, thanks to his knack for making generic westerns or war pictures that carried a bit more clout in the screenwriting and directing departments. It obviously helped that two of the greatest filmmakers of his era, John Ford and Howard Hawks, were frequent collaborators, but Wayne discovered other directors and writers who could work effectively and skillfully on programmers who tackled themes near and dear to Duke's heart (such as family, patriotism and rugged individualism).

Were critics always impressed with Wayne's work? Absolutely not. Fortunately, the feeling was mutual. As Wayne once said of critics, “When people say that a John Wayne picture has gotten bad reviews, I always wonder if they know that's a redundant sentence, but hell, I don't care. People like my pictures, and that's all that matters.”

Wayne's connection with moviegoers seemed unshakable until the 1960s, when Baby Boomers began to reject his old-fashioned jingoism and retrograde views of other cultures. Although most of his films still managed to turn a profit, younger audiences were much more excited about the film explosion. convention-bending spaghetti westerns. Finally, as the 1970s began, Wayne was no longer reliable, and perhaps most vehemently for Duke, the films began to feel like they had been rehashed. Eventually it got to the point where he could no longer deny the drop in quality, and being frank, he had to say something about it.

Directed by his frequent collaborator Andrew W. McLaglen, Cahill US Marshal casts the then 66-year-old Wayne as a tall lawman whose very young sons (ages 17 and 12) help start a bank. robbery, temporarily breaking Dad's gang out of jail while he's out of town on business. You'd expect there would be hell to pay, but these kids are so young that the Duke takes a softer approach and puts up with his sons (who feel neglected after their mother's death).

Despite this slight tweak to the formula, “Cahill US Marshal” remains a standard issue John Wayne Western. But given his age and appearance (Wayne looked 10 years older than he was due to health issues), it all seems stale and sluggish.

And Wayne knew it. In a 1975 interview, two years after the film's release, Duke said Film Heritage representative Tony McLean“It just wasn't a well-done picture. It needed better writing. It needed a little more careful production.” He's not wrong, but is this the worst western he's ever starred in? That distinction could be attributed to “Rooster Cogburn,” an aimless sequel to 1975's “True Grit.” At least Wayne ended his career with a subtle, melancholic western in “The Shooter.” All in all, if he's only produced a handful of truly outstanding auteurs, it's still a surprisingly great achievement.