The actor who despised John Wayne just as much as he loathed her: “I hate bad-mouthing a lady”
Once he was firmly established as one of Hollywood’s marquee names, working with John Wayne became an intimidating prospect. Because he also projected himself as the manliest man who ever manned, it was even more daunting for women to go toe-to-toe with ‘The Duke’ on the big screen.
Katharine Hepburn is one of, if not the greatest of all time, and she called him a “bastard.” They weren’t necessarily enemies, though, even if the four-time Academy Award winner discovered that trying to wrestle the spotlight away from the face of the ‘Golden Age’ western was easier said than done.
This is the guy who thought women working as grips on film sets was ludicrous because they couldn’t possibly be strong enough, not to mention the person who spent almost the entire shoot of Hondo bullying Geraldine Page for her method approach to character, which left him more confused than anything when she landed an Oscar nomination for her efforts.
That’s not to suggest ‘The Duke’ was a rampaging sexist, although it’s not untrue to say that he wasn’t exactly progressive. Maureen O’Hara was his closest female friend, and it’s not a coincidence that she referred to her as being like one of the guys, while he didn’t speak too highly of Vera Ralston or Kim Darby, who he didn’t think were very good at their job.
Wayne’s criticism of his female co-stars for being crap actors was a recurring trend, and he also applied the descriptor to Capucine, the model-turned-actor who played Michelle Bonet opposite his Sam McCord in Henry Hathaway’s 1960 adventure North to Alaska, her first major Hollywood role.
He didn’t take too kindly to her, and as it turned out, the feeling was mutual. “I wish I could say I liked John Wayne very much. But I didn’t,” she told Michael Munn. “I just happened to be someone who was in a John Wayne picture. He knew it, and he expected everyone else to know it. He was not the man I expected.”
She wasn’t a particularly experienced onscreen performer, and she was primarily hired to play the part because she was in a relationship with producer Charles Feldman, and Hathaway only ended up with the directing job because the original choice, Richard Fleischer, had refused to make North to Alaska with Capucine starring.
Shooting commenced without a finished script, and while the more seasoned professionals were up to the task, ‘The Duke’ didn’t consider her as one of them. “She was all wrong for the part,” he said. “It was a fun film to make and to watch, but, damn it, I hate bad-mouthing a lady. Capucine was not very good, and we’ll leave it at that.”
She wasn’t the first or last woman he had an issue working with, but she was one of the few who didn’t have any issues letting everyone know she felt the exact same way. Yes, Wayne thought Capucine was a terrible actor and he trashed her performance, but she didn’t like him either and even mocked him for wearing a toupee and using lifts in his boots to make himself appear taller, so fair’s fair.
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