The classic 1987 movie that blatantly ripped off John Wayne: “Fans will recognise some punches”
Despite being one of the most instantly recognisable and distinctive personalities in Hollywood history, John Wayne is a hard man to homage or pay tribute to. Unless it’s a parody, that is.
Thanks to his unmistakable drawl, the signature way that he walked, and his fondness for playing himself almost every time he appeared onscreen, ‘The Duke’ has been subjected to many spoofs, piss-takes, and imitations over the years, both before and after his death, but not too many nostalgic tributes.
He’s been the subject of impressions from countless comedians, been used as the butt of a joke on Family Guy and The Simpsons, and there was even a novelty hip-hop song released in the 1980s called ‘The Rappin’ Duke’, while Lady Gaga and Billy Idol are among the artists who’ve recorded songs called ‘John Wayne’.
The ‘Golden Age’ icon is such an indelible presence that he’s almost impossible to channel; if an actor tried to incorporate some Wayne-esque mannerisms into their performance, then they’d simply end up doing a John Wayne impression, and if you’re not starring in a comedy movie, then what’s the point?
That said, Richard Donner did find a workaround. Instead of having any of his characters take their cues from ‘The Duke’, he looked to one of his favourite films that starred the legendary actor, pored through its action choreography, and decided that he wanted to craft a literal blow-by-blow homage.
“I tried to make it more like an old-fashioned western,” the filmmaker explained around the time his classic 1987 buddy cop caper, Lethal Weapon, was released. “Sure, there were a lot of deaths, but they died like they did in westerns. They were shot with bullets; they weren’t dismembered. I like action and a strong storyline. I like to turn my head away in suspense, not in disgust.”
That created an old school versus new school conflict at the heart of the production: Donner, in his late 50s and with decades of experience behind him, was working from a script from Shane Black, the screenwriting wunderkind who wrote it in his mid-20s, with the filmmaker toning down and removing some of the darker, more grisly elements of the initial draft.
“I idolise old westerns,” the Superman and Goonies helmer reiterated. “When I read this, I did a lot of research on the good old John Wayne films. In the fight at the end, between Mel Gibson and Gary Busey, John Wayne fans will recognise some punches right out of Red River.”
Instead of culminating in a shootout, Lethal Weapon ends with Gibson’s Martin Riggs and Busey’s Mr Joshua brawling on a suburban front garden. It was less explosive than action cinema fans had come to expect, and while few people would have noticed, the shadow of ‘The Duke’ looms large over the whole sequence, with Donner confessing that his research went so deep he ripped off some of the fisticuffs from Wayne’s 1948 favourite.
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