“You goddamned son of a bitch!”: Why John Wayne lost his cool on the set of a western classic
In the western genre, one man stands tallest among the greats. John Wayne‘s position as one of the ultimate eon-screen cowboys will likely never be challenged. Despite the fact that westerns seem to be on the verge of a cinematic comeback, and aside from Wayne’s almost ubiquitous appearances in those made in the 1940s and ’50s, the real reason The Duke’s spot is so neatly cordoned off for him is that he commanded the screen with the arrogant grit of a dusty sheriff.
For a long while, Wayne operated as America’s superhero. Especially in the moments just before, during, and after the Second World War, Wayne’s imposing figure, swaggering strut, and unstoppable justice on screen made everyday Americans feel safe in his presence. For many of those citizens, Wayne represented what they wanted their country to be. But, naturally, there was a darker side to that image.
Of course, there is a lot to loathe about John Wayne. His notoriously hardline conservatism, his unwillingness to acknowledge the changing times of the world around and his flagrantly racist outbursts make him an unsavoury figure to look back on today. While there is no excuse for some of his behaviour, there is an argument that many of his outbursts could be linked to the speed at which the world was changing around him and the fallibility he felt within it.
For an actor who had so often been pitched as the hero of the piece, to be left behind, forgotten or simply not needed must’ve felt a particularly difficult role to work in. It manifested itself in many ways, and while Wayne would often talk in interviews about how the movie industry changing through method acting and what he deemed as “peverted” films was an awful thing, he would also struggle on set, too.
There are plenty of stories about Wayne humiliating his co-stars and being equally as traumatised by his own relationship with John Ford. However, perhaps one of the most telling is when the star explodes with rage on the set of The Sons of Katie Elder. The shoot began in 1965 after Wayne had undergone serious surgery to have a cancerous lung and two ribs removed.
It is the kind of procedure which should have pushed Wayne out of taking pictures for some time; however, the actor who once proclaimed, “I’m what men are made of”, clearly allowed his machismo to make the decision and made his way to set. Only four months after his surgery, Wayne was working on another western and, what’s more, completing some of his own stunts.
One such stunt included the star being dragged by a horse through water, a trick which, despite his wet suit, would see him almost catch pneumonia. Those who have watched the scene carefully can hear Wayne’s young son Ethan yell, “Come on, Dad!” in an attempt to cajole his father.
Co-star and ‘Rat Pack’ legend Dean Martin told Time: “Someone else would have laid around, feeling sorry for himself, for a year. But ‘Duke’, he just doesn’t know how to be sick. He’s recuperating the hard way. He’s two loud-speaking guys in one. Me, when people see me, they sometimes say, ‘Oh, there goes Perry Como.’ But there’s only one John Wayne, and nobody makes any mistakes about that”.
With the director keen to present America with the John Wayne he had grown up with, he made sure to re-shoot scenes that had Wayne’s gut on show, allowed the actor to have an on-set doctor who would help with aches and pains and, as the shoot was taking place at high altitude, encouraged Wayne to use an oxygen tank whenever he could.
While using the tank, Gene Sysco of The Globe snapped a pick of the star, and Wayne lost his cool. According to Randy Roberts’ John Wayne: American, the actor yelled and threw the can at the photographer: “You goddamned son of a bitch! Give me that fucking film!” Dutifully, Sysco handed over the film and vacated as soon as possible.
This outburst, though, showcases the fragility of Wayne’s character. As he aged into an unusual role that was compounded by weakness, far removed from the hardened heroes he had made his name from, Wayne’s desire to present himself as forthright and, ultimately, scary offered him plenty of opportunities to cast himself as a villain. In this case, Wayne would soon apologise, “I’m a grown man. I ought to be able to control myself better than I did today. I’m sorry.” However, he held on to the film in a keen attempt to preserve the tough guy image of John Wayne, which was perhaps most important to Wayne himself.
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