The one movie John Wayne said “threw acid on the American way of life”
With his macho attitude, rugged physical appearance, and monolithic on-screen presence, John Wayne truly epitomised Hollywood stardom during the multiple decades that he occupied the pinnacle of the industry. He was, for a large part of his career, perceived as America’s ultimate hero.
Whether he was fighting in modern or aged wars, Wayne was always put forward as the all-American protagonist, bereft of fear, complete with courage and the morals of a saint. It would arguably turn him into America’s first-ever superhero.
An enduring film talent who became inextricably linked to patriotic tales of the old American West, Wayne became more than just a film star, transforming into a totem of national pride.
Such came with thanks to a string of iconic performances in classic movies, largely from director John Ford, who seemed dedicated to revisiting America’s past and recontextualising it using Wayne as a mouthpiece. From their debut film together, 1939’s Stagecoach, through to arguably their greatest collaboration, 1956’s Searchers, the pair drew acclaim from all four corners of the world and defined a new brand of American cinema.
Inevitably, the success of both Wayne drew the watchful eye of the Academy, with only ever gaining one Oscar win for his efforts; however, he walked away with a trophy for his performance in 1969’s True Grit. Yet, his first ever Oscar nomination came in 1949 when he starred in Sands of Iwo Jima, a war flick where he starred beside the likes of John Agar, Adele Mara and Forrest Tucker.
The Allan Dwan film saw Wayne play Marine Sgt John Stryker, an army leader whose troops take a dislike to him because of his attitude and his overbearing training programme. However, Stryker’s men started to find appreciation for their leader as the Pacific War went on, and his outlook on the war and his training methods started to pay off.
Nominated for four Oscars, including ‘Best Actor’ for Wayne, ‘Best Writing’, ‘Best Film Editing’, and ‘Best Sound Recording’, the film brought Wayne some long-awaited recognition for his work after having been around in the industry since 1926. Sadly for Wayne, he narrowly lost out on taking home the Oscar, losing out to Broderick Crawford, who starred in Robert Rossen’s All the King’s Men.
Responding to the loss, Wayne rather bitterly noted, “I guess that I am never chosen because the kind of acting which I do is not considered acting by anybody. They would say, ‘Well, it is only John Wayne being John Wayne. He is not acting'”.
Based on Robert Penn Warren’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, All The King’s Men, directed by Rossen, tells of the rise and fall of a ruthlessly idealistic politician in the American South. The film was well admired, but Wayne had no positive things to say about it, especially after he lost to Crawford, an actor he was rather annoyed about losing out to.
“I wouldn’t have minded losing so much if anyone else had won,” Wayne stated about the loss, “[The film] smears the machinery of government for no purpose of humour or enlightenment…degrades all relationships…and throws acid on the American way of life”.
This volatile reaction from Wayne is an expression of his rather unpalatable personality, with the good, if slightly forgettable film, doing nothing at all to truly upset the “American way of life”. But perhaps that is to be expected. Wayne was, after all, a strict conservative who spent much of his time in Hollywood campaigning for American values at the detriment of any other way of life.
As time went on, he wouldn’t just become a part of a league of industry professionals intent on Help Senator Joe McCarthy rid Hollywood of Communist sympathisers, but would also lash out at cinema in general, constantly taking aim at modern movies and accusing them of corrupting American families. The attitude has looked worse and worse as time has passed, leaving his comments about benign movies like All The King’s Men feel even more silly.
Check out the trailer for All the King’s Men below to learn of Wayne’s distaste.
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