The one scene that “pretty near” cost John Wayne his entire career: “I thought I was through”
Having cast an enormous shadow over the industry during his decades-long run as one of its biggest names, which continues to loom large five decades after his death, it’s impossible to imagine a version of Hollywood without John Wayne. And yet, it almost happened.
It took him a long time to reach the top of the ladder, though, with his early years defined by thankless bit parts and second guesses. ‘The Duke’ wasn’t always convinced he wanted to be an actor, either, taking several behind-the-scenes jobs and playing background characters as and when he was required.
He’d made over a dozen films before he was even credited for the first time, and when he was, it was as Duke Morrison. John Wayne didn’t arrive until 1930’s The Big Trail, and even then, it would be almost another decade before John Ford’s Stagecoach gave him the platform to become the rootin’ tootin’ big-screen icon he’ll always be remembered as.
Ford was his friend, mentor, and father figure, but they didn’t always see eye-to-eye. He’d been an extra in a couple of the director’s pictures before he was awarded even a scant amount of screen time, and when that day finally came, the combustible auteur was left so pissed off that ‘The Duke’ was completely and utterly convinced that it was curtains for his fledgling dreams of cinematic stardom.
In 1928’s Hangman’s House, Wayne actually played two roles, albeit minor ones. He was spotted in the background as a spectator during a horse racing sequence, and again as a man condemned to be hanged. Even though it was a silent film, his loud mouth got the better of him and almost cost him everything when he shot the latter scene.
“That one pretty nearly cost me my career,” Wayne admitted to Peter Bogdanovich. “And I thought it had.” Ford required “a young Irish boy” who needed to be hung from a noose, and he didn’t have to look too far to find one. When they were shooting, he grew increasingly frustrated with his co-star, Hobart Bosworth, because he was tired of listening to “older people tell about their past glories.”
When Hobart said his line, “And ye shall hang by the neck until you are dead, dead, dead!” Wayne screamed “Amen” in response as loud as he possibly could. He remembered that “it came out like a bullhorn,” and despite Hangman’s House being completely soundless, his brashness caused Ford to explode in a fit of rage.
“Jack says, ‘Get that sonofabitch out of the prisoner’s box! Get him off the stage! Get him off the goddamned lot! I don’t want to ever see him again!” ‘The Duke’ recalled. “Well, shit, I went over and got out of my clothes, started out the front gate. I thought I was through.” He was ready to hightail it out of Hollywood for good after ending up on the receiving end of Ford’s wrath, only for a veteran propmaster to talk him down and convince the youngster that he’d be better off seeing it through.
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