The Stanley Kubrick movie John Wayne called “Marxist propaganda”
Much like many of the most famous characters he played on-screen, John Wayne was a man with a rigid set of moral and political beliefs that he adhered to unequivocally for his entire life, which saw him denigrate a Stanley Kubrick classic as a movie made with ulterior motives in mind.
As one of the biggest stars in the business, Wayne’s opinion carried a lot of weight in Hollywood, which took an unsavoury turn when he became one of the staunchest celebrity backers of the House Un-American Activities Committee during the industry’s Communist witch-hunt, which saw countless names blacklisted, blackballed, and effectively excommunicated.
Among the most prominent was Dalton Trumbo, who nonetheless continued to write screenplays under a pseudonym, with his scripts winning plenty of praise and acclaim along the way. However, a combination of Kubrick and Kirk Douglas helped end his blacklisting after the powerhouse pair fought for him to be credited under his actual name.
The reunited Paths of Glory duo were adamant that Trumbo be recognised for his work, but notorious anti-Communist A-lister Wayne wasn’t of the same mind. Spartacus marked the first time in a decade the writer had been credited under his given name, something ‘The Duke’ simply couldn’t abide.
Wayne and acerbic columnist Hedda Hopper were among the most prominent figures in Hollywood’s right-wing movement, which caused them to blast Spartacus as “Marxist propaganda”. Even though it’s an epic historical drama set in ancient Rome, the parallels between the rebellion central to the story and the battles going on behind the scenes in Tinseltown were there to be drawn, while author Howard Fast had even written the source novel while in prison for refusing to name names to the House Un-American Activities Committee.
The president even ended up getting involved in the debate over Spartacus, after John F. Kennedy crossed a picket line established by anti-Communist groups like the National Legion of Decency in order to see the film, which he ended up finding hugely enjoyable.
Considering that Spartacus recouped its production budget more than four times over at the box office and won four Academy Awards from six nominations, it’s clear that neither general audiences nor voting bodies during awards season had any issues with the so-called “Marxist propaganda” becoming one of the highest-grossing and heavily-rewarded releases of 1960.
There was no lingering bad blood between Douglas and Wayne, either, after they ended up sharing the screen seven years later in The War Wagon. The two shared a mutual respect for each other even in the face of their opposing views, although the former did make a point of noting how “we never discuss politics” whenever they were together, while Spartacus was viewed as instrumental in helping to end the blacklist for good.
