The Steven Spielberg movie John Wayne called “the most anti-American piece of drivel”
John Wayne might have established himself as one of the most recognisable Hollywood icons in history, but his reactionary politics have only undermined his legacy. He became one of the most recognisable faces on the planet following a string of performances as America’s very own tough guy, donning cowboy hats and military garb in a celebration of US ruggedness.
In the late 1970s, with his star waning and his attitude towards his work changing, Wayne had the opportunity to work with a burgeoning Steven Spielberg, but he turned it down and blamed Spielberg for being unpatriotic. It was a move that would actually end up as a smart sidestep for Wayne, who managed to avoid being a part of what is considered by many to be the director’s worst venture. However, for Wayne, things were far more serious.
Throughout his career, Wayne used his badge of Republican conservatism to become a stooge for powerful people. He made several outrageously racist, misogynistic and homophobic comments and was a vocal advocate for McCarthyism, responsible for spouting anti-communist nonsense to garner political favour. This position gave him an unrelenting view of the creative world, and he routinely took aim at Hollywood, deeming it to be perverse.
Despite his abhorrent behaviour and hypocritical political positions, Wayne was considered for a role in Steven Spielberg’s 1979 comedy 1941 along with Charlton Heston and Jimmy Stewart, among others. The young director wanted one of these legendary actors to play the role of Major General Joseph Stilwell, a performance which Robert Stack eventually picked up.
Featuring the likes of Toshiro Mifune, Christopher Lee, John Belushi, Ned Beatty and many more, 1941 revolved around the aftermath of the Pearl Harbour attack. The production was rife with issues, including cocaine, historical inaccuracies, and general chaos. Presented as an epic war comedy, Spielberg’s project wasn’t among his most successful ventures at first, but despite many film fans deeming it his worst release, it has transformed into a cult classic over the years.
Wayne was very critical of the idea of making a comedy about the Pearl Harbour attack and called Spielberg’s screenplay “the most anti-American piece of drivel he had ever read in his life”. While Wayne’s moral outrage was predictable, his patriotism did not result in his military enlistment during the actual war.
According to Spielberg, Wayne requested the director for the screenplay and called him the next day to criticise him for producing a comedy he considered “un-American”. He refused to participate in Spielberg’s project, told the director not to pursue 1941, and called the idea a great disappointment.
Spielberg recalled: “[Wayne] was really curious and so I sent him the script. He called me the next day and said he felt it was a very un-American movie, and I shouldn’t waste my time making it. He said, ‘You know, that was an important war, and you’re making fun of a war that cost thousands of lives at Pearl Harbour. Don’t joke about World War II.'”
Spielberg explained to Empire that he and Wayne “became telephone friends, we’d talk on the phone once a month,” and that he didn’t just hate the script, he felt Spielberg simply had to remove himself from ever making it: “He said, ‘I was so surprised at you. I thought you were an American. I thought you were going to make a movie to honour World War II. This dishonours the memory of what happened.’ He said, ‘Don’t even make this film. I’ll be very disappointed in you if you wind up making this picture.’”
Of course, Spielberg would end up making the picture, but on many levels, there is probably something inside him that now agrees with Wayne, if only for slightly different reasons.
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