MovieChat Forums > The Train Robbers (1973) Discussion > John Wayne finally stated the obvious.

John Wayne finally stated the obvious.

posted 8 years ago by myke243
4 replies | jump to latest

Lane: I got a saddle that's older than you are, Mrs. Lowe.

I have watched a lot of mid 50's westerns and have seen lead male stars playing along side the lead female stars knowing full well the male is 25 to 35 years older than the female..........OMG some would qualify as Grand Daughter!! Randolph Scott was probably the worst serial offender in this genre (although I could name hundreds that would also qualify....I guess this was Hollywood during that era. That is why it was so refreshing to hear the above dialog in "The Train Robbers" after Ann-Margaret doing the "come-on" to Wayne and he replied the above. John Wayne was no innocent in his prior movies, as he played the romantic lead to several statutory leading ladies (AKA Angie Dickinson RIO BRAVO, etc). I love that Wayne finally got it before he passed.

[–] dannieboy20906 8 years ago

Generally speaking, stars struggle with changing the script. They need a lot of power, as in verified box office credibility to earn a say on the script. Duke Morrison was his own executive producer on his later films and had the box office credibility. He got to control a lot of things.

The best diplomat I know is a fully charged phaser bank.

[–] porfle 8 years ago

I think it's great for older actors to be paired up with younger actresses. And sheesh, the age difference with Angie Dickinson in RIO BRAVO wasn't THAT bad. I say go for it.

[–] phillipsdan83 8 years ago

From the late Fifties onwards, Wayne became increasingly reluctant to play romantic leads. He was especially uncomfortable doing HATARI and DONOVAN'S REEF, as he felt Howard Hawks and John Ford should've gotten younger actors

[–] porfle 7 years ago

Trouble is, when Hawks finally did get younger actors for the romantic stuff in RIO LOBO, he got two of the worst actors in cinema history. Especially Jennifer O'Neil, who was just plain terrible. Seeing that movie made me admire David Cronenberg's ability to coax a passable performance out of her in SCANNERS.