MovieChat Forums > The Shootist (1976) Discussion > A very ominous film

A very ominous film

posted 19 years ago by driver_8
42 replies | jump to latest

All of the credit in the world goes to John Wayne for making this film. Here you have the biggest star in Hollywood history, making a film that symbolizes his life. You have an aging actor, whose best days were past him, portraying an aging gunfighter, whose best days were behind him. You have a character trying to fit into a world that had changed too much. Much like Wayne was trying to fit into a changing America. Lastly, you had a character, dying of cancer, trying to accomplish one last thing. Wayne, who was also dying of cancer, like the character, was trying to accomplish one last thing, a great film. To me, this film is special, because you are seeing in real life, a dying icon make his farewell. I don't care if you like Wayne or not, that is something that is quite rare in Hollywood history. This film is very special to me.

"If I throw a dog a bone, I don't want to know if it tastes good or not."

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] darkflyn 19 years ago

amen
The Duke was saying good bye his way. That is why the cast was who they were. Several of them were from other great Wayne movies, or were just good friends. This is an amazing film that blended his life with his art. It is one of the only films where it is art and not just a regular Wayne film with bad guys wore black hats and good guys never run out of bullets. This is my favorite.

[–] The_Moviegeek 19 years ago

I agree, this film is very, very dark. I mean, the plot revolves around death. But this movie is also about possibilities. I mean, he begins a relationship (which is destined for failure, and Gillem becomes a man. This is a very good film.
J

"Oh Benson. My dear Benson you are so mercifully free of the ravages of intelligence"-Time Bandits

[–] jmp418-1 18 years ago

Remember at the end of the movie, Duke nodded to Ron Howard? I think he also nodded to the fans to acknowledge them and say thank you at the same time. Perhaps he knew that The Shootist would be his final film.

[–] The_Moviegeek 18 years ago

Perhaps. It was a good film to end his career on.

J

"You mark that frame an 8, and you're entering a world of pain."-The Big Lebowski

[–] bigdas 18 years ago

Another victim of the H-Bomb era.

[–] The_Moviegeek 18 years ago

Excuse me?

J

"And what is that worth? The promise of a woman..."-The Princess Bride

[–] jrongstad-1 18 years ago

Wayne died of cancer. One of his earlier films was shot at a location near a nuclear bomb testing site. A number of actors from that film died of cancer. So there is speculation they got their cancers from atomic fallout.

[–] jrongstad-1 18 years ago

The film in question is The Conqueror (1956). In the Trivia section for that film, the cancer thing is disscussed.

[–] tomcat69w 17 years ago

I hate to disallusion anyone, because even I thought The Duke was "dying" when he made this film. In reality, Wayne wasn't diagnosed with stomach cancer until 1978 & in 1979 after his stomach was removed the cancer had spread to his intestines and my Hero died that early evening of the 11th of June. Vya Con Dios Duke!

The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get!

[–] chrislyons12 17 years ago

I believe your right. I think as time as gone on the fact that Wayne died of cancer and the character he was playing in this film has cancer has made people assume that he had cancer at the time. He had cancer previously and had a lung removed some years before.

[–] tomcat69w 17 years ago

Yep, sad but true. I think that bit of "trivia" is even in the Trivia for the Duke. Great Film, Great Man. America need's more Duke!

The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get!

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] vivacious_dan 9 years ago

Wayne was very sick when he made this film, dying or not. According to TCM, when Wayne was filming Cahill U.S. Marshall in 1973, he was so ill that he was unable to mount his horse in the movie without someone assisting him. As Cahill was made three years prior to The Shootist, it is safe to assume that his health had deteriorated even further, even if it wasn't cancer he was suffering from at the time.

[–] brefane 15 years ago

In Wayne's case, a combination of atomic fallout and chain smoking.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] 9 years ago

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[–] jctennant55-892-30458 8 years ago

That and the fact that Wayne smoked 2+ packs of unfiltered Camel cigarettes a day for many, many years. I was not a big John Wayne fan until I saw The Shootist. You could almost hear the pain in his voice, from his own suffering.

[–] Citizenright1 17 years ago

Maybe he was a victim of nuclear testing, there is circumstantial evidence. But, the H-bomb era saved a lot of lives in wars that werent fought, too.

[–] jhpen22 9 years ago

By what incalculable math can that be measured? The discussion is about whether or not our nuclear testing killed our own citizens, not just one famous one but a number which is also incalculable.

[–] ContinentalOp 8 years ago

Maybe he was a victim of nuclear testing, there is circumstantial evidence. But, the H-bomb era saved a lot of lives in wars that werent fought, too.

Hardly. Nuclear weapons will very probably be the end of the world. It only saved a number of lives that would have occurred in the invasion of Japan in WWII, it didn't stop wars in general. You had Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf and many more. You also had violent US-backed regime changes in places like Chile.

And it probably did contribute to the deaths of many who worked on 'The Conqueror' such as John Wayne. Not to mention many servicemen who have died due to radiation sickness.

Formerly KingAngantyr

[–] Talking_To_The_Bobs 16 years ago

Great analysis.

REM fan, huh? I love that song.

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http://www.angryelectorate.com/

[–] hachmom-1 16 years ago

Whether he was actually dying or not, he surely knew his filmmaking days were numbered...and indeed the fact he didnt embark on further projects suggests that he may not have wanted to tempt fate after being gifted with such a fine movie....it is possibly the best last film an actor ever had (at least for a full length lead role) for it summarizes the man and his genre.

It is not our abilities that make us who we are...it is our choices

[–] negrosuave57 16 years ago

This is a fine movie, and makes a good companion piece to "Unforgiven." However, while John Wayne was in poor health during the filming of The Shootist, at this point he had been cancer free since 1964, when his lung was removed. The cancer that killed him flared a few years after The Shootist was released.

[–] Juststand 16 years ago

I'm not a big John Wayne fan, but stumbled upon this film and really liked it. The cast was excellent and the emotion and dialog compelling. Nice shoot-out scenes too! Tragic, yet good coming of age film too. Ron Howard was very good as well.

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What you what you see (and have seen) is what you get -- and have!

[–] rlljr 16 years ago

I agree 100%. It was John Wayne saying good bye in a way. To me it was a sad film knowing that this would be his last movie.

[–] hnt_dnl 16 years ago

It's special to me also. And it's a truly great film with all this taken into account, not some Oscar-begging thing they throw at us nowadays.

[–] chrislyons12 16 years ago

As I remember at the time, Wayne did have another film project lined up after The Shootist, I think it was another western. Remember that his last film was released in 1976. There maybe some reference in one the many biographies of what his plans where after the Shootist.