No movie star ever had a better idea of ​​what his audience wanted and how to achieve it than John Wayne. Of his exceptional performance in John Ford’s 1939 masterpiece “Stagecoach” From now on, Wayne was considered one of Hollywood’s safest box office bets due to his talent for directing, generally, westerns or war films that had a little more punch in the script and production departments. Obviously it helped that two of the greatest filmmakers of his era, John Ford and Howard Hawks, were frequent collaborators, but Wayne identified other directors and screenwriters who could work effectively and competently on programmers who riffed on themes dear to the Duke’s heart (e.g. family, patriotism and fierce individualism).

Were critics always impressed by Wayne’s output? Absolutely not. Fortunately, the feeling was mutual. As Wayne once said about reviews: “When people say a John Wayne picture got bad reviews, I always wonder if they know that’s a redundant phrase, but damn , I don’t care. People like my photos and that’s all that matters.

Wayne’s connection with movie audiences seemed unshakable until the 1960s, when baby boomers began to reject his old-fashioned chauvinism and retrograde views of other cultures. Although most of his films still managed to turn a profit, younger audiences were much more excited about the booming market. Spaghetti Westerns that bend conventions. Eventually, as the 1970s took hold, Wayne was no longer a reliable attraction and, perhaps most piquantly for the Duke, the films began to feel like retreads of retreads. Eventually he got to the point where he could no longer deny the drop in quality and, being the type to speak out, he had to say something about it.

Directed by his frequent collaborator Andrew V. McLaglen, “Cahill US Marshal” cast Wayne, then 66, as a long-toothed lawyer whose very young sons (they are 17 and 12) help make operate a bank. robbery by temporarily freeing a band of outlaws from their father’s prison while he is out of town on business. One might expect that there would be hell to pay, but these children are so young that the Duke chooses to take a gentler approach and reconcile with his sons (who feel ignored after the death of their mother).

Despite this slight change in the formula, “Cahill US Marshal” remains a standard John Wayne western. But given his age and appearance (due to his health issues, Wayne looked a good 10 years older than he was), everything seems dated and slow.

And Wayne knew it. In a 1975 interview, two years after the film’s release, the Duke said Tony Macklin of Film Heritage“It just wasn’t a well-made picture. It needed better writing. It needed a little more care in its execution.” He’s not wrong, but is this the worst western he’s ever been in? That distinction might go to “Rooster Cogburn,” the aimless sequel to 1975’s “True Grit.” At least Wayne finished his career with a fine and melancholy western in “The Shootist”. All told, if he only made a few truly mediocre boats, that’s still a surprisingly good track record.