The Shootist (1976)

A stirring story of an old-timer reconsiderating his life and who holds a personal code of honor . John Wayne's touching last role , here performs a legendary gunslinger afflicted with Cancer who seeks solace , tranquility and peace and to die with a minimum of pain and a maximum of dignity . But town bad guys as Richard Boone and Hugh O'Brian , aren't about to let him rest and are determined to gun him down to revenge past events .

One of Wayne's best in which from the opening edition of clips from Wayne's earliest movies as ¨Rio Rojo , Rio Bravo¨ , to the ending impressive shootout in the cavernous saloon , Siegel film is moving , quiet and subtle . The picture pays tribute to John Wayne with none of the indulgences , humor and irony that permeated ¨True Grit and Rogster Cogburn ¨ . John Wayne heads the top-drawer main and support cast , he gives a very good as well as dignified acting as a dying gunfighter who spends his last days looking for a way to die rightly but prevented from doing so various younger gunmen out for vendetta or to prove their worth against him . However , Paul Newman, Charles Bronson, Gene Hackman and Clint Eastwood turned down the lead role before John Wayne was cast. Infused with an appropriately wintry feel ,the admitted sentimentality and sadness is maintained througly and in keeping with the elegiatic style . This one results to be a valedictory tribute to both , the Western in general and the great Wayne , the Duke , in particular . The interpretations are uniformly top-notch , standing out an awesome plethora of secondaries as James Stewart , Lauren Bacall , Ron Howard ,John Carradine , Sheree North , Bill McKinney , Harry Morgan , among others . It contains an enjoyable and thrilling musical score by Elmer Bernstein in his usual style . Atmospheric and evocative cinematography by Bruce Surtees.

The motion picture was well directed by Donad Siegel who handles both tone and pace wonderfully . Donald made his reputation in the early and mid-'50s with a series of tightly made , expertly crafted , tough but intelligent "B" pictures , among them : The Lineup (1958), Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954) , then graduated to major "A" films in the 1960s and early 1970s . Director Siegel brought an entirely new approach to the Sci-Fi field Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) . He made several "side trips" to television, mostly as a producer . Siegel directed what is generally considered to be Elvis Presley's best picture , Flamingo Star (1960). All of Eastwood's later Western and his ¨Dirty Harry¨ movies owe a considerable debt to Sergio Leone and Donald Siegel . As Donald directed Eastwood in various films , such as : ¨Coogan's bluff , The beguiled , Dirty Harry , Escape from Alcatraz and Two mules and sister Sara¨. He had a long professional relationship and personal friendship with Clint Eastwood , who has often said that everything he knows about filmmaking he learned from Don Siegel .

Fmovies: John Wayne managed to save his best performance for last. Not only was this his greatest acting achievement (surpassing The Cowboys in which he was also very, very good) it is also one of the best films ever produced in the Western genre. This movie benefitted from an excellent script and superb casting, but was brought to perfection by the sterling performances of three great stars, Wayne, Bacall and Stewart.

Wayne's interactions with Stewart, Bacall and Howard are moving and powerful. The depth of character in Books is set in contrast to the shallowness and opportunism of others, particularly Dobkins and Serepta, but also Cobb. Becoming, briefly, the father figure needed by Gillom, Books more than makes up in his last week of life for the "havoc" he brought to "society" in his earlier life (as viewed by Mrs. Rogers). Of course, part of the tension in the plot is created by the different evaluations Books and Rogers would assign to Books' life. Both stand in contrast to the view of that life held by Gillom and Moses.

Back in 1969, the Academy, realizing it had never appropriately honored John Wayne and fearful that time was running out to do so, gave him Best Actor for one of his weaker performances and poorer scripts. It is unfortunate his colleagues did not make up for that error by repeating the honor for what was truly a great performance in The Shootist. Nonetheless, the proof of the pudding is still in the eating, and the availability of The Shootist on tape and (hopefully) DVD will allow us to keep eating this one over and over.

John Wayne fans should be encouraging their non-Wayne-fan friends to see this movie. Respect for this great American would grow thereby.

John Wayne is an icon, and so many viewers seem to use his work as a referendum on the larger geo-political issues of our time. I find that distasteful, as this isn't a political movie, and one that doesn't even have an oppressed indigenous person in it. This is a personal story of a man who "has outlived his time", who is dying of cancer, and yet is determined to die with dignity. John Wayne really was dying of cancer when he made this movie... he gathered old friends around him--the widow of Humphrey Bogart, Jimmy Stewart, John Carradine, and addressed the topic of how legends die. (Selling the rights for his corpse to be displayed by the undertaker for $50 cash in advance was a particularly interesting idea.) I am viewing this film 27 years after it was made, and there is 'something' it had which is absent from movies today. It is a film addressing mature themes for one thing, but it had a pacing, and made time for it's dialouge--it was never dull, never slow, but proceeded towards it's climax with the sort of gravitas you very rarely see in today's cinematic roller coaster rides, which have become little more than special effects vehicles. There is another reason to see this film--it looks back at 1901 with a loving vision. I was impressed with the historical accuracy in which it was filmed--it was impressive to see the town, from the horsedrawn street car and the Stanley Steamer, to little things like the flour dispenser in the kitchen. (Wondered where it was filmed--perhaps the old Old Tucson Studio before it burned down and was rebuilt to be a tourist attraction?) Anyway, this was a lovingly crafted film--I don't know if Hollywood could still pull this off "as real" in 2003. So, for big reasons and small, "The Shootist" is worth your time. It is deeper than it looks.

The Shootist fmovies. "The Shootist" begins with clips from Wayne's previous pictures: "Hondo," "Rio Bravo," "El Dorado" etc...

Wayne portrays J. B. Books, the most famous lawman in the West who killed thirty men in his life... Books arrives to Carson City in 1901, the day Queen Victoria died in England...

Wayne went first to get a medical diagnosis known to everyone as cancer.

Dr. Hostetler (James Stewart) was too practical... He gives Book the most potent pain-killer he gets, and tells him where to stay in town...

The film is build to one and only purpose: To let Wayne die with dignity, without physical pain, at the Metropole gambling saloon, in a showdown with three heavies: Richard Boone, a bad-tempered ugly man who wants to avenge his brother's death; Hugh O'Brien, a skilled dealer and a presumptuous gunfighter; and Bill McKinney, an unpleasant provoking gunman just released from prison...

Ron Howard plays the crude graceless adolescent, the first to meet Wayne in the street: 'The old man ain't worth a bullet,' he says, 'he looks all tuckered out.' In this particular scene, it comes to my mind the insolent young punk, Skip Homeir, who tries to prove something when he confronts Gregory Peck in the psychological Western "The Gunfighter."

Wayne seems surprised by the visit of Serepta (Sheree North), an unscrupulous aging lady-love who tries to take advantage of him, asking him to marry her simply for a marriage certificate, and a famous name... She surely was not the woman of quality, the good prostitute (Claire Trevor) in "Stagecoach."

John Carradine, who plays the mysterious passenger, also in "Stagecoach," makes a brief appearance as the undertaker...

Tying to overcome his bloody past, John Wayne shows, in the film, the other side of the 'Shootist,' his human side... We find him pleasantly amusing when he reveals to Stewart the truth about the red fancy cushion he carries in the film...

Filmed in Carson City, Nevada, and with a fine supporting cast, this untraditional motion picture is a lyrical elegiac Western of the highest quality, a moving tribute to a legendary actor and a tender farewell to a Super Star...

It was strange to watch this movie knowing that this was John Wayne's last. Even stranger was it because the character he plays is dying of cancer just like John Wayne himself was at the moment. It gave the movie a deeper meaning and made some of the scene's more emotional.

The story is told in a absolutely fantastic way. The story is slow but the mixture of good old western style and drama makes the movie always interesting to watch. The movie had so many deeper meanings. The movie is set in 1901, the time when the time of the good old west was almost at its end. Only thing that stands in between of the good old west and modern times are characters such as John Bernard Books (John Wayne), an old gunslinger from the good old days. His character is coping with his inevitable coming death but also coping with the fact that the good old days of gunfights at the O.K. Corral and saloons are over for good. He basically is the only remaining person still alive from the good old days with a reputation, so when he dies the old west dies with him. In a way this also shows some parallels with Wayne's death, when he died a piece of the genre Western died with him as well.

Beside 'The Duke' the movie also has some fine other great actors such as: Lauren Bacall, James Stewart (also his last Western as an actor, he however later still provided one of the voices for his final movie "An American Tail: Fievel Goes West".), Scatman Crothers and John Carradine. Still it was kind of an odd sight to see John Wayne and Ron Howard acting in scene's together. I don't know for some reason it just felt unreal.

The movie also has a fine and a bit of underrated musical score from composer Elmer Bernstein. The movie itself is also kind of underrated, not in terms of the rating it gets but in terms of how well known it is to the general public. This is really a movie that deserves to be seen by more, if only also because of the fact that its Wayne's last role before his death in 1979. Don Siegel movie's are often underrated for some reason, he was a great director that made some real classics but yet he never won any big awards and he is probably only known to the general public for making "Dirty Harry".

Don't watch this movie expecting spectacular gunfight and other Western clichés. Yes there is some shooting in this movie but really, this movie is more of a drama than a Western. Still fans of the Western genre will also not be disappointed because of the atmosphere and also mainly just simply because of Wayne's character.

An extremely worthy last movie for 'movie-legend' John Wayne.

9/10

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"The Shootist" is a great film. I really, really like this movie a lot and have liked it from the first time I saw it. What I really admire about this film is it's cast, who knew that it was probably going to be John Wayne's last film. They brought out the best for this film.

Let's look at the director, Don Siegel, a really top notch director of action films that are more than action films, like "Dirty Harry" and "Escape from Alcatraz." Mr. Siegel seems to really have the talent to blend a story with action.

Let's look at the leads. John Wayne - what can you say the man always will be known as an icon. A true professional - he had little patience with actors who did not show up on time and did not know their lines. Look at the standing ovation he got for his Best Actor Oscar for "True Grit." Hollywood loved this guy! Lauren Bacall - awesome, as always. She always delivers in any part. She's such a reliable, remarkable actress. She's a direct link to another era of Hollywood, when stars weren't jockeying for position at the Sundance Film Festival or showing up in "Us Magazine." Bacall shows up prepared for a role and she gets the job done. And done well. Lauren, you're a great actress and great in this film! Bogie would be proud. Ron Howard - good to see him leave the comfort zone of Happy Days and play a really great character with many facets to his character. You can see the real admiration and respect he has not only for Wayne but for the other actors.

And then there's the rest. I mean, come on - where are you going to find a film like this in the '70s with so many really good actors. Not Charo, John Davidson, Jimmie Walker - people trying to survive a disaster - this is a real movie with an awesome story. Jimmy Stewart, Harry Morgan, Sheree North, John Carradine, Richard Boone - awesome! Awesome! What's really touching about this film is that you know that major, major actors took smaller roles in order to be in a movie with Duke Wayne. Amazing. Enjoy the movie, it's great!