The Bloody John Wayne West gave him an epic character introduction that rivaled Stagecoach

John Wayne’s introduction in Stagecoach Made him a movie star, but one of his latest movies has a scene that rivals it. John Wayne has fronted 80 Westerns throughout his career, including the groundbreaking likes of The searchers Or Rio Bravo; Even Wayne’s last film The Scotsman was a western. Despite becoming a screen icon, the early years of Wayne’s career were a struggle. His first real lead in The Great Trail Stalled Wayne’s career for a decade, where he spent much of his time fronting the so-called “Poverty Row” Westerns.

It was director John Ford who saw the star potential in Wayne, with Ford becoming the star’s friend and mentor. The John Ford and John Wayne western movie run is legendary in itself, and in many ways shaped what the genre would evolve into. Wayne’s breakthrough was playing the Ringo Kid in the 1939s StagecoachWith his introduction scene – where he stops the titular stagecoach while cocking a gun with one hand as the camera zooms in his face – practically made him a movie star in his own right.

The introduction of Big Jake character rivals John Wayne’s first appearance in Stagecoach

Stagecoach’s introduction was given some serious competition by “Big Jake” McCandles

John Wayne’s most violent western is Big Jakewhere its titular gun fighter reunites with his estranged family when his grandson is kidnapped. Wayne has a known distaste for the overt violence featured in movies like The wild bunchwith Big Jake Being one of the few films in which he appeared with blood squibs. To balance the carnage, Wayne insisted the 1971 Western needed a lot of comedy, which was viewed by some critics as a distraction from his harder edge.

yet, Big Jake Has one of Wayne’s best introductions, where Jake spots a man about to be hanged by a lynch mob. Wayne’s protagonist decides that it is not his business to intervene – until he spots the gang being needlessly rough with the man’s young son. Despite being outnumbered, Jake not only manages to save the man’s life by hiring him, but the mere mention of his name causes the lynch mob to shrink back in fear.

What’s notable is that wine doesn’t appear until nearly the 20-minute mark, with Big Jake Build up to its inevitable appearance. In addition to being a great intro, this sequence reveals so much about Wayne’s James McCandless As a character. He prefers to avoid a fight but will intervene if honor demands it, and he clearly has a great reputation because his name alone is enough to diffuse the situation.

Stagecoach Beats Big Jake In almost every other area, but there is some interesting symmetry between Wayne’s introduction in both. In Ford’s Western, the camera zooms in on Ringo Kidd as he hacks his Winchester, while in Big JakeThe first shot of McCandles sees the camera zoom in Out As he points his Winchester at something offscreen.

John Wayne has many fantastic character introductions

Wayne understood the importance of making a good first impression

Always credited Stagecoach With making his career and clearly felt the introduction of Ringo Kid was a big part of that. Many of Wayne’s subsequent projects gave his characters memorable intros The searchers Being the best example of this. Ford’s 1956 adventure had the perfect intro And Exit, where his character Ethan emerges from the desert to reunite with his family after being away for years. in The searchers‘ Mystic ending, Ethan is then seen turning back from his family, realizing he can never go back to normal life.

Wayne’s title character in Hondo Has a similar first appearance to The searchersWhere he suddenly walks out of the desert, and into the life of a local woman and her son. Another great wine introduction is Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravowhose dialogue-free opening follows drunken deputy Dean Martin as he approaches bar patrons to buy him a drink. As he’s about to humiliate him by fishing money out of a spittoon, Wayne’s sheriff Chance kicks it over, shaking his head at how far Martin’s dude has fallen.

There are dozens of other examples, however Despite the above movies all being considered superior to Big JakeIt still arguably offered the star his best intro. It’s the kind of scene only a Wayne’s Statue movie star could pull off, and it sets the tone for the rest of the movie perfectly.

Big Jake is one of John Wayne’s best final movies

This 1971 western is an underrated John Wayne gem

Big Jake was widely well-received upon release and sits at 75% on Rotten tomatoes (However, based on less than 10 reviews). The film is neither an exploration of the Old West nor a serious thriller and is intended to be a fun, silly ride. The film is notable for pairing Wayne with his son Patrick for the tenth and final time, while Big Jake It was also the only time John and Patrick Wayne actually played father and son on screen.

Wayne’s son Ethan also plays the McCandles’ kidnapped grandson, while Robert Mitchim’s son Christopher plays another of Jacob’s sons, Michael. In short, the film was a family affair for its leading man, which may account for why it is one of the most purely enjoyable of his latest batch of roles. While The Scotsman Or The Cowboys are solid effects, Wayne’s Rude Harry Ripoffs McQ And Brannigan Are dudes, while his penultimate film Hon Cogburn is very skippable.

Big JakeOn the other hand, is just a good ride. The cast has great chemistry, the action is well-staged and it doesn’t overstay its welcome. The popularity of the genre was waning in a big way in the early 1970s, with younger viewers seeing Westerns as too old-fashioned and boring. Big Jake is a nice mix of a classic “otter” but with a quicker pace and snappier dialogue.

Big Jake also marked the end of an iconic big screen pairing

Big Jake reunites Wayne with one of his favorite co-stars

Big Jake was the end of an era for a famous screen duo as well, with the western being the last John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara movie. Their most famous effort is the John Ford classic The quiet manWhile they also worked together on McLintock! And Rio Grande. The pair formed a genuine friendship offscreen too, with The semi-retired O’Hara claims he only appeared in Big Jake To work with Wayne one last time.

Unfortunately, Wayne and O’Hara don’t share much screen time in their latest project. Even so, the chemistry between them is still right and there, even if their characters are alienated. O’Hara actually retired from the business following Big JakeAlthough she returned 20 years later for the John Candy comedy Only the lonely. She would later appear in several TV movies, before retiring for good after the 2000s The Last Dance.

Source: Rotten tomatoes