The legendary actor John Wayne turned down a role in Robert Rossen’s 1949 film All the king’s menand he even lost an Oscar because of it. There are eight John Wayne films that defined his career, but he could have made a ninth. For most of his decades-long career, Wayne played cowboys and soldiers, and more often than not, he played the unequivocal hero. All the king’s menhowever, it gave him the chance to play a role completely outside his comfort zone, and John Wayne turned it down.
Although he was primarily known for the long list of John Wayne’s best Westerns, the Duke was offered the chance to play an Oscar-winning political role. All the king’s men director Robert Rossen originally offered Wayne the role of Willie Stark, but he turned it down and Broderick Crawford accepted the role (via Hollywood’s Golden Age). All the king’s men was a huge success and was based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, so it seemed like a surefire awards season bet. It’s unclear why Wayne turned down the film, but he had his reasons.
John Wayne believed All The King’s Men was an unpatriotic film
Wayne said all the king’s men “throw acid at the American way of life”
John Wayne had a pretty simple, if somewhat exaggerated, reason for not appearing in All the king’s men. Wayne believed the film was unpatriotic, which undermined traditional American values and, in his words, “Throws acid at the American way of life“, (through Far Out Magazine).
“[All the King’s Men] tarnishes the machinery of government without any purpose of humor or enlightenment… degrades all relationships… and pours acid on the American way of life.”
It’s pretty clear to see why Wayne made such an exception All the king’s men. The film follows Willie Stark (Broderick Crawford) as he goes from a hopeful politician with dreams of bringing honesty and transparency to government to a cynical and deeply corrupt politician who would do anything to stay in power.. All the king’s men it is even said to be inspired by a real-life American politician, Huey Long, governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and then a senator until he was assassinated in 1935. It did not paint a flattering picture of American government, and Wayne disagreed with that fact.
All the King’s Men Could Have Won John Wayne an Oscar (But They Won It Instead)
Broderick Crawford beat John Wayne for best actor in 1949
Despite how much John Wayne didn’t like it All the king’s mencritics and the public didn’t agree with him and it ended up costing him dearly. At the 1949 Academy Awards, Wayne was nominated for Best Actor for playing Sergeant John Stryker in Sands of Iwo Jima. He didn’t win, however, because the Oscar went to Broderick Crawford for playing Willie Stark – the same role Wayne received – in All the king’s men. Stryker was the main character in one of John Wayne’s best war films, so not only did he miss out on an Oscar-winning role, but he also had another Oscar-worthy role snubbed by him.
Unfortunately for Wayne, he not only lost All the king’s men in 1949. Since it was originally released, All the king’s men went on to have a lasting legacy. It was selected for the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 2001 and will be preserved indefinitely because it is “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Although it had a long useful life, All the kingMen it wasn’t a big stain John Wayne‘s – eight of his films are in the National Film Archive – and he is still the duke of legend.
Sources: Hollywood’s Golden Age, Far Out Magazine