The 10 most exciting fights in John Wayne films

John Wayne He was and continues to be one of the main icons of American Western cinema, with many fights and action in his films. Known for his imposing and authoritative presence, he maintained a larger-than-life personality that included playing many characters related to law enforcement, warfare, and the frontier environment which he made his own for so many years. His penchant for playing good guys who face the biggest and baddest challenges has led to many scenes of action and violence and none as memorable as his iconic fights throughout his storied filmography that defined John Wayne's career.

Their most memorable fights highlight and elevate the narratives told with their unparalleled physicality and intensity during cutscenes. The final scene of The quiet man is celebrated as one of the best fights in all of cinema, a raucous and sometimes comical fight that perfectly ends the film. In McLintock!his character, George Washington, incites a fight that ends with the entire town fighting in a quagmire, which matches the pace and frenzy of the entire film. These scenes record the machismo and often violent ethos that made the John Wayne films endlessly replayable and era-defining.

10

The Alamo (1960)

Starring John Wayne and Richard Boone

In this epic historical war film about the 1836 Battle of the Alamo, John Wayne stars as Davy Crockett, a Tennessee legend who brings a gang of fellow adventurers into battle. The film is known for its dramatized but realistic portrayal of the battle and sweeping, stunning visuals of the combat and surrounding landscapes. The "fight" in this film has more to do with a unique custom that involves balancing a feather on one person's nose, with another knocking it down with a punch, rather than genuine animosity between hero and villain.

While not integral to the plot or an action that drives the story, this is a humorous, self-contained back-and-forth that sees John Wayne's Davy Crockett throw and throw two huge punches. What really makes this important is the intensity and technique with which the punches are thrown.; although it's a comedic tradition designed to show toughness, it's a compelling sequence that adds a unique aspect to the film.

9

Chisum (1970)

Starring John Wayne and Forrest Tucker

Chisum is a classic American Western directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and starring John Wayne as the protagonist and titular character, John Chisum. A kind and successful cattle baron who just wants to live his life, but gets involved in a tense plot. after an amoral businessman (Lawrence Murphy) forcibly buys land and businesses in the area. Leading them to bribe a corrupt sheriff to kill two of Chisum's men and steal their property, causing Chisum to fight back.

Chisum is a tense and exciting story that culminates in an epic final fight between Chisum and Murphy. The two exchange blows and break walls on the second floor of the house. The action is fast and relentlesswith both men going back and forth before they both fall over the balcony and onto the ground. The punches and action look realistic, and Murphy ends up impaled on a bull's horn on the ground below.

8

Hondo (1953)

Starring John Wayne and Ward Bond

This 1953 Warnercolor western, directed by the legendary John Farrow, was based on Louis L'Amour's short story, "Cochise's Gift". John Wayne stars as the titular Hondo Lane, a U.S. Army cavalryman who has been attacked by Native Americans, seeks refuge and help from a local woman, Angie Lowe, who lives with her six-year-old son. Hondo, realizing that her husband has apparently abandoned the familystarts dating Angie when they get involved in an Apache war.

John Wayne was one of the first Western stars to understand the importance of fighting in films. Before, fights and punches were often punctuated by sounds of slapstick and quick cuts, but Wayne felt this detracted from the realism and integrity of the story and wanted to make things more realistic. You can see this in the fight in Hondo; it's not over-the-top, but more measured and realistic, with Wayne and absent husband Ed Lowe getting into an aggressive physical exchange with Wayne punching the man who left his wife and son.

7

The Cowboys (1972)

Starring John Wayne and Roscoe Lee Browne

A 1972 Western starring John Wayne, Roscoe, Lee Browne and Bruce Dern tells the story of Wil Anderson a veteran rancher preparing to embark on a massive cattle drive across the countrybut when his team abandons him for the gold rush, he is forced to recruit local students to help. Before long, trouble is brewing, as during their long journey, a devious gangster named Long Hair intends to kill them and steal the herd.

To make your fights more realistic John Wayne trained with legendary movie stuntman Yakima Canutt (a stuntman since the mid-1920s) to understand how fights would unfold and be fought in real life. This kind of thinking was revolutionary at the time. Anderson and Long Hair fight around the campfire, with Wayne throwing a few punches before exchanging brutal blows. The fight ends after Wayne slams his enemy's head into a tree several times, causing him to pass out, one of the most genuine and horrific fight endings in his filmography.

6

Legend of the Lost (1957)

Starring John Wayne and Rossano Brazzi

In this Italian-American action-adventure film directed by Henry Hathaway, John Wayne stars as Joe January, an experienced guide in Timbuktu who joins an expedition to the Sahara to find and confirm Paul Bonnard's (Rossano Brazzi) father's claim of that he found a lost city and treasure within it. A woman (Sophia Loren), newly obsessed with Paul and his ambition, invites herself on a dangerous journey through the desert, and the trio become embroiled in a love triangle that quickly goes south.

The fight between John Wayne and Rossano Brazzi is one of the main highlights of the Legend of the lost. Tensions between the two have been growing since the beginning, and as soon as Sophia Loren's Dita switches attraction between the two leads, sparks are sure to fly. The two fight, exchanging savage blows amid windswept sandy dunes. The isolation of the setting and the palpable tension that explodes in battle create a tremendous sequence, with perfect editing and realistic sounds, actions and emotions.

5

From the North to Alaska (1960)

Starring John Wayne and Stewart Granger

A little less serious than some of his other films North to Alaska It's more comedy and less drama. The film is set during the Nome Gold Rush and features John Wayne and George Pratt as two prospectors who make a fortune in gold in Alaska. Wayne's character travels north in order to bring back his friend's wife (who are pen pals who have never met), but discovers that she married another man while he was away, so instead , returns with a prostitute before the entire narrative becomes even crazier. .

This film features one of the most comical fights of John Wayne's career, with him mercilessly fighting and punching several attackers before being thrown into a muddy area beneath a group of horses. The fight goes from boxing to mud as the town comes together to help Wayne as he walks away from danger.while Stewart Granger darts and slides between goats and carts. The 'slapstick' works very well, and the townspeople and an observing seal laugh a lot throughout. It elevates the film and doesn't take itself too seriously, which results in a brilliantly choreographed fight.

4

The Spoilers (1942)

Starring John Wayne and Randolph Scott

John Wayne supposedly chose study news footage of then world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey in an attempt to imitate his style and throw realistic, heavy punches. In The spoilersThis pays off in dividends, as Wayne's gold-finding character Roy Glennister is trying to fight corrupt politician Alexander McNamara (Randolph Scott), and the two face off in one hell of a brawl.

It has been described as one of the biggest fights in Western history, which occurs at the film's climax and sets the standard for future fights in similar films going forward. The battle between Wayne and Scott has all the features you expect and want from a great western brawl. Set in a saloon, the two trade hay, with both taking the upper hand at different times.. The choreography was well framed, making the viewer feel part of the action and with Wayne insisting on more realistic depictions, the action provides a satisfying conclusion to a brilliant film.

3

Donovan's Reef (1963)

Starring John Wayne, Lee Marvin and Jack Warden

This adventure comedy film follows three WWII Navy veterans, Donovan (John Wayne), Doc Dedham (Jack Warden), and Gilhooley (Lee Marvin), who converge on a French Polynesian island (Haleakaloha) through various means. The three men become involved in a scheme to deceive Dedham's daughterwho recently inherited shares in a company that his father believes he has the right to own. Seeing their luck, the three men wreak havoc in another lighter film in Wayne's filmography.

The fight itself is almost as fantastic as the reason it happens in the first place, Marvin and Wayne's characters share the same birthday and so, in a 21st birthday tradition, they celebrate it by meeting on the day and having a cruel experience. argument. The premise is quite comical, and both fight scenes are excellently filmed, with beautiful timing throughout the action. (one involving several sailors); right hooks land, tables fly and every shot lands with visceral impact. An incredible set of action sequences that really stand out in one of Wayne's most forgotten gems.

2

McLintock! (1963)

Starring John Wayne and Patrick Wayne

In McLintock!John Wayne plays a wealthy, elderly farmer named George Washington McLintock who, as a successful businessman, faces a variety of personal and monetary issues as everyone seems to want a piece of his farm. Whether it's the government, your own children, or a group of local Native Americansthe situation continues to boil and culminates in a battle with Wayne, the townspeople and the Comanches and Army at war.

Known as 'the quagmire scene', Wayne throws the first punch, knocking his opponent down a steep hill in a watery mess. This causes a mass brawl between the spectators, including both men and women, with everyone taking their turn being knocked down the hill and into the mud. Filming this scene reportedly took over a week to filmand the choreography, with the amount of people and horses, combined with the realistic punches in a relatively slapstick fashion, all perfectly timed, would definitely reinforce these claims. It's an incredibly complex fight sequence that really ends the film.

1

The Silent Man (1952)

Starring John Wayne and Victor McLaglen

A romantic comedy-drama set in the Irish countryside, The quiet man tells the intriguing story of Sean "Trooper Thorn" Thornton (John Wayne), a retired Irish-American boxer who returns to his homeland in search of inner peace after accidentally killing an opponent in the ring. Before the emergence of John Wayne, many fight scenes were often ignored or performed in an overly censored manner; many physical actors focused on stunts and daring stunts rather than fights that felt genuine and became some of the best scenes in a John Wayne western.

The end of The quiet man is one of the most iconic pieces of Western cinema ever conceived, an incredible nine-minute John Wayne fight that the film's entire narrative is built around. Thornton and Danaher go back and forth, throughout the village of Innisfree, involving the villagers, witty phrases, brutal blows and genuine techniquesand and physicality. John Wayne not only elevated fight scenes in his own films, but also pioneered and dominated their execution and inclusion for filmmakers for decades to come. The quiet manThe final duel is spectacular on every level.