DVD Review: Kino Lorber releases three from John Wayne
When John Wayne became a star with "Stagecoach" (1939), after toiling for a decade in B westerns, he was cast in a variety of films in which he discovered and honed the screen persona that made him an cinematic icon. Kino-Lorber has released three notable examples.
REAP THE WILD WIND
Cecil B. DeMille's lavish technicolor opus features John Wayne in one of the few films in which he plays a character with some despicable characteristics. Paulette Goddard is the attractive leading lady, newly split from Charlie Chaplin and his popular first talkie "The Great Dictator." Ray Milland was building his career, and Susan Hayward was just starting to emerge. The cast is further dotted with familar and welcome supporting actors like Raymond Massey, Robert Preston, Louise Beavers, Martha O'Driscoll, Lynne Overman, and Victor Kilian (who lost an eye in a fight scene during this movie). It's all big sets, frilly costumes and uniforms, leading men with permanent waves, and leading ladies with large hats. It is sustained by some pretty impressive action sequences. Goddard rings true as the tough, independent woman who took up where her father left off upon his death, running a salvage business. Raymond Massey a nice dose of pure evil as a salvager who plans shipwrecks. Ray Milland alternates between foppish and forceful.But it is John Wayne whose presence is most significant when screening this film in the 21st century. He goes on trial for destroying his own ship on which the Susan Hayward character is killed, he gets in fights, he battles an attacking squid.
THE SPOILERS
Also featuring Randolph Scott and Marlene Dietrich along with John Wayne, "The Spoilers" is noted for having the longest fistfight in western movies, running around five minutes. Scott is a commissioner trying to wrest a gold claim from the Duke and his partner (played by the great Harry Carey). Dietrich is a saloon singer who financially supports the men against the crooked commissioner. There were actually five screen versions of the 1906 Rex Beach novel, including one in 1914, another in 1923, and still another in 1930. This 1942 version is the fourth. It was remade once more in 1955. This is the best version, mostly due to the star power (although earlier versions featured William Farnum and Gary Cooper, and the 1955 had Jeff Chandler). John Wayne was continuing to establish himself while exploring ways to further hone the character he'd been working on since "The Big Trail" (1929).
PITTSBURGH
John Wayne, Marlene Dietrich, and Randolph Scott are teamed again for the drama "Pittsburgh," which is offbeat for each of them, fairly predictable, and still one of the most entertaining movies any of them made. Wayne and Scott play coal miners who both vie for Dietrich whom they initially take for a classy lady of refinement, but discover she comes from the same sort of background as either of them. Although he is billed third (the other two actors had been stars longer, and likely had contracts regarding their billing), John Wayne is the main figure in the narrative. Wayne plays the title character, "Pittsburgh" Markham, an enterprising man who rises from the coal mines to being a top level executive. Markham's massive ego and quest for power causes him to sacrifice romance, friendships, and his own ideals. His relationship with Scott's character, Cash Evans, is layered and complicated, but it's the sort of friendship that we realize will somehow sustain the many conflicts. The supporting cast is filled with the familiar faces of Universal wartime releases, including Frank Craven, Louise Albritton, Thomas Gomez, Ludwig Stössel, Samuel S. Hinds, and Nestor Paiva. But it is Shemp Howard, best known as one of the Three Stooges, who resonates in a role that now only supports a pivotal scene, it is more a character part than a comedy cameo. "Pittsburgh" is one of the least known films for each of the three lead actors. But it shows how their talent can not only respond to a standard narrative, they can elevate it to a strong, entertaining drama. Of all the movies John Wayne made during the war years, "Pittsburgh" is both the most offbeat as well as one of his best.
All three of these films are sold separately by Kino Lober and are recommended not only for their content, but also the accompanying commentary on "The Spoilers" by western movie expert Toby Roan, who is always interesting and informative.
The movies are available at these links: