John Wayne: An American Icon

This quintet of John Wayne films doesn't include a single classic—but then again not one of the five fall into the Duke's signature genres of Westerns or war movies. Tay Garnett's Seven Sinners (1940), the first of three films that paired Wayne and Marlene Dietrich (with whom he reportedly had a torrid affair), takes place on a South Sea island where a Naval lieutenant is captivated by a sultry saloon singer (the best sequence is a rollicking bar brawl that demolishes nearly the entire saloon set). Henry Hathaway's The Shepherd of the Hills (1941), Wayne's first Technicolor film, casts him as an Ozark native sworn to kill his never-seen father who abandoned his mother (one of Wayne's idols—veteran star Harry Carey—nearly steals the show here in a key supporting role). Pittsburgh (1942) reunites the starring trio of The Spoilers: Wayne, Dietrich, and Randolph Scott, with the male leads here playing squabbling miners who become titans in the coal industry over a period of several decades. Jet Pilot (1957), produced by Howard Hughes and directed by Josef von Sternberg, sat on a shelf for seven years after being completed (with good reason—featuring Wayne as a Cold War-era flyer and Janet Leigh as a Russian pilot [!], the film was risible to say the least, and today merits viewing only for its novelty value). Almost as offbeat is The Conqueror (1956), a well-made but extremely corny action film with Wayne ludicrously cast as Genghis Khan. Not top-drawer Duke, but an interesting collection nonetheless, this extra-less set is recommended, overall. (E. Hulse)