Actor Marion Morrison didn’t become “John Wayne” until his epic debut in the 1930’s The Big Trail, where the former Hollywood goose herder embodied the revenge-seeking frontier scout Breck Coleman. From there, the ultimate Western golden age cowboy lassoed our hearts throughout his lengthy career, acting in more than 175 films over 50 years, always playing rough and rugged men who lived by their own code of ethics. As the era’s quintessential cowboy hero, Wayne developed a style that could be imitated but never duplicated.
At his best, Wayne served as the Winchester-twirling Ringo kid in John Ford‘s 1939 movie Stagecoach, which made him a household name. After that, two psychologically fraught men come to mind: the bitter, self-tortured Civil War veteran Ethan Edwards in 1956’s The Searchers and larger-than-life but lonely Tom Doniphon (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, 1962). There’s also his cunning and steadfast John T. Chance from 1959’s colorful Rio Bravo.