John Wayne

[Adam$]

This isn't the place to dump on Wayne --who I like, but don't revere-- but if you examine much of his life, his iconic stature doesn't hold up well.
I read things about his criticism of Cooper (a much better actor) and High Noon that I found ... disappointing. A lot of the other stuff was him just mouthing off (he did that a lot).

Movies Duke did that I liked were "Red Witch, "Iwo Jima, Red River, Rio Bravo, Hitari, Harms Way." He was quite ill the last 12 years of his life. He was doing the best he could obviously but I thought much of what he turned out was substandard.

[Atticus]

I agree. The True Grit Oscar was very much a 'body of work' award. He was actually a character actor whose character was to be the star hero. Even Paul Newman was typically just Paul Newman, but we we so much in love with his personality that we called him a great actor. Bruce Willis, Steve McQueen, Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise, Robt Downey Jr, etc. all very good actors, but even bigger "box office stars".

Then you look at someone like Meryl Streep or Jessica Chastain or Daniel Day-Lewis or Christian Bale, who become completely different people in every movie

[no one]

PBS station here has been playing numerous Wayne movies the last several weeks. I've always considered Wayne a larger than life figure but likewise regarded him as a lesser talent in the acting realm. Goes without saying he was a huge star and revered in Hollywood circles and beyond. Must say I waver on that as he normally plays John Wayne ... me thinks. Could be wrong. What say you. Wayne a great actor, good, better than average, below ... ???