John Wayne

I hadn't realised what a great actor John Wayne could be when he gets away from the character he created in many films - "John Wayne". In the film I saw last evening on TV, "The Cowboys", he was at his best: hard, bitter, unforgiving of character blemishes (like a small boy's stammer), tough as nails, old and handsome.
"The Cowboys" is almost a great film, marred by an ending that must send shivers of disapproval in liberal minds: tut-tutting at the boys, enlisted by Wayne to take about a thousand head of cattle across 400 miles, who reek revenge on the villains who killed their leader; head shaking at the blood lust of boys because they have learned nothing of "love thy neighbour" and more of "an eye for an eye".
It is a beautifully photographed film with a masterful performance from Wayne and an equally thrilling performance in his best villanous role from Bruce Dern.
I could not believe my eyes that the film critic of The Radio Times gave the film only two stars. For God's sake they give some dreadful westerns four stars sometimes. This is a really tough western with outdoor scenes that are thrilling to see and action as brutal as anything Sam Pechinpah could devise.
Well done Mark Rydell for a great, well almost great film.