John Wayne is one of those actors whose appeal is eternal. Realizing this, Universal Studios will release a new 10-movie collection that celebrates some of the Duke’s best-loved films, including:
Seven Sinners (1940)
Marlene Dietrich is a sexy singer named Bijou whose stint at the Seven Sinners, an exotic South Seas island cafe, is marked by intrigue, romance, visits from old flames, and the impossible love of a handsome Navy lieutenant (John Wayne) whose first interest is the sea. Broderick Crawford, Mischa Auer, Albert Dekker co-star.
The Shepherd Of The Hills (1941)
John Wayne excels in this oft-filmed story, playing Young Matt Matthews, a young Ozark Mountain moonshiner who seeks vengeance on his father for abandoning him and his mother years earlier. When a kindly old man moves to the area, Young Matt befriends him, but soon learns he is, in fact, Old Matt Matthews, and attempts to even the score. Betty Field, Harry Carey, James Barton also star.
Reap The Wild Wind (1942)
Typically lavish Cecil B. DeMille sea epic, set in the 1840s Florida Keys, with John Wayne as a skipper accused of deliberately wrecking his ship. Paulette Goddard is the salvage boat owner who falls for him, and Ray Milland is the lawyer who comes between them. Exciting underwater scenes include a tussle between the Duke and a giant squid; with Raymond Massey, Robert Preston, Susan Hayward.
The Spoilers (1942)
Yukon gold-mining is the subject of this John Wayne classic, based on the novel by Rex Beach. In Nome, Alaska, in 1900, prospector Roy Glennister (Wayne) clashes with corrupt gold commissioner Alexander McNamara (Randolph Scott), their conflict coming to a head in a brutal, protracted fistfight. Marlene Dietrich also stars as Roy’s old beau, saloon singer Cherry Malotte. With Margaret Lindsay, Harry Carey.
Pittsburgh (1942)
John Wayne, Marlene Dietrich, and Randolph Scott reunite following the success of The Spoilers for this rugged drama about a pair of miners whose friendship is ruined when they fall in love with the same woman and take different paths in the coal and steel industries. Frank Craven, Louise Allbritton, and Shemp Howard also star.
The Conqueror (1956)
In late-12th-century Asia, the ambitious Mongol chieftain Temujin (John Wayne) captured the Tartar princess (Susan Hayward) intended as his rival’s bride…and set the foundation for his ultimate consolidation of tribal power as Genghis Khan. Producer Howard Hughes’ opus was instantly notorious for its casting, and ultimately so for the illness rate amongst cast and crew from the Utah location’s proximity to atomic test sites. Pedro Armendariz, Agnes Moorehead co-star.
Jet Pilot (1957)
Produced by Howard Hughes, this high-flying Cold War drama stars John Wayne as Col. Jim Shannon, an American Air Force officer charged with looking after a defecting Soviet pilot (Janet Leigh). They fall for each other, but what will happen when Shannon learns that his new love is actually a double agent?
The War Wagon (1967)
Released from prison, rancher Taw Jackson (John Wayne) plots to get even with the corrupt cattle baron (Bruce Cabot) who had him wrongfully sent up and stole his land. Jackson forms an unlikely alliance with the gunman (Kirk Douglas) hired to shoot him years earlier, and together they hatch a plan to steal a shipment of the cowman’s gold that’s being transported in a souped-up, armored stagecoach called the War Wagon. Howard Keel, Keenan Wynn, Bruce Dern co-star.
Hellfighters (1968)
John Wayne stars in this exciting actioner based on the life of famed oil well firefighter Paul “Red” Adair. Fire expert Chance Buckman (Wayne) leads a company of men risking their lives battling oil well blazes around the world. After he is injured and hospitalized, Chance’s estranged daughter (Katharine Ross) pays him a visit-only to fall in love with his closest colleague (Jim Hutton). With Vera Miles, Bruce Cabot.
Rooster Cogburn (1975)
John Wayne reprises his True Grit role as the grizzled, eye patch-wearing marshal in this comedy-tinged Western. This time he may have met his match in a bible-thumping missionary and reverend’s daughter (Katharine Hepburn) who enlists his aid in tracking down the band of outlaws who killed her father. Richard Jordan, Anthony Zerbe, Strother Martin co-star.
Featuring the above 10 films on five discs, John Wayne: 10 Movie Collection will be released on February 6th.