who skipped out on World War II while several of his equally famous peers, like Henry Fonda and James Stewart, bravely served, did not think highly of people who looked and lived differently than he did. It’s practically cliche at this point to cite the notorious interview he gave to Playboy in 1971, but it is impossible to responsibly consider the man’s life without noting that he believed “in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility.” In the same conversation, he also called “Midnight Cowboy,” which won Best Picture in 1969, “a story about two f***.” Roger Ebert once wrote that Wayne was profoundly “unenlightened,” which leaves open the possibility that he might’ve been less of a bigot had he lived in a different era. As an admirer of the man’s films, I would like to believe this is true.
Not all of John Wayne’s opinions were trash. For example, in 1977, when he was asked by The People’s Almanac to participate in a poll wherein previous Academy Award winners named their top five favorite movies and performers, he responded with some genuinely interesting answers. While it’s hardly stunning that the prideful star placed two of his own films on his list (“The Searchers” and “The Quiet Man”), at least he didn’t stubbornly make a case for passion projects like “The Alamo” (an interesting failure) and “The Green Berets” (one of the worst movies ever made).
When it came to his five favorite actors, he managed to not name himself. I’m actually surprised by one of the names he left off, but his top choice makes a good deal of sense.
