John Wayne to play Lawrence of Arabia (1 Viewer)

Jack said:
Martyn

I believe that it is consistently rated in any list of all time bad movies.

Jack
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Really Brad, some people have no taste :rolleyes2: ^&grin

Cheers

Martyn:)
 
That would have been an unmitigated disaster. One of the worst actors of all time, in my opinion.
 
jazzeum said:
That would have been an unmitigated disaster. One of the worst actors of all time, in my opinion.
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I think that's a bit harsh. Wayne was perfectly capable of nuanced performances when he had a well written role such as in Red River or The Searchers. He was, like all actors, capable of wooden performances in badly written or miscast roles like in The Conqueror. Being cast in Lawrence of Arabia would have been a classic case of miscasting for Wayne. -- Al
 
jazzeum said:
That would have been an unmitigated disaster. One of the worst actors of all time, in my opinion.
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Well that says much more about your opinion than the Duke I am afraid. As Lancer noted, he certainly did have his share of excellent performances but did need to be cast in the right type. Lawrence was not one of those that would have fit his skill set, its that simple.
 
Sorry, the guy was wooden as they come. If you like him, fine. We all don't need to like or agree on the same thing.
 
jazzeum said:
Sorry, the guy was wooden as they come. If you like him, fine. We all don't need to like or agree on the same thing.
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I think the problem in a discussion of Wayne's abilities is that, like Michael Caine, there is a wide disparity in quality between his best work and his worst. I am confident that I could name three perfomances by Wayne that, in my opinion, would prove that Brad's criticism is incorrect. I would still lose the argument because I am equally confident that Brad could name 97 performances in which Wayne was indeed 'as wooden as they come'. 'The Searchers' is one of the top two or three Westerns ever made and is, in fact, comfortably included in the list of all time great movies. There are many dozens of Wayne movies, however, in which he is John Wayne playing John Wayne playing a character.

If you want to argue about over rated actors, go with Jimmy Stewart. A fine man and a very brave one, but not a great actor, although 'Harvey' is a classic. He is pretty ordinary in 'Shenandoah' and 'Flight of the Phoenix'.
 
Opinions are just that, opinions. If people like Wayne, that's fine and no big deal. Just because I don't doesn't mean it should diminish your enjoyment any less.

As far as Stewart goes, maybe a bit uneven but he was very good in Hitchcock's movies.
 
jazzeum said:
Opinions are just that, opinions. If people like Wayne, that's fine and no big deal. Just because I don't doesn't mean it should diminish your enjoyment any less.

As far as Stewart goes, maybe a bit uneven but he was very good in Hitchcock's movies.
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Brad

Silly of me ... I forgot the Hitchcock movies. He was quite good in those and you have to respect his wartime record.

Wayne is one of those actors who seem to represent a particular view of America. I remember doing a University course on the Vietnam War and being shocked by the number of American vets who referenced him as someone who had shaped their view of America prior to enlistment.

Don't worry about my enjoyment being lessened by your view of Wayne - the beauty of being both shallow and arrogant means I am quite impervious to alternate viewpoints{sm4}

Jack
 
Jack,

Invariably you crack me up and your comment was in that vein.

Your comment about Wayne and the view of America was quite perceptive. Another reason why he's not one of my favorites. However, the Quiet Man is tolerable as is In Harms Way while The Green Berets was intolerable.
 
Well, John Wayne acts like .... John Wayne. So to appreciate John Wayne you have to appreciate his character.

For this reason he was unsuited to playing historical characters on the whole. It would have been ridiculous to cast him as Lawrence. Peter O'Toole did a great job, and about the only good alternative to me would have been someone like Trevor Howard.
 
Well, I guess that's the thing about being typecast; you begin to resemble a caricature of yourself.

Back to the original topic, I wonder if the L of A he would have starred in is the one conceived by David Lean. I tend to think not but do not know. We also have in our minds an image of O'Toole as Lawrence so we cannot conceive of another person playing him in a movie that is my personal favorite and, in my opinion, one of the best ever made.
 
I loved John Wayne! Sure some movies were ordinary but he really had that strong/confident man image worked out. I read he deserved credit for 'saving' Hollywood from the Communists - though I have no idea whether there was a legitimate threat of it actually happening. I recall one of the biggest negative reactions to him was his (brief) role as a Roman Centurion in one of those Biblical epics. Saying "Surely this was the Son of God" with his thick American drawl didn't work for everyone......
 
"We also have in our minds an image of O'Toole as Lawrence" It boggles the mind that Wayne could've/would've been in that scene where Lawrence is 'assaulted' by the Turk officer!
 
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