I think the article is trying to stir up trouble for no reason. Yes…Duke didn’t like the message behind “High Noon”…neither did Howard Hawks and it’s been surmised that “Rio Bravo” was their reply though with little evidence. Whether he agreed with the message of “”High Noon” he was proud to accept the Academy Award for his friend…Duke was too professional to do otherwise.
John Wayne and Gary Cooper were not Hollywood rivals…they were great friends. John Wayne had said his greatest professional disappointment was never having made a movie together with Cooper.
