Posts from Yakima1 in thread „Gran Torino“

Speaking of the long running debate of who would win in a showdown between John Wayne and Clint Eastwood.......

A lot of younger audiences assume Clint would take it. I say do as they do in a tiebreaker for teams that have never gone head-to-head, look at their record vs common opponents.

Lee Van Cleef was a worthy opposite to Clint Eastwood in 'The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly'. He was but an inferior side-kick to Liberty Valance who himslef was inferior to John Wayne's Tom Doniphon.

Bill McKinney was a worthy foil for Clint Eastwood over the years in several films. He could be nothing but the cowardly blowhard Jay Cob in the John Wayne movie The Shootist.

No contest. Any script that would have pitted these two against each other would out of necesity for believability have to have John Wayne coming out superior and the victor. The one exception would be if they made Clint Eastwood the Bruce Dern type in The Cowboys. Right?

As great and varied a talent as Clint has been over the years, and as big in the industry as he is, I'm sure it's icing on the cake for him anytime he can be mentioned in the same sentence with John Wayne. The similarities between his supposed last acting role in Gran Torino and John Wayne's The Shootist will forever invite a comparison and get them mentioned in the same sentence. Was it perhaps intentional on Clint's part in an attempt to get a legacy that includes a positive comparison with the Duke as opposed to what he's probably seen a lot in the past - contrast and debate? Smart move........and a good movie.