Posts from Colorado Bob in thread „Books on Duke- Past Discussion (Archive)“

The Complete Films of John Wayne by Mark Ricci is probably one of the best John Wayne filmography books available, and I think second only to Fred Landesman's "John Wayne Filmography" book. Both are indispensable when researching John Wayne's career.

Howdy All,
Just had to add another quick post to this thread. First to add a title not yet mentioned (can you believe that!) is "John Ford: A Bio-Bibliography" by Bill Levy. Although it is primarily about John Ford, it does mention quite a bit about John Wayne.

Also, I have to share a story. I recently received a call from our local library here, saying that a fellow had just dropped off 20 boxes of books, and asking if I wanted them. I said yes, and in going through them all, I found a 1953 edition of "Island in the Sky" by Ernest K. Gann. Another addition to my collection! This happened once before, about a year ago, when I found a 1st edition 1st printing of "The Searchers" by Alan LeMay. I was so happy I almost, well, never mind that part!
Bob

It was just one of those things. The copyright was never renewed, and it lapsed in to the public domain. I guess it just fell though the cracks like McLintock did. Of course, just like McLintock, there are tons of poor quality copies available all over the place. None of which are as good a quality as the "authorized" copies. But, yes, they are both in the public domain.
Bob

Now that has to be an interesting read! I do find it curious, however, that the reviewer states that "Angel and the Badman" is John Wayne's "most Christian film." I personally think that there are a lot of his films which showcase the Christian values the reviewer mentions, such as virtue, honesty, courage, having values, morals and principles. I guess since Angel and the Badman has fallen into the public domain, the author choose this film over others so as to avoid any possible litigation or accusations of copyright infringement.

I agree with Hondo, Gary Wills is a jerk, and that's about the nicest thing I can say about him. I tried to read his book, and tossed it away in disgust. All he does is trash Duke and try his best to tear down Duke's name and image. His book is filled with distortions and outright lies.

That being said, I also agree with Duke Pilgrim. The BFI books, although more academic than I might like, are actually pretty good.

I haven't read Maurice Zolotow's book, so I can't comment on it, however, my favorite John Wayne books are "John Wayne: American" by Olson and Roberts, and "26 Bar Ranch Scrapbook" by our own Chilibill. The one I think is the worst has to be Gary Wills book, I forget the title, something about the politics of America. I tried to read it, but when I got to the parts about John Wayne hating horses because he could not ride, and about how Wayne loved to show off his feet because they were so small so he rolled up his pant cuffs to show them off, and how he was the only one who did tha. At that point I took the book back to the library and I refuse to read anything by Wills. He's so full of, well, you get the idea. At any rate, there's my 2 cents on the subject.
Colorado Bob

Howdy All,
Although I cannot afford to buy all the John Wayne books I want, I can, and do, take full advantage of our library district. They have a ton of books about and relating to John Wayne. Lately, I have been reading books that were later made into John Wayne movies. The last few I have read are:

1. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (both the novelization by James Warner Bellah, and the original short story by Dorothy Johnson). The short story is similar to the film, and is actually pretty good. I wish they had left some of the aspects of the story in the film.

2. The Searchers by Alan LeMay. I thought it was interesting that in the novel, Ethan Edwards (Amos Edwards in the book) was actually killed in the novel. I'm glad they didn't keep that in the film!

3. Wake of the Red Witch by Garland Roark. My gosh what a great book! Roark is a little wordy, and all the Dutch terms were a little difficult for me, but all in all none of it detracted from the story, and in fact, I felt added to the overall story. Not that I am a literary critic or anything, I just know what I like, and I would highly recommend these books and stories to everyone.

Currently I am reading The Stars in Their Courses by Harry Brown. So far it is a pretty good read. I noticed that the copy I borrowed from the library is a first edition. Oh were I so lucky to find one of those! Someday I hope to be able to add to my John Wayne library. Currently I have about 10 books. I really like the books that were the basis of his films. Well, I'm rambling, so I'll shut up now.
Best,
Colorado Bob