OK...while I respect everyone's opinions regarding their least favorite movies, I must say that I believe they're missing the point about The Cowboys. Him dying WAS the point of the movie, as it allowed them to grow up and kill Bruce Dern's character while taking care of the herd. It showed JW's chops as an actor as well. As for the movies he made after The Big Trail, you know, the "B" movies he made during the 30's...well, without those, he would NEVER have become the star he did..end of story. He needed those roles to gain seasoning and experience. I mean, just look at his performance in The Big Trail, and then look at Stagecoach, and try to tell me those movies should NOT have been made..,
Now...as to the posts about the nuclear testing causing his cancer: while I agree in principle that this could be possible (I grew up in Oak Ridge, TN - the birthplace of the Manhattan Project), you simply can NOT ignore the fact that JW was a chain smoker (one of the absolute heaviest in all the business), as were most of the other people who fell victim to "the curse" of The Conqueror. Again, I'm not saying the testing didn't play ANY role, but why didn't EVERYONE on the shoot die from cancer, and why did some get it sooner than others. BTW - Agnes Moorehead died in the early 70's, JW got his first round in 64...BUT, we all know this horrible disease knows no boundries of time, gender, age, nor anything else..
Anyway...just my .02
