John Wayne’s Final Film: Why He Refused to Dishonor His Character

John Wayne is still regarded as one of the defining stars of the Western, and he remained fiercely loyal to the genre’s traditions throughout his career. According to a story Clint Eastwood once shared, Wayne took that commitment so seriously that he reportedly turned blue with anger when asked to violate one of the code’s most important rules.

Although Wayne occasionally appeared in films outside the Western, the genre was unquestionably his home turf—and he had firm ideas about what belonged in it. That became especially clear during production on his final movie, Don Siegel’s 1976 classic “The Shootist.” The original ending called for Wayne’s character to shoot his opponent in the back before being killed by a shot in the back himself. Wayne objected immediately. During an appearance on “The Actor’s Studio,” Eastwood recalled Siegel telling the actor about the planned scene. Wayne’s response, according to Eastwood, was blunt: “You mean, I shoot him in the back?” Siegel confirmed it, prompting Wayne to declare, “I don’t shoot anyone in the back” (via YouTube). Eastwood was discussing the sometimes exaggerated rules of Western heroism—such as waiting for an opponent to draw first—rather than graphic violence, but Wayne clearly believed the hero’s moral code still mattered.

Eastwood said Siegel then made what he called “a terrible error”: he told Wayne that Eastwood would have had no trouble shooting someone in the back. The remark apparently made an already tense exchange even worse. Eastwood joked that Wayne briefly turned blue before insisting that he would never do such a thing. Whatever else may have divided the two stars, Wayne was certainly unwavering in his principles.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Adam Hamilton’s Megachurch Pushes Gender-Neutral Language for Children

Comparisons between actors can be risky, particularly when the relationship between John Wayne and Clint Eastwood was far from easy. In this case, however, it is hard to disagree with Eastwood’s assessment that Don Siegel had made “a terrible error.” Their differences were partly rooted in Eastwood’s willingness to question—and sometimes overturn—the traditional rules of Western storytelling.

Eastwood had attempted to collaborate with Wayne in the early 1970s on a project called “The Hostiles,” a Western that would have followed two rivals as they gradually became allies. The movie was not made until decades later, in 2009, and Wayne’s refusal was one reason for the delay. As recounted in “John Wayne: The Life and Legend,” Wayne initially returned the script with a polite note that read, “No, thanks.” When Eastwood sent it to him again, Wayne offered a more detailed explanation. He objected in part to Eastwood’s work as director of “High Plains Drifter,” arguing that the film portrayed its townspeople unfairly and inaccurately and that the pioneers deserved a more respectful treatment.

To be fair, Wayne’s rejection was not necessarily driven by personal hostility toward Eastwood or by a blanket criticism of his earlier films. He simply disliked the script itself. That became clear when Wayne’s son later sent him the screenplay: Wayne reportedly refused once again, tossed it overboard from his yacht and dismissed it as, “This piece of s*** again.” If nothing else, John Wayne was consistent.