The Complete Filmography of John Wayne

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John Wayne started out as a non-speaking extra in several films before being given his first substantial role in 1930's "The Big Trail". This film didn't perform very well at the box office, however, and, for the next nine years, Duke was relegated to bit parts and B-movies. When John Ford put him in his 1939 film "Stagecoach", however, the world loved him, and it was a quick trip to super-stardom after that.

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1
Brown of Harvard 1926,  Unrated)
2
Bardelys the Magnificent 1926,  Unrated)
3
The Great K&A Train Robbery 1926,  Unrated)
4
Annie Laurie 1927,  PG)
5
The Drop Kick, (Glitter) 1927,  PG)
6
Mother Machree 1928,  PG)
7
Four Sons 1928,  Unrated)
8
Hangman's House 1928,  Unrated)
9
Speakeasy 1929,  PG)
10
The Black Watch, (King of the Khyber Rifles) 1929,  PG)
11
Noah's Ark 1928,  Unrated)
12
Words and Music 1929,  PG)
13
Salute 1929,  PG)
14
The Forward Pass 1929,  PG)
15
Men Without Women 1930,  Unrated)
16
Born Reckless 1930,  Unrated)
17
Rough Romance 1930,  Unrated)
18
Cheer Up and Smile 1930,  Unrated)
19
The Big Trail 1930,  Unrated)
20
Girls Demand Excitement 1931,  Unrated)
21
Three Girls Lost 1931,  Unrated)
22
Arizona (Men Are Like That ) ,  Unrated)
23
The Deceiver 1931,  Unrated)
24
Range Feud 1931,  Unrated)
25
Maker of Men (Yellow) 1931,  Unrated)
26
Texas Cyclone 1932,  Unrated)
27
Two-Fisted Law 1932,  Unrated)
28
Lady and Gent (The Challenger) 1932,  Unrated)
29
Ride Him, Cowboy 1932,  Unrated)
30
That's My Boy 1932,  Unrated)
31
The Big Stampede 1932,  Unrated)
32
Haunted Gold 1932,  Unrated)
33
The Telegraph Trail 1933,  Unrated)
34
Central Airport 1933,  Unrated)
35
Somewhere in Sonora 1933,  Unrated)
36
His Private Secretary 1933,  Unrated)
37
The Life of Jimmy Dolan 1933,  G)
38
Baby Face 1933,  Unrated)
39
The Man from Monterey 1933,  Unrated)
40
Riders of Destiny 1933,  Unrated)
Riders of Destiny
One of John Wayne's very few "singing cowboy" pictures. Seriously, out of nowhere, he just bursts into song! And the truly hilarious part is that it's not even Duke singing! It's some other guy singing while Duke moves his lips to the words and pretends to play the guitar! And you know what a distinctive, recognizable voice John Wayne has, right? Well, let's just say that the result is about as convincing as James Earl Jones lip syncing to Clay Aiken!
41
College Coach (Football Coach ) 1933,  Unrated)
42
Sagebrush Trail 1933,  Unrated)
43
The Lucky Texan (Gold Strike River) 1934,  G)
44
West of the Divide 1934,  Unrated)
45
Blue Steel (An Innocent Man) 1934,  Unrated)
46
The Man from Utah 1934,  Unrated)
47
Randy Rides Alone 1934,  Unrated)
48
The Star Packer (He Wore a Star) 1934,  Unrated)
49
The Trail Beyond 1934,  Unrated)
50
The Lawless Frontier 1935,  Unrated)
51
'Neath the Arizona Skies 1934,  Unrated)
52
Texas Terror 1935,  Unrated)
53
Rainbow Valley 1935,  Unrated)
54
The Desert Trail 1935,  Unrated)
55
The Dawn Rider 1935,  G)
56
Paradise Canyon (Paradise Ranch) 1935,  Unrated)
57
Westward Ho 1935,  Unrated)
58
The New Frontier 1935,  Unrated)
59
Lawless Range 1935,  Unrated)
60
The Oregon Trail 1936,  Unrated)
61
The Lawless Nineties 1936,  Unrated)
62
King of the Pecos 1936,  Unrated)
63
The Lonely Trail 1936,  Unrated)
64
Winds of the Wasteland 1936,  Unrated)
65
Sea Spoilers 1936,  Unrated)
66
Conflict 1937,  Unrated)
67
California Straight Ahead! 1937,  Unrated)
68
I Cover the War 1937,  Unrated)
69
Idol of the Crowds 1937,  Unrated)
70
Adventure's End 1937,  Unrated)
71
Born to the West (Hell Town) 1937,  Unrated)
72
Pals of the Saddle 1938,  Unrated)
73
Overland Stage Raiders 1938,  Unrated)
74
Santa Fe Stampede 1938,  Unrated)
75
Red River Range 1938,  Unrated)
76
Stagecoach 1939,  Unrated)
77
The Night Riders 1942,  Unrated)
78
Three Texas Steers 1939,  PG)
79
Wyoming Outlaw 1939,  Unrated)
80
New Frontier (Frontier Horizon) 1939,  Unrated)
81
Allegheny Uprising 1939,  Unrated)
82
The Dark Command 1940,  R)
83
Three Faces West 1940,  Unrated)
84
The Long Voyage Home 1940,  Unrated)
85
Seven Sinners 1940,  Unrated)
86
A Man Betrayed (Citadel of Crime) (Wheel of Fortune) 1941,  PG)
87
Lady from Louisiana (Lady from New Orleans) 1941,  PG)
88
The Shepherd of the Hills 1941,  Unrated)
The Shepherd of the Hills
Duke gives a particularly impressive dramatic performance in this early film of his. People don't often give Duke his due for being much more than just a big, tough action hero. The fact is that he was always a much better actor than most people gave him credit for being.
89
Lady for a Night 1941,  PG)
90
Reap the Wild Wind 1942,  Unrated)
91
The Spoilers 1942,  PG)
92
In Old California 1942,  Unrated)
93
Flying Tigers 1942,  Unrated)
Flying Tigers
John Wayne's first war movie, and also one of his best.
94
Reunion in France (Mademoiselle France) (Reunion) 1942,  PG)
95
Pittsburgh 1942,  Unrated)
Pittsburgh
A rare glimpse at the normally heroic John Wayne as a less than scrupulous character, although he does make good in the end.
96
A Lady Takes a Chance 1943,  Unrated)
97
In Old Oklahoma (War of the Wildcats) 1943,  PG)
98
The Fighting Seabees 1944,  Unrated)
99
Tall in the Saddle 1941,  Unrated)
100
Flame of Barbary Coast 1945,  Unrated)
101
Back to Bataan 1945,  Unrated)
102
They Were Expendable 1945,  Unrated)
They Were Expendable
Well-made, but kind of dull.
103
Dakota 1945,  Unrated)
104
Without Reservations (Thanks God, I'll Take It from Here) 1946,  Unrated)
105
Angel and the Badman 1947,  Unrated)
106
Tycoon 1947,  Unrated)
107
Red River 1948,  Unrated)
108
Fort Apache 1948,  Unrated)
109
3 Godfathers 1948,  Unrated)
110
Wake of the Red Witch 1949,  Unrated)
111
The Fighting Kentuckian 1949,  Unrated)
112
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon 1949,  Unrated)
113
Sands of Iwo Jima 1949,  Unrated)
114
Rio Grande 1950,  Unrated)
115
Operation Pacific 1951,  Unrated)
116
Flying Leathernecks 1951,  Unrated)
117
The Quiet Man 1952,  Unrated)
The Quiet Man
Unquestionably the Duke's greatest non-western.
118
Big Jim McLain 1952,  Unrated)
Big Jim McLain
Nothing but a propaganda film promoting the agenda of the House Un-American Activities Committee in the time of McCarthyism. Now, I'm about as pro-America and anti-communist as a person can get, but even I found this film to be laughable, cheesy, and extremely heavy-handed with its political message, portraying communism as something like satanism (communism is bad, but it's not quite THAT bad), and casting the HUAC (often bad for America in its own way) in a downright heroic light.

Of course, having said all that, it's not fair to condemn this film without taking fully into account the time in which it was made. At the time of this movie's release, the Korean War was raging, America had lost its nuclear supremacy, Russia and China were being assholes, and all kinds of organizations within America itself (the ACLU, for instance) were hoping to see the White House painted red someday soon. All that doesn't change the fact that "Big Jim McLain" is a terrible movie, but it does help to put it into perspective somewhat.
119
Trouble Along the Way 1953,  Unrated)
120
Island In The Sky 1953,  Unrated)
121
Hondo 1953,  Unrated)
122
The High and the Mighty 1954,  Unrated)
The High and the Mighty
Compelling, but relentlessly cheesy by today's standards.
123
The Sea Chase 1955,  Unrated)
124
Blood Alley 1955,  Unrated)
Blood Alley
I love John Wayne, but this movie is a hopeless clunker. Very dull and very cheesy. The only thing that saves it from a dreaded half-star rating is the presence of the Duke.
125
The Conqueror 1956,  G)
126
The Searchers 1956,  Unrated)
127
The Wings of Eagles 1957,  Unrated)
128
Jet Pilot 1957,  Unrated)
129
Legend of the Lost 1957,  Unrated)
130
I Married a Woman 1958,  PG)
131
The Barbarian and the Geisha 1958,  Unrated)
132
Rio Bravo 1959,  Unrated)
133
The Horse Soldiers 1959,  Unrated)
134
The Alamo 1960,  Unrated)
The Alamo
I'm a huge John Wayne fan, but I'm afraid this movie is kind of a clunker. It's waaaaay too long (nearly three and a half hours), with much of the movie focusing on things that have nothing to do with the Battle of the Alamo. The three-hour build-up to the actual battle is just too much, and when the battle finally arrives, there's no satisfaction in it, as you're forced to watch all the film's heroes (including the immortal John Wayne) get massacred by the Mexicans.
135
North to Alaska 1960,  Unrated)
136
The Comancheros 1961,  Unrated)
137
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 1962,  Unrated)
138
Hatari! 1962,  G)
Hatari!
A good movie, but definitely a product of an earlier time. I doubt that today's audiences would be able to sympathize with a group of hunters capturing animals in Africa with the intent of putting them in zoos.
139
The Longest Day 1962,  G)
140
How the West Was Won 1962,  G)
141
Donovan's Reef 1963,  Unrated)
142
McLintock! 1963,  Unrated)
McLintock!
A very amusing comedy western. The climactic scene, in which John Wayne chases a nearly naked Maureen O'Hara through the streets and ends up spanking her, is a bit uncomfortable to watch by today's standards, but it's all in good fun. After all, there's no malice in it.
143
Circus World (The Magnificent Showman) 1964,  Unrated)
144
The Greatest Story Ever Told 1965,  G)
The Greatest Story Ever Told
The finest retelling of Jesus' story ever committed to film. Max Von Sydow turns in an excellent performance as Jesus Christ.
145
In Harm's Way 1965,  Unrated)
146
The Sons of Katie Elder 1965,  PG)
147
Cast a Giant Shadow 1966,  Unrated)
148
The War Wagon 1967,  Unrated)
149
El Dorado 1967,  Unrated)
El Dorado
In the company of films like "The Searchers" and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", "El Dorado" tends to be overlooked, but it shouldn't be. It doesn't have quite the scope of Duke's more famous westerns, but it's damn good all the same. Duke is at his shootin', drawlin' best, and is supported by an outstanding cast that includes Robert Mitchum, James Caan, and a sexy Charlene Holt. Lots of action and humor, and some pretty decent drama too.
150
The Green Berets 1968,  G)
The Green Berets
The anti-war sentiment and social discontent pervading throughout the nation at the time inspired John Wayne to make this movie, which glorifies American involvement in Vietnam. Unfortunately, it is far from being included on his list of career triumphs. The pro-war rhetoric comes off as heavy-handed and cheesy, even to a Republican, patriot, and Duke fan like me. However, even to this day, "The Green Berets" remains virtually the sole Vietnam War movie that doesn't ask Americans to bow their heads in shame. While anti-American liberals like Jane Fonda and Walter Cronkite were busy sympathizing with the enemy and declaring the war "unwinnable", John Wayne - the perennial American hero - stood up for what was right and tried to rally his country and his people to a cause, which is more than can be said for any other celebrity of the time.
151
Hellfighters 1968,  G)
152
True Grit 1969,  G)
True Grit
John Wayne won the Academy Award For Best Actor for his portrayal of Rooster Cogburn here, and while his competition that year (Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman for "Midnight Cowboy" and Peter O'Toole for "The Lion in Winter") might have been more deserving on the merits of their performances, I'm glad that Duke received the honor. By this time in his career, he'd spent about fifty years entertaining the world with great movies, and he deserved to be acknowledged for that. He deserved the immense joy and satisfaction that it brought him. And if he was to win an Oscar for any of his movies, it was most fitting indeed for "True Grit" to be the one to bring him that singular honor.
153
The Undefeated 1969,  G)
154
Chisum 1970,  G)
155
Rio Lobo 1970,  G)
156
Big Jake 1971,  PG-13)
157
The Cowboys 1974,  PG)
158
Cancel My Reservation 1972,  G)
159
The Train Robbers 1973,  PG)
160
Cahill U.S. Marshal 1973,  PG)
161
McQ 1974,  PG)
162
Brannigan 1975,  R)
163
Rooster Cogburn 1975,  PG)
164
The Shootist 1976,  PG)
The Shootist
This is a great movie, partly because it provides such an apt and wonderful performance for the great John Wayne to go out on. If he had to go out at all, it was most fitting that he go out with "The Shootist". From the opening montage of clips from previous Duke movies, to Duke's struggle to come to terms with and cope with the cancer that is killing him, to the glorious shoot-out in which we see him expire definitively on-screen, "The Shootist" is 50% fantasy, 50% John Wayne biography, and 100% quality, pathos, and emotion. Few stars are given the opportunity to take their final bow with such dignity, grace, and personal triumph. Bravo, Duke.

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