The Lauren Bacall Blogathon – The Shootist (1976)

This is the first of three posts dedicated to The Lauren Bacall Blogathon being held over at In The Good Old Days of Hollywood.

Tnx Crystal for letting me take part!

“The day they lay you away, what I’ll do on your grave won’t pass for flowers.” – Carson City Marshal Walter Thibido

Number of Times Seen – 2 (2 Jun 2001 and 7 Sep 2018)

Brief Synopsis – An aging gunfighter who has recently found out that he is dying tries to find a way to tie up all of his affairs before he dies while also attempting to do so in the least amount of pain as possible.

My Take on it – This is a film that I recall seeing 17 years ago and didn’t recall much about it besides the fact that it was John Wayne’s final film role.

AS with all of his roles over the years, he does a great job with this one and brings the character to life before us especially since he needs to show much vulnerability in this particular role.

The aging gunfighter persona works quite well here and the fact that this was his final film helps that notion sink in even deeper when watching this film 42 years after it was made.

The story itself works pretty well even if things move quite slowly through most of the film.

The way that things are presented work because they seem plausible given the circumstances and the way things transpire here.

James Stewart does a fine job in a small yet significant role here and Lauren Bacall was a great casting choice to play opposite Wayne especially due to the scenes where her character needs to show how strong she can be while having a solid backbone to hold her own against such a domineering character.

Bottom Line – Wayne is great in just about any role, and he does a great job in this film showing how vulnerable he can be. His aging gunfighter persona worked well with his own age at the time and the fact that this was his final film helps make that idea sink in even deeper. The story works even if its a bit slow and we really believe that all of what transpires could be conceivable given the circumstances.  Stewart is great in a small yet significant role.  Bacall does a fine job opposite Wayne especially in the scenes where she needs to show how much backbone she can have against such a great and domineering character. Recommended

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Contrary to popular belief, John Wayne did not have cancer when he made this film. His entire left lung and several ribs had been removed in surgery on September 17, 1964, and in 1969 he was declared cancer-free. It was not until January 12, 1979, almost three years after this movie had been filmed, that the disease was found to have returned. According to a 2014 biography “John Wayne: the Life and Legend” by Scott Eyman, Wayne had been found to have stomach cancer in 1975 but it had gone into remission before filming began on this movie. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (7/10)

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