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JOHN WAYNE TRILOGY

23RD, 24TH AND 25TH MAY Directed by: Robert Bradbury Starring: John Wayne, Gabby Hayes and Yakima Canutt

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These three ‘B’ western movies were among his early work which made him famous. Wayne wasn’t lucky enough to become an overnight star he’d slogged long and hard to climb back up after his first lead role in The Big Trail (1930), directed by Raoul Walsh was a box-office disaster. Undeterred by the fact that he was dropped by Fox Studios he collaborated with Lone Star Pictures and distributed through Monogram Productions. It was here that he was to start a life-long friendship with Yakima Canutt – who performed many of his stunts and also with George ‘Gabby’ Hayes. All three star in the Wayne movies on offer in TCM’s Western Fortnight.

Yakima Canutt was a stunt man and although he has bit part roles in these movies, it is really his role as Wayne’s body double that is important. The two men developed a close bond which helped them devise some great fight techniques to make on-screen brawls look much more realistic. Canutt went on to become one of the most famous and revered of all Hollywood stuntmen, helping make the impressive chariot race in Ben-Hur one of the most talked about film sequences of all time.

George ‘Gabby Hayes’, appeared alongside Wayne in 15 movies and was usually the eccentric sidekick whose incoherent mumblings and sayings have been much mimicked. Mostly he played a kindly and paternal character but he wasn’t averse to taking on the bad guy either. He’s pretty much remembered for the former and apparently provided the inspiration for Stinky Pete in Toy Story – and if you are familiar with Blazing Saddles you’ll know there’s a character called Gabby who nobody can understand.

THE LUCKY TEXAN (1934) on 23rd May at 3pm

Directed by: Robert Bradbury

Starring: John Wayne, Gabby Hayes and Yakima Canutt

Wayne plays a young man Jerry Mason, who becomes rich when he and his partner, an older blacksmith Jake ‘Grandy’ Benson (Gabby Hayes) strike gold. Of course, this doesn’t go unnoticed by the local bad guy, Harris (Lloyd Whitlock) who sends his sidekicks not only to trick the old man out of his ranch but also to frame Mason with murder.

There are some great scenes to look out for. One involves some incredibly exciting stunt work by Canutt who, as Wayne’s character Mason, rides down a makeshift log flume, before he manages to physically apprehend his foe. At times Canutt as the bad guy ends up chasing Wayne because he’s body doubling. Also, Gabby Hayes takes a turn at cross-dressing, with hilarious consequences.

RIDERS OF DESTINY (1933) on 24th May at 3pm

Directed by: Robert Bradbury

Starring: John Wayne, Gabby Hayes and Yakima Canutt

This is the first of the Lone Star productions – the successful collaboration that got Wayne back in front of the camera in some real crowd pleasing westerns. In Riders of Destiny he plays Singing Sandy Saunders and gets the chance to warble a few tunes in between the gun-toting action. There’s more than a slim chance that he wasn’t doing the singing himself.

It’s pretty standard western fare. There’s a bad guy, Kincaid (Forrest Taylor) controlling the water supply to the locals and he plans to make his money by charging exorbitant prices. Luckily, the notorious Singing Sandy Saunders is on hand with a cunning plan to scupper Kincaid’s evil scheme. Cecilia Parker plays Fay Denton, who provides the love interest. Gabby Hayes plays her kindly dad. Canutt plays a baddie and doubles for Wayne in some of the scenes.

WEST OF THE DIVIDE (1934) on 25th May at 3pm

Directed by: Robert Bradbury

Starring: John Wayne, Gabby Hayes and Yakima Canutt

John Wayne plays Ted Haynes, a man who has taken on an alias Gat Ganns, pretending that he’s a wanted man. He’s out to avenge the murder of his father, the same man who kidnapped his kid brother years earlier. He and his friend, Dusty (Gabby Hayes) have joined Gentry’s (Lloyd Whitlock) outlaw gang.

Haynes/Ganns is in for a terrible shock when he finds his young brother and discovers his father’s murderer is closer to him than he thinks. There are som more fantastic Canutt stunts to look out for. A runaway carriage scene involving two out-of-control horses is breath-taking not to mention the scene when he jumps off his horse and through a window. Canutt was a busy man on this movie, he doubles for both Wayne and Whitlock.

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