Summary
- John Wayne disapproved
Plateau Wanderer
for the deviation from the traditional Western hero portrayal. - The role of Clint Eastwood in the film contradicts the classic Western protagonist roles.
- Despite differing views on character portrayal, both actors continued to pursue successful careers even after the dispute.
The year was 1973. At that time, the 66-year-old Hollywood star had already appeared in over 150 films (and won both an Oscar and a Golden Globe). John Wayne was slowing down his usual acting routine. Only two of his films were released that year, both westerns: The Train Robbers (published in February) and Cahill, US Marshal (out later in July). Since Wayne has become synonymous with the genre, it’s no surprise that he sought out any films that dealt with the same theme of gunslingers and justice. Some even say he was a cowboy through and through, displaying a masculine but honorable bravery on and off the set. Suffice it to say, that bold personality came to the fore when a certain up-and-coming actor attempted to change the landscape of the American Western forever.
Right between John Wayne’s two films this year, 43-year-old Clint Eastwood should release his second directorial work, Plateau Wanderer. Influenced by some filmmakers he has worked with in the past, such as Sergio Leone and Don Siegel (The Dollar Trilogy And DirtyHarry were some of their hit titles), Eastwood attempted to create his own form of a mysterious but rugged protagonist in this film with The Stranger. Clint Eastwood’s character, who initially appears as a drifter in the town of Lago, is quickly used as a savior of the citizens against the invading Stacey Bridges and Carlin brothers. Unlike other traditional westerns, however, it is difficult to root for the protagonist in this revisionist flick from the 70s. John Wayne was neither for him nor for the film.
John Wayne disapproved of the revisionist Western
Plateau Wanderer
4.5/5
An armed stranger comes to the small settlement of Lago. After he guns down three armed men who tried to kill him, the villagers decide to hire the stranger to stop three outlaws who are on their way.
- Release date
- 6 April 1973
- Duration
- 105 minutes
He degrades women both verbally and physically (which can be provocative for some people these days), torments the townspeople as he prepares for the inevitable showdown, and seems to be filled with unearthly rage. Just like that, he rides into town – seemingly just to satisfy a specific need, with no concern for what happens in the process – and then leaves again into the haze of the mountainous heat. As you’ve probably already noticed (if you haven’t seen, Plateau Wanderer), There are many reasons why John Wayne didn’t like this movieBut in a surprising move, Wayne made his displeasure known by sending a letter directly to Clint Eastwood.
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After the cautious reception of his 1972 film The Cowboys (which some saw as conservative talk of the Vietnam War), John Wayne was actually invited by Clint Eastwood to work on a future project. The Duke had other plans. The rejection was not entirely surprising, as John Wayne was not the type to act in films inspired by Leone or Siegel-type films (i.e. spaghetti westerns or gritty police adventures), but his actual reaction to Eastwood was quite different. He made it a point to express his deep disapproval of Plateau Wanderer. Retelling of the letter to film critic Kenneth Turan from the book by Mary Lea Bandy and Kevin Stoehr Ride, Boldly Ride: The Evolution of the American WesternEastwood reads Wayne’s specific line from the letter directed against his 1973 film:
That wasn’t what the West was about. That wasn’t the American people settling this land.
The Stranger vs. John Wayne
As you can see, True determination The main character was pretty angry. But in a way, Wayne was right. Plateau Wanderer is not parallel to the life and times of the western settlersand Eastwood’s portrayal of the stranger is not on the same level as Wayne’s heroic characters. But that doesn’t make the film a bad one. Although he never sat down and wrote a response to the letter, Eastwood had a lot to say to Turan in the face of this high-level criticism. He says it was never intended to be a firsthand account of the hardworking souls who built this part of America. – better yet, it had nothing to do with the hard times of life in the Wild West.
“High Plains Drifter was intended to be a fable: it was not intended to depict the hours of toil of a pioneer.”
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The then 62-year-old rover Actor (Turan’s interview was conducted for the Los Angeles Times in 1992) also proclaimed that there is an insight to be gained here. He and Wayne come from two different generations with different ideals of cinematic requirements. In most (if not all) of John Wayne’s films, he plays an upstanding citizen who never crosses any boundaries. This unshakable quality of his is not something that is to be expected – this was also evident on the set of 1976 The Shooter.
Clint Eastwood’s view on character work
John Wayne argued with director Don Siegel about his character shooting another man in the back (even though the man he plays does so in the novel the film is based on). Clint Eastwood, on the other hand, has no problem playing a protagonist whose inner dilemma is independent of the problem presented in the story.
“I’ve always liked heroes who had weaknesses or problems to overcome in addition to the problems of the immediate script. That always makes it much more interesting than doing it the traditional way.”
Although John Wayne tried to dissuade Clint Eastwood from playing the character type he preferred, the legacy of the two actors was not affected by this small retaliation. Eastwood went on to act in and direct 40 more films (four of them in the DirtyHarry series in which John Wayne turned down the lead role), and John Wayne himself will live on as one of America’s most honest guys (in Hollywood and the real world). As for the film that started it all, Plateau Wanderer is available to rent on YouTube, Prime Video and Google Play.
