John Wayne’s Wife Still Gets ‘Goosebumps’ From 1 of His Most Epic Movies
Actor John Wayne felt a lot of pride in his movies. He didn’t always care about the critics’ thoughts, but he certainly held himself to a high standard in specific parts of his career. Wayne’s wife, Pilar, recognized the hard work that he put into his first official directing credit for The Alamo. She explained that out of all of the movies Wayne made, one particular scene still gives her goosebumps.
John Wayne felt his movies were under attack from critics
Pilar and Alex Thorleifson’s John Wayne: My Life With the Duke explored the movies he poured his effort into. However, that didn’t stop some studio executives and movie critics from tearing apart the films he was incredibly proud of. Wayne’s fans lined up for The Alamo, but U.S. critics slammed the film for “its sentimentality, its flag-waving patriotism. The influential Bosley Crowther called it, ‘just another beleaguered Western.'”
Wayne often held his thoughts to himself regarding film critics’ opinions of his movies. However, he had a difficult time doing so with The Alamo because he felt he “stripped his soul bare in this film, held his own deepest convictions up to public scrutiny.”
John Wayne’s wife, Pilar, gets ‘goosebumps’ from 1 scene in ‘The Alamo’
Pilar pointed out that its “sentimental” nature is actually one of the greatest strengths of The Alamo. She further explained that of all of the movies Wayne made, he genuinely displayed his characters as strong and independent. However, there’s one scene in particular toward the end of The Alamo that continues to have an impact on her.
“I still get goosebumps, watching one of the last scenes before the climactic battle,” Pilar wrote. “It is the one where the parson turns to Devy Crockett and says, ‘You never pray, do you?’ As Crockett, Duke’s voice has a husky sadness when he answers, ‘I never found the time.’ That single line says so much about Duke the man–not the actor.”
Pilar continued: “He was a doer who rarely found the time to pray. But The Alamo would need his prayers if he was going to recoup his enormous investment, and time was running out.”
The actor deeply wanted to see his movie get Oscar nominations
Wayne knew when one of his movies deserved the attention of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In the case of The Alamo, he felt that he created something truly special. Wayne wanted to see the film earn a few nominations, but he didn’t care if he earned recognition as the director. However, he wanted to see William Clothier’s cinematography, Dimitri Tiompkin’s score, Richard Widmark’s performance, and James grant’s script earn the attention that they deserved.
Wayne worked with his publicist to get the film as much award season attention as possible. However, he knew that his movie would be the underdog against big titles, such as The Apartment and Spartacus. The film would ultimately earn one win for Best Sound along with six nominations for Best Picture, Cinematography, Film Editing, Original Song, and Score.
