Duke's Books- Discussion

[dukefan1]

Ooops, I forgot to add another book to the list I got recently. It is:

Island in the sky by Ernest K. Gann Popular Library 1961 (originally 1944

The movie pretty much followed the book and was a good read. Dukefan1

[Stumpy]

"

SHOOTING STAR, by Maurice Zolotow
Published in 1970, Zolotow was the first biographer to sit down and talk at length with JW – an advantage pretty much no biographer had afterwards

"

I was surprised to read this.

I have an autographed (by the Duke, not Zolotow) copy of "Shooting Star". I thought it was very complimentary of Big John but in the note he included with his autograph, he said, and I quote, "This fellow made mighty insulting mistakes in this book and wrote without permission, but I guess it doesn't matter; nobody's perfect."

It seems to me that I have also read somewhere (but can't recall where) that "Shooting Star" was an "unauthorized" biography.

[itdo]

I read somewhere that JW accused Zolotow of "sloppy" research afterwards but he was certainly aware that a biography was in progress and he okayed it - if not the finished book he must have greenlighted the project itself since Zolotow visited on several filmsets (he writes about the making of a scene of Rio Lobo in the first chapter, and there's a photo of him on the Train Robbers set, that gives you an idea how long it took to write it).

[itdo]

THE FILM SHOW ANNUAL
was an annual publication in which "The Stars Tell their Own Stories" - or so they were sold. In the 1950 edition, we find a story of John Wayne, telling "in his own words" how he gets up in the morning, says hello to Chata, then drives to the Republic soundstage, where John Ford is already waiting for him to shoot the interior scenes of RIO GRANDE. While there are many details molded into the story that might make one believe Wayne himself delivered the article, it is of course so that clever marketing put out things like these (it becomes clear with his line "Oh-oh, I better hurry, it seems everybody's one set already" which we know didn't happen with JW!). What is of particular interest is that the Wayne story is illustrated by pictures of his upcoming "hit": JET PILOT! There's a story about (or told by, whatever you like) Janet Leigh as well, and there's a JET PILOT photo as well. So that means back in 1950 the PR machines were already oiled to give Jet Pilot a head-start - and then they held it back till 1957.

[arthurarnell]

Hi ITDO

I'm looking at that article as I'm writing this. This is one of the reasons I posted recently early magazine articles about Duke. In a Picturegoer magazine there is an article 'The Star Who Never Wayne's'.
Despite the fact that the stars relied on their public relations the pictures are good particularly in Picture Show and there are some brilliant ones of John Wayne in the Conqueror, with Larrain Day in Tycoon, Janet Leigh in Jet Pilot and Lauren Bacall in Blood Alley.

Oh to be young again

Regards

Arthur

[arthurarnell]

Hi

An embarrasing incident happened to me a couple of years ago. One Christmas we went to Gravesend for a Charles Dickens Fair (Dickens lived in the area for most of his life and the locals were heavy into his books and costumes etc) and looking through a local second hand bookshop I saw Zolotow's Shooting Star for £2.00. I almost snatched it out of the booksellers hands.

On the way home I couldn't wait to read it and in a blackened coach mine was the only light on. This attracted the attention of the courier as she assumed that I had bought a book dealing with Dickens. When I told her what I was reading she walked back to the speaker system and said:

Ladies and Gentlemen we have spent all day at the home of Charles Dickens and that man is reading a book about John Wayne.

Regards

Arthur

[Stumpy]

Originally posted by arthurarnell@Feb 14 2004, 11:59 AM
Hi

An embarrasing incident happened to me a couple of years ago. One Christmas we went to Gravesend for a Charles Dickens Fair* (Dickens lived in the area for most of his life and the locals were heavy into his books and costumes etc)* and looking through a local second hand bookshop I saw Zolotow's Shooting Star for £2.00. I almost snatched it out of the booksellers hands.

On the way home I couldn't wait to read it and in a blackened coach mine was the only light on. This attracted the attention of the courier as she assumed that I had bought a book dealing with Dickens. When I told her what I was reading she walked back to the speaker system and said:

Ladies and Gentlemen we have spent all day at the home of Charles Dickens and that man is reading a book about John Wayne.

Regards

Arthur

That was funny, Arthur. Obviously you're a man with his priorities in the right place. :

BTW, what was your opinion of "Shooting Star"? Did you also think that the book was, on the whole, complimentary to the Duke?

[Stumpy]

Originally posted by chester7777+Sep 16 2003, 11:55 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(chester7777 @ Sep 16 2003, 11:55 AM)</div>

<!--QuoteBegin-dukefan1

@Sep 10 2003, 07:22 AM
I have gotten quite a few books off ebay and have never been disapointed.* ** Dukefan1

dukefan1 (and anybody else who loves books),

Ebay is a good source, and so is Amazon.com. In fact, before I will bid on Ebay, I check to see if the book is available at Amazon. It often is, and at a fixed price (no bidding war there). Shipping on Amazon for one item, used, is generally $3.50 and I take that into account when determining which place will serve me better.
Also, anything bought new that adds up to $25.00 or more, you get free shipping.

Happy shopping! :D

Chester[/b]

IMHO, this is absolutely the best place on the internet, bar none, to shop for out-of-print books. Not only are you almost sure to find what you're looking for (including all those Wayne-related books) but it will probably be at a good price, much better than ebay or Amazon.

When I first came across it, I looked up, and bought at a very reasonable price, a book that I last read in the Nineteen Forties, when I was a kid of about 7 or 8. I couldn't believe it when I discovered that book on the site, because I'm sure it has been out-of-print for at least 50 or more years. (I bought the book out of nostalgia, because it was one of my favorites when I was a kid.)

[itdo]

Hi guys
I would love to discuss single books and writers or experiences with you in newly started topics so we could keep lists like this as a tool where each new post means one new addition to that list. That way it could be great help for somebody browsing for books about JW.
Thanks! ;)

[itdo]

CODE OF HONOR - THE MAKING OF THREE GREAT AMERICAN WESTERNS,
by Michael F. Blake

Blake covers the makings of HIGH NOON, SHANE and THE SEARCHERS and explores the code of honor of the three main characters, Will Kane, Shane and Ethan. They had a lot in common influencing movie-goers everywhere. Yet more interesting - to me, anyway - is the story behind the film, the making. After you thought you heard and read about anything there is on that subject, it's surprising that Blake can come up with new facts and lots of rare stills (Ethan and Scar eating lunch together, haha). Most impressive is the research about the shooting schedule. Blake can almost give a day-to-day account on the filming of Searchers. Even if we know of course that films aren't shoot in chronologic order, it's impressive to know how the actors had to work. For example, Wayne shot the ending with elder Debbie first, and only then would do the interiors with young Debbie. Stills from DELETED SCENES I've never seen anywhere before include the scene in which Ethan watches over the sleeping searchers, early in the beginning of the search. Then the arrival at the fort and the Custer scene, also cut. I've read the screenplay, and the scenes are in, but only seeing those stills gives proof that they've actually been filmed, waiting to be discovered, hopefully, for a Special Edition DVD?
Ford lovers will get a lot of insight on how the old master worked.

[arthurarnell]

Hi.

Just out or Just about to be released:

THE LOST FILMS OF JOHN WAYNE By Caroline McGivern
Softback ISBN 0954003136 155 pages

Dealing with The High and The Mighty and Island in the Sky

Recommended Retail Price £19.95

Regards

Arthur

[arthurarnell]

Hi

Just came back from a day in Brighton. While i was there I picked up an interesting book.

Its called TALL IN THE SADDLE
by Peggy Thompson & SAEKO USUKAWA
Its Published by Chronicle Books San Francisco

And it contains 118 pages of lines from Famous Westerns.

John Wayne Lines include

Angel & The Badman
The Alamo
The Big Trail
The Dark Command
El Dorado
Fort Apache (About Which More Later)
Hondo
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Red River
Rio Bravo
The Searchers
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon
Stagecoach
Tall in the Saddle
True Grit
The War Wagon


So if you want to know in what film the conversation went

"I say we do it my way - and that's an order."
"Yes, sir. But if you're wrong don't ever give me another."*


This is the book for you







Regards


Arthur






* Ward Bond and John Wayne - The Searchers

[chester7777]

It appears that all the information about Fred Landesmans Book may have been lost in this weeks "excitement", does anyone still have that information that they could repost?

Thanks

Chester

[arthurarnell]

Hi Chester

THE JOHN WAYNE FILMOGRAPHY

By Fred Landesman

536 Pages Hardcover Dimension (in inches) 1.18 x 10.12 x 7.22 ISBN:078641779X

This comprehensive volume covers his expansive film career, from 1926 to 1976

Listed in alphbetical order are such entries on films as Angel and the Badman and Noah's Ark that exemplify the more thabn 170 films that the actor worked on. Each entry includes the films date, tun time, cast and crew credits, reviwes and a synopsise. Also under each entry is a special sectiopn devoted to rare information and interesting details.

[itdo]

EACH MAN IN HIS TIME, by Raoul Walsh

The only one of Wayne's director's who lived the life of a real adventurer. His very own biography reads like a Jack London novel. He rode with Villa. He was a cowboy. He was a prospector. An actor. Finally a director. And then he discovered John Wayne. He describes the incident in detail as well as the work on The Big Trail, which he renamed THE BIG DRUNK - for all the drinking going on.
Book is out of print now and valuable, but still available in second hand shops.