User reviews

In his last movie, John Wayne plays J B Books, an ageing former gunfighter who arrives in Carson City. Books has in the past killed thirty men in gunfights and has become a legend of the West, but this hard-won status has brought him unwelcome attention from would-be gunslingers hoping to gain their own place in history as `the man who shot J B Books'. Early on, Books is told by his old friend Dr Hostetler that he is dying of terminal cancer, and the film chronicles the last week of his life, from 22nd to 29th January 1901, his search for a dignified death in accordance with his own code of honour.

The film is about both endings and new beginnings, so it is significant that the action takes place in the first month of a new century. January 1901 marked not only the beginning of a century, but also the end of an era, because it was the month in which Queen Victoria died; this event is referred to several times in the film. The days of the `Old West' were also coming to an end; under the influence of new inventions such as the motor car and the telephone (both of which appear in the film) it was becoming a quieter and less lawless place.

The time of year is significant in another way. A film which is about both the end of a man's life and the end of an era will inevitably be elegiac in tone, and the standard way of making it would be to film it in autumn, with plenty of shots of falling leaves and grey, misty skies. Don Siegel, however, takes an alternative approach, setting the film during a brief period of brilliant winter sunshine and mild weather known as a `false spring'. This not only provides some strikingly beautiful images, but also has a double symbolic meaning. For Books and for the Old West it is winter; but for the younger generation, spring is coming. One of the most touching features of the film is the relationship between Books and Gillom, the son of his landlady. Gillom idolises Books and treats him as a hero; Books, in the last days of his life, treats the young man as the son he never had and tries to teach him that there is a better way than that of the gun. The Old West may be passing into history, but there are indications that the New West, although it may be less picturesque, will be a better place in which to live. If winter comes, can spring be far behind?

The film itself also turned out to mark the end of an era in more ways than one. Although there is some doubt whether Wayne actually knew in 1976 that his cancer had returned, we now of course know that it was to be his last film and that he was to die about three years later, and this knowledge makes the film all the more poignant. It was also one of the last of the great Westerns. Although the genre had seemed in reasonable health in the early seventies, it was to suffer, for various reasons, a sharp decline in the second half of the decade and throughout the eighties. Perhaps the standard conventions of the genre had become so familiar that they seemed like clichés; perhaps the post-Vietnam generation had no time for films which often had as their themes honour, glory and courage. (It is notable that the patriotic war film underwent a similar decline at the same time). Certainly, the financial failure of `Heaven's Gate' made investors wary of backing westerns. Even Clint Eastwood, who had seemed to be the heir-apparent to Wayne's crown as King (or should that be Duke?) of the West, abandoned the genre for a time, although he was to return to it triumphantly with `Unforgiven' in the early nineties.

Wayne's great strength as an actor was his ability to convey the tough but honourable man of action. Both these qualities are present in `The Shootist', but he was able to add further qualities, pathos and as sense of a less honourable past. Although Books is hard-bitten and irascible, he is also fundamentally decent, resorting to force only in self-defence. He can show pity- early in the film he spares the life of a villain who tries to rob him at gunpoint, even though he has the man at his mercy. Nevertheless, we are always well aware that he did not gain his fearsome reputation by a scrupulous observance of the Ten Commandments; although this is not an overtly religious film, the story of his last days can be seen as the story of his search for atonement as well as for dignity. In his last film, Wayne achieves one of his greatest performances; it is remarkable that he was not even nominated for an Oscar.

The other performance that stands out is that of Ron Howard as Gillom. Howard, of course, is now best known as a director; if his acting career is remembered it is for his role that bland TV series `Happy Days'. Nevertheless, he was also capable of giving good contributions in films (`American Graffiti' is another example), and here he brings a touching youthful innocence to the part. There are also good contributions from James Stewart as the gentle, dignified doctor and from Lauren Bacall as Gillom's mother. (She has the unusual Christian name Bond, possibly symbolic of the close ties that grow between her and Books at the end of his life).

`The Shootist' is a marvellous film, sombre and elegiac, and yet at the same time with a message of hope. A fitting end to Wayne's career. 9/10.

The Shootist is a great swan song to the film career of John Wayne and a great movie on its own merit. The parallels between Wayne's life at the time the film was made and the character(J.B.Brooks) he plays in the movie only add a poignant sadness. This sadness is part of the film, it never lets up. The first jolt of sadness comes when we see Wayne visiting with the town doctor, played by Jimmy Stewart. Wayne is diagnosed with an incurable cancer. This news seems to trouble Stewarts character as much as it does with Waynes. As both characters try to come to grips with this diagnosis, I was left wondering: am I watching the work of two gifted actors play acting in a movie or am I watching two old friends bringing their reality into the movie?. Whatever the case, the scene is very moving.

Also in the cast is Lauren Bacall as the recently widowed inn keeper. She helps keep Wayne's character fulfilled and feisty during his last days. Ironicly, this job was something she was familiar with, as she did this in real life with her late husband Humphrey Bogart.

There are many good performances by the rest of the cast. But it is the circumstances under which they were filmed for Wayne, that make his a truly unbelievable performance. There are two of his scenes that stand out for me: 1) Listening to John Wayne and Scatman Crothers haggle over the selling price of Wayne's horse. Yeah, it might not sound like much here in print, but that's just a testimony of how well these two actors pull that scene off. Just great. 2) Seeing John Wayne enter the saloon with a purpose for the last time. Truly one of the most bone chilling cinematic moments of all time.

If you love John Wayne then I'm certain that you love this film already. If you can take or leave John Wayne, you might at least like this film. But if you don't care for Wayne or for that matter, if you don't like westerns, you'll probably still like this film. At least I hope so. 9/10.

Clark Richards

John Wayne is an icon, and so many viewers seem to use his work as a referendum on the larger geo-political issues of our time. I find that distasteful, as this isn't a political movie, and one that doesn't even have an oppressed indigenous person in it. This is a personal story of a man who "has outlived his time", who is dying of cancer, and yet is determined to die with dignity. John Wayne really was dying of cancer when he made this movie... he gathered old friends around him--the widow of Humphrey Bogart, Jimmy Stewart, John Carradine, and addressed the topic of how legends die. (Selling the rights for his corpse to be displayed by the undertaker for $50 cash in advance was a particularly interesting idea.) I am viewing this film 27 years after it was made, and there is 'something' it had which is absent from movies today. It is a film addressing mature themes for one thing, but it had a pacing, and made time for it's dialouge--it was never dull, never slow, but proceeded towards it's climax with the sort of gravitas you very rarely see in today's cinematic roller coaster rides, which have become little more than special effects vehicles. There is another reason to see this film--it looks back at 1901 with a loving vision. I was impressed with the historical accuracy in which it was filmed--it was impressive to see the town, from the horsedrawn street car and the Stanley Steamer, to little things like the flour dispenser in the kitchen. (Wondered where it was filmed--perhaps the old Old Tucson Studio before it burned down and was rebuilt to be a tourist attraction?) Anyway, this was a lovingly crafted film--I don't know if Hollywood could still pull this off "as real" in 2003. So, for big reasons and small, "The Shootist" is worth your time. It is deeper than it looks.

"The Shootist" was John Wayne's swan song as a film legend and, to put it mildly, he hit a home run. It is a terrific end to a legendary career.

After a brief prologue made up of film clips of Wayne in his career prime, we meet his cinematic alter ego, John Bernard Books, an aging gunfighter who rides into Carson City, Nevada in the early 1900's looking for Doc Hostetler (James Stewart), the old sawbones who once saved his life and apparently the only man he trusts. It seems the old guy has prostate cancer and only a few weeks to live, and as Hostetler tells him, it will not be a pleasant death. Books, with no where else to go, checks into Bond Rogers' (Lauren Bacall) boarding house to live out his final days in peace under the alias "William Hickok." When Bond's delinquent son Gillom (Ron Howard, in a nice change-of-pace performance and his last major film appearance before becoming a director) informs her of his true identity, she tries to throw him out but relents when she finds out his condition and agrees to help him die in peace.

Unfortunately, things don't go as planned as everyone from the town mortician (John Carradine) to an old girlfriend (Sheree North) to a newspaper editor (Richard Lenz) try to take advantage of his situation and turn a fast buck. And then there are several lowlifes (Richard Boone, Hugh O'Brien, Bill McKinney, etc.) who want to seal their reputations by taking him out. Since it's obvious that no one will leave him alone in his final days, and since he grows fond (to put it mildly) of both Bond and Gillom and wishes them no harm, Books decides to go out in style and on his own terms, and to take a few scumbags along with him.

"The Shootist" is one of those rare films that seems to have gotten better with age. It wasn't particularly successful with critics or audiences at the time, as they were apparently put off by its leisurely pace and relative lack of action. Typical of the reaction was a TV guide critic (who shall remain nameless), who once derided it and its stars as coming across as "relics of the old West." (Wasn't that the point?) However, it is now pretty much considered a classic, and rightfully so, especially when viewed next to some of the lesser films of Wayne's 1970's period ("Cahill," "Rooster Cogburn," "The Cowboys"). In fact, it is now hard to believe that Wayne was not nominated for an Oscar here, as Books is clearly one of the best performances of his career and definitely eclipses his extravagantly praised, Oscar-winning mugging in "True Grit." Indeed, "The Shootist" deserves to stand alongside Clint Eastwood's "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and Oscar-winning "Unforgiven" as the last three great Westerns in cinema history. Everything about it is immaculate--the sets, the costumes, the supporting cast (including Harry Morgan in a terrific cameo as an unsympathetic sheriff who tells Books, "What I put on your grave won't pass for roses."), the script, and the chemistry between Wayne and Bacall, teaming up for the first time since "Blood Alley." And everything is held together by old pro director Donald Siegel who, aside from the late Hal Ashby, may very well be the most underappreciated director in cinema history.

But "The Shootist" is John Wayne's film all the way. He is simply sensational, and BRAVE, since he apparently knew at the time his cancer was back and that this would probably be his last film. It's not every film legend who gets to end his/her career on a high note, but Wayne did just that. I just hope he knew it before his death barely three years later. ****1/2 (out of *****)

"The Shootist" is a great film. I really, really like this movie a lot and have liked it from the first time I saw it. What I really admire about this film is it's cast, who knew that it was probably going to be John Wayne's last film. They brought out the best for this film.

Let's look at the director, Don Siegel, a really top notch director of action films that are more than action films, like "Dirty Harry" and "Escape from Alcatraz." Mr. Siegel seems to really have the talent to blend a story with action.

Let's look at the leads. John Wayne - what can you say the man always will be known as an icon. A true professional - he had little patience with actors who did not show up on time and did not know their lines. Look at the standing ovation he got for his Best Actor Oscar for "True Grit." Hollywood loved this guy! Lauren Bacall - awesome, as always. She always delivers in any part. She's such a reliable, remarkable actress. She's a direct link to another era of Hollywood, when stars weren't jockeying for position at the Sundance Film Festival or showing up in "Us Magazine." Bacall shows up prepared for a role and she gets the job done. And done well. Lauren, you're a great actress and great in this film! Bogie would be proud. Ron Howard - good to see him leave the comfort zone of Happy Days and play a really great character with many facets to his character. You can see the real admiration and respect he has not only for Wayne but for the other actors.

And then there's the rest. I mean, come on - where are you going to find a film like this in the '70s with so many really good actors. Not Charo, John Davidson, Jimmie Walker - people trying to survive a disaster - this is a real movie with an awesome story. Jimmy Stewart, Harry Morgan, Sheree North, John Carradine, Richard Boone - awesome! Awesome! What's really touching about this film is that you know that major, major actors took smaller roles in order to be in a movie with Duke Wayne. Amazing. Enjoy the movie, it's great!

All of the credit in the world goes to John Wayne for making this film. Here you have the biggest star in Hollywood history, making a film that symbolizes his life. You have an aging actor, whose best days were past him, portraying an aging gunfighter, whose best days were behind him. You have a character trying to fit into a world that had changed too much. Much like Wayne was trying to fit into a changing America. Lastly, you had a character, dying of cancer, trying to accomplish one last thing. Wayne, who was also dying of cancer, like the character, was trying to accomplish one last thing, a great film. To me, this film is special, because you are seeing in real life, a dying icon make his farewell. Like the character JB Books, Wayne was trying to put a brave face on his final days. He was vulnerable and uncertain about what awaited him, but he sought to accomplish one last goal. I don't care if you like Wayne or not, but how someone could not be emotionally effected by seeing this legend on screen for his last time, well, I feel sorry for you. This film is very special to me.

A stirring story of an old-timer reconsiderating his life and who holds a personal code of honor . John Wayne's touching last role , here performs a legendary gunslinger afflicted with Cancer who seeks solace , tranquility and peace and to die with a minimum of pain and a maximum of dignity . But town bad guys as Richard Boone and Hugh O'Brian , aren't about to let him rest and are determined to gun him down to revenge past events .

One of Wayne's best in which from the opening edition of clips from Wayne's earliest movies as ¨Rio Rojo , Rio Bravo¨ , to the ending impressive shootout in the cavernous saloon , Siegel film is moving , quiet and subtle . The picture pays tribute to John Wayne with none of the indulgences , humor and irony that permeated ¨True Grit and Rogster Cogburn ¨ . John Wayne heads the top-drawer main and support cast , he gives a very good as well as dignified acting as a dying gunfighter who spends his last days looking for a way to die rightly but prevented from doing so various younger gunmen out for vendetta or to prove their worth against him . However , Paul Newman, Charles Bronson, Gene Hackman and Clint Eastwood turned down the lead role before John Wayne was cast. Infused with an appropriately wintry feel ,the admitted sentimentality and sadness is maintained througly and in keeping with the elegiatic style . This one results to be a valedictory tribute to both , the Western in general and the great Wayne , the Duke , in particular . The interpretations are uniformly top-notch , standing out an awesome plethora of secondaries as James Stewart , Lauren Bacall , Ron Howard ,John Carradine , Sheree North , Bill McKinney , Harry Morgan , among others . It contains an enjoyable and thrilling musical score by Elmer Bernstein in his usual style . Atmospheric and evocative cinematography by Bruce Surtees.

The motion picture was well directed by Donad Siegel who handles both tone and pace wonderfully . Donald made his reputation in the early and mid-'50s with a series of tightly made , expertly crafted , tough but intelligent "B" pictures , among them : The Lineup (1958), Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954) , then graduated to major "A" films in the 1960s and early 1970s . Director Siegel brought an entirely new approach to the Sci-Fi field Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) . He made several "side trips" to television, mostly as a producer . Siegel directed what is generally considered to be Elvis Presley's best picture , Flamingo Star (1960). All of Eastwood's later Western and his ¨Dirty Harry¨ movies owe a considerable debt to Sergio Leone and Donald Siegel . As Donald directed Eastwood in various films , such as : ¨Coogan's bluff , The beguiled , Dirty Harry , Escape from Alcatraz and Two mules and sister Sara¨. He had a long professional relationship and personal friendship with Clint Eastwood , who has often said that everything he knows about filmmaking he learned from Don Siegel .

John Wayne managed to save his best performance for last. Not only was this his greatest acting achievement (surpassing The Cowboys in which he was also very, very good) it is also one of the best films ever produced in the Western genre. This movie benefitted from an excellent script and superb casting, but was brought to perfection by the sterling performances of three great stars, Wayne, Bacall and Stewart.

Wayne's interactions with Stewart, Bacall and Howard are moving and powerful. The depth of character in Books is set in contrast to the shallowness and opportunism of others, particularly Dobkins and Serepta, but also Cobb. Becoming, briefly, the father figure needed by Gillom, Books more than makes up in his last week of life for the "havoc" he brought to "society" in his earlier life (as viewed by Mrs. Rogers). Of course, part of the tension in the plot is created by the different evaluations Books and Rogers would assign to Books' life. Both stand in contrast to the view of that life held by Gillom and Moses.

Back in 1969, the Academy, realizing it had never appropriately honored John Wayne and fearful that time was running out to do so, gave him Best Actor for one of his weaker performances and poorer scripts. It is unfortunate his colleagues did not make up for that error by repeating the honor for what was truly a great performance in The Shootist. Nonetheless, the proof of the pudding is still in the eating, and the availability of The Shootist on tape and (hopefully) DVD will allow us to keep eating this one over and over.

John Wayne fans should be encouraging their non-Wayne-fan friends to see this movie. Respect for this great American would grow thereby.

Old gunfighter John Books (John Wayne) arrives in Carson City, Nevada in 1901 seeking a second opinion from Doc Hostetler (James Stewart). He has less than two months after cancer is confirmed. He rents a room from widow Bond Rogers (Lauren Bacall) and her son Gillom (Ron Howard). Stable hand Moses discovers his true identity and Gillom is star-struck. Bond tries to throw him out. Marshal Walter Thibido (Harry Morgan) is only too happy when he reveals that he's there to die in peace. Hostetler tells him that it will be a painful death. News spread and enemies come gunning for him. Others come looking to cash in.

This is John Wayne's final film. He still has the presence. It hearkens back to so much history of Hollywood westerns. Lauren Bacall is absolutely great. James Stewart joins them adding to that immense depth. This is a great nostalgic journey. I would have liked it to be much darker in tone and more action. It does take a look at the act of dying. The search for peace and resignation at the end of this gunslinger's life is very compelling.

I've always felt that John Wayne at one point might have meant The Cowboys to be his farewell film. I'm sure that at some time we will learn he was having a health crisis then as he clearly is on this film, but that he recovered. Either The Shootist or The Cowboys could serve as his monument.

But in John Bernard Books, Wayne gives us one of his finest acted roles ever on screen, legendary gunfighter from the Old West who arrives in Carson City, Nevada to get a second opinion from Doctor James Stewart. It's a terminal cancer all right and it's going to be rough final trip.

News of Queen Victoria's dying is in the papers the day Wayne arrives in town. He admires the way she left the mortal coil and he resolves in his own mind a plan to go out the same way.

Wayne put a great cast together for The Shootist, some of them friends and colleagues he worked with over the years like James Stewart, Lauren Bacall, John Carradine, Harry Morgan, Hugh O'Brian and Richard Boone. If you read Lauren Bacall's memoirs you will be touched at the affection she felt for John Wayne, though their politics were light years apart. James Stewart was quoted as saying he was just honored to be in this film with the Duke.

One of John Wayne's best acted scenes ever in any of his films is with Sheree North who plays a former girl friend. She visits him and proposes marriage, but a little later it's learned that she's in cahoots with a 19th century tabloid writer Rick Lenz who wants to exploit his legend in a tell all memoir. To quote the Bard it was "the unkindest cut of all." I was more emotionally moved by that scene than with the final gunfight.

Which in itself is something. Wayne challenges local tough Bill McKinney, old enemy Richard Boone, and faro dealer and dead shot Hugh O'Brian to meet him. What happens you have to see the film for, but let's say that Wayne meets the dignified and courageous end we would expect of him.

In the three years left to him on earth it was rumored that John Wayne was interested in a few film projects, like maybe he was being saved for something even better. It didn't happen, sad to say, but they don't get better than The Shootist.

If they do, that'll be the day.

This is Wayne's finest moment on film, in my opinion. He plays an aging gunfighter dying of cancer whos only wish is to die in peace. Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard, Harry Morgan and Richard Boone all give great performances. Boone in particular as the bad guy who gets around town in a 1903 Curved Dash Oldsmobile complete with tiller steering. What the audience does know is that the car had not been marketed. Actually the American public never saw it until late summer of that year. The character Books wants to die on his birthday, January 22nd. Don't let the auto casting error keep you from seeing The Shootist. It's great!

Don Siegel directed this western, which stars John Wayne in his final performance, playing aging Gunfighter J.B. Books, who learns that he is dying of cancer, and comes to stay in the home of Bond Rogers(played by Lauren Bacall) and her son Gillom(played by Ron Howard). He hopes to die peacefully and painlessly, but his past catches up with him, first with a visit by an elated sheriff(played by Harry Morgan) then by an old enemy named Sweeney(played by Richard Boone). Gillom idolizes Books, much to the chagrin of his disapproving mother. When it becomes obvious that Books will not be left to die in peace, he comes up with a plan to take care of the villains, and go out fighting, though with a warning for the boy to heed... Jimmy Stewart costars as a doctor who confirms the grim diagnosis.

A most fitting end for John Wayne, since the character and he tragically shared the same terminal diagnosis, and the western was the most common role Wayne played in. Good film with fine direction and performances, and a poignant story.

Check the cast out in the mid '70s western: John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard, James Stewart, Richard Boone, John Carradine, Scatman Crothers, Sheree North, Hugh O'Brien and Harry Morgan. Wow!

Unfortunately, unlike other Wayne westerns, this is the 70s so you get a fair share of profanity including a handful of Lord's name in vain, something I don't recall in any of Wayne's other westerns. Morgan and Howard are mainly responsible for that. Although Wayne doesn't blaspheme, he expresses his non-interest in religion, which must have really pleased the national critics, who liked this film.

The positive points are Wayne's still-good performance in his dying days, playing someone who is doing the same thing (dying of cancer); a nice Christian character played by Bacall; some good cameos by other famous actors in their finals years, too, and realistic portrayal of "leeches" - people trying to make a buck out of a dying man (mainly a newspaperman and a former girlfriend).

This is obviously a different kind of western, not your normal shoot-em up, but more of a human interest story of a dying man. It bogs down a bit around the three-quarter mark but has a spectacular finish. I enjoyed watching it, but not enough to see it again. Perhaps there were just too many annoying characters in here for me.

This was John Wayne's last film, and it sees the Duke as an aging, ailing but still tough as steel gunslinger named John Bernard Books. Wayne's character rides into town at the start of the film and visits James Stewart's pleasant Doc Hostetler, who tells him that he has terminal cancer and will die within two months. After this, Wayne goes and rents a room with widow Lauren Bacall, and begins to reflect on his situation, trying to figure a way to die retaining the dignity he has fought all his life to keep unscathed.

The film is a particularly appropriate one for Wayne's last picture. The protagonist he plays is a man at the top of his profession with nowhere left to go. Any opponent who has ever fought him has died at the end of Books' barrel; but now, he is fighting an enemy he cannot hope to face and beat like a man. Whatever he does to fight the cancer, it will just take him anyway. And so, Books searches for a way to go down fighting and to die with dignity, not dying a slow crippling death in his bed.

Books is a character that has many faults. He is a man who has killed thirty men and shows no remorse. As he puts it himself, `I never killed a man who didn't deserve it'. However, despite all his faults, he shows himself to a gentleman of the old school. He is like a knight in armour transplanted to the last days of the Wild West, trying hard to keep all the old values of a dignity and honour alive. He is a man who lives by a code which he believes in, and which he applies to others: `I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.'

There is no real villain in this film. Books, with all his flaws, is not a bad man. The real villains here are the ordinary people who are all around him in the city, willing to exploit him and use his fame, illness and even his death to further their own wealth. The whole town, from reporters to undertakers, are only too eager to exploit him, with only a few good people being an exception to this tragic rule.

There is no mistaking that this is the Duke's final picture, and not anybody else's film. It is his persona and his charisma that carries and controls the film. The character of Books – a rough, tough, but by no means bad, man – is very much similar to that of Wayne's own and this film is essentially a vehicle allowing him to have a dramatic swansong befitting a star of his magnitude.

That isn't to say, however, that the others involved with this don't pull their weight. Lauren Bacall delivers well up to her usual standard of acting, presenting a character both strong-spirited and tenderly gentle at once, something which she does extremely well. Ron Howard also acquits himself admirably as her son, turning in a performance which has the same strength and heart as that of his screen-mother Bacall. James Stewart turns in a powerful cameo, adding to the overall poignancy of the whole affair, and Harry Morgan turns in a repellent performance as the contemptible Marshal Thibado. Dirty Harry director Don Seigel directs with skill and ensures that the film remains poignant, but never sentimental. For a western, this film does not have a great deal of action, but such is the quality of acting, direction and scriptwriting, that this doesn't really matter. When the violence does erupt, however, it is occasionally graphic but always exciting. The film's climactic gunfight is a particular highlight and is one of the Duke's best shoot-outs.

This is a powerful, entertaining and enjoyable film, regardless; however, it is further ennobled by it being the Duke's final performance. There is something curiously heart-warming about the whole affair, not least the fact that he is enabled to go out in such great style. This is a must for fans of the western genre, for fans of the Duke, or for anyone who just wants to see a well made, poignant film. Highly recommended. [8]

"The Shootist" begins with clips from Wayne's previous pictures: "Hondo," "Rio Bravo," "El Dorado" etc...

Wayne portrays J. B. Books, the most famous lawman in the West who killed thirty men in his life... Books arrives to Carson City in 1901, the day Queen Victoria died in England...

Wayne went first to get a medical diagnosis known to everyone as cancer.

Dr. Hostetler (James Stewart) was too practical... He gives Book the most potent pain-killer he gets, and tells him where to stay in town...

The film is build to one and only purpose: To let Wayne die with dignity, without physical pain, at the Metropole gambling saloon, in a showdown with three heavies: Richard Boone, a bad-tempered ugly man who wants to avenge his brother's death; Hugh O'Brien, a skilled dealer and a presumptuous gunfighter; and Bill McKinney, an unpleasant provoking gunman just released from prison...

Ron Howard plays the crude graceless adolescent, the first to meet Wayne in the street: 'The old man ain't worth a bullet,' he says, 'he looks all tuckered out.' In this particular scene, it comes to my mind the insolent young punk, Skip Homeir, who tries to prove something when he confronts Gregory Peck in the psychological Western "The Gunfighter."

Wayne seems surprised by the visit of Serepta (Sheree North), an unscrupulous aging lady-love who tries to take advantage of him, asking him to marry her simply for a marriage certificate, and a famous name... She surely was not the woman of quality, the good prostitute (Claire Trevor) in "Stagecoach."

John Carradine, who plays the mysterious passenger, also in "Stagecoach," makes a brief appearance as the undertaker...

Tying to overcome his bloody past, John Wayne shows, in the film, the other side of the 'Shootist,' his human side... We find him pleasantly amusing when he reveals to Stewart the truth about the red fancy cushion he carries in the film...

Filmed in Carson City, Nevada, and with a fine supporting cast, this untraditional motion picture is a lyrical elegiac Western of the highest quality, a moving tribute to a legendary actor and a tender farewell to a Super Star...

"The Shootist" was John Wayne's last film. He died of cancer shortly after its release. Ironic, then, that his character in the movie is a "shootist" dying of cancer out west in 1901. His doctor (James Stewart) gives him a short period of time to live. He decides to take an easier route, and returns to his old stomping grounds in order to find a quick and painless death.

Along the way he meets The Son (Ron Howard in one of his early roles), and a various assortment of other characters, in his search for suicide.

Don Siegel ("Dirty Harry") has always been one of my favorite directors -- he's made some truly terrific films in his career. "The Shootist" is one of his best. The last thing we expect in a John Wayne film is a dying, frail, pessimistic human being. We get it.

Books, the titular "shootist," is arguably Wayne's deepest character he would ever play; and his story is one of the most compelling of Wayne's entire career. The acting is top-notch, the direction low-key, subtle, and effective. It's hard-edged, just like "Dirty Harry" (1971): bloody, violent, a bit over-the-top (if it were made in Hollywood today it would probably look a lot like "Kill Bill").

Yet the film's best moments are those involving its character, Books, and his strange quest for death. This movie strikes chords on many different levels. It's a really good film, one of the best of the 1970s, one of Don Siegel's best, and one of John Wayne's best, too.

And that's saying quite a lot.

I'm not a fan of John Wayne but the Shootist is, in my opinion, his finest effort. Lauren Bacll, Ron Howard, James Stuart Harry Morgan round out an excellent cast. Richard Boone makes a memorable appearance as the "bad guy".

It was strange to watch this movie knowing that this was John Wayne's last. Even stranger was it because the character he plays is dying of cancer just like John Wayne himself was at the moment. It gave the movie a deeper meaning and made some of the scene's more emotional.

The story is told in a absolutely fantastic way. The story is slow but the mixture of good old western style and drama makes the movie always interesting to watch. The movie had so many deeper meanings. The movie is set in 1901, the time when the time of the good old west was almost at its end. Only thing that stands in between of the good old west and modern times are characters such as John Bernard Books (John Wayne), an old gunslinger from the good old days. His character is coping with his inevitable coming death but also coping with the fact that the good old days of gunfights at the O.K. Corral and saloons are over for good. He basically is the only remaining person still alive from the good old days with a reputation, so when he dies the old west dies with him. In a way this also shows some parallels with Wayne's death, when he died a piece of the genre Western died with him as well.

Beside 'The Duke' the movie also has some fine other great actors such as: Lauren Bacall, James Stewart (also his last Western as an actor, he however later still provided one of the voices for his final movie "An American Tail: Fievel Goes West".), Scatman Crothers and John Carradine. Still it was kind of an odd sight to see John Wayne and Ron Howard acting in scene's together. I don't know for some reason it just felt unreal.

The movie also has a fine and a bit of underrated musical score from composer Elmer Bernstein. The movie itself is also kind of underrated, not in terms of the rating it gets but in terms of how well known it is to the general public. This is really a movie that deserves to be seen by more, if only also because of the fact that its Wayne's last role before his death in 1979. Don Siegel movie's are often underrated for some reason, he was a great director that made some real classics but yet he never won any big awards and he is probably only known to the general public for making "Dirty Harry".

Don't watch this movie expecting spectacular gunfight and other Western clichés. Yes there is some shooting in this movie but really, this movie is more of a drama than a Western. Still fans of the Western genre will also not be disappointed because of the atmosphere and also mainly just simply because of Wayne's character.

An extremely worthy last movie for 'movie-legend' John Wayne.

9/10

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It is a case of life imitating art, or vice versa. In his final film, Wayne, the great Western star, plays a famous gunfighter dying of cancer. Stewart also has one of his final roles, playing the doctor who treats Wayne. While it is a pleasure to get another look at these screen legends, the film is a rather standard oater, routinely directed by veteran Siegel. The final shootout is somewhat disappointing and the sentiments seem forced. The cast features a number of familiar faces, but Wayne is the whole show and his performance is a worthy curtain call. Bacall is also fine as a widow and she and Wayne have good chemistry.

A desperate grasp for cheap sentimentalism, or at least it would be if it weren't for John Wayne's performance. He was dying of cancer at the time, and he plays a man who is dying of cancer. Why should anyone even have to try? Yet John Wayne, class act that he is, gives a remarkable performance enriched with deep pathos and humanity, far more than anyone could expect from such an otherwise mediocre film. Damn every claim that Wayne was not a great actor; the proof of the opposite can be found far and wide in the man's filmography, and one of the best examples can be found in The Shootist. After Wayne, James Stewart gives a good supporting performance as his doctor. Harry Morgan is the only actor in the film who really impresses besides its star. Ron Howard I've always found difficult to take seriously, what with all his television roles and his mostly mediocre and overrated directorial career. But he's pretty good here, and he especially has a good final scene. Lauren Bacall is the low point in the film. She was never a good actress, let's face it. Well, she did decently in To Have and Have Not and The Big Sleep, but all the other roles I've seen of hers were painfully dull. She's particularly awful here. It's pretty sad when you're totally outclassed by Ron Howard. And then she has to act opposite Wayne giving his all? Truly, truly embarrassing. I don't really want to bitch out Don Siegel, who surely made some fine films in his day. But his direction here is painfully mediocre. Any hour-long episode of any television Western has much more talent behind it. He may not have been a hack director, but it sure feels like a hack director was standing behind the camera during the movie's filming. The screenplay is poorly constructed, but it has some rather good dialogue, most of it belonging to Wayne. I like Elmer Bernstein's score, too, most of the time. The music over the closing credits is particularly good.

This is the last picture of a golden era Hollywood star. John Wayne in his last film, and how fitting it should be a western.

The Shootist is about a surviving old gunslinger who knows he is dying. So he sends a letter to several outlaws (that somehow escaped the long arm of the law) to meet him at this town, where they are to have a final word with each other.

Between the time that John Wayne arrives and the time this final chapter of his life ends their is a wonderful story that is told.

The cast is excellent! Even My wife who never really cared for westerns liked the movie, I will not say anymore rent it and watch it! kariokebob

As this 1976 film portrays an aging gunfighter who discovers he has cancer, one cannot discuss this film without noting the irony that John Wayne had two bouts of cancer, one of which killed him. In 1964, Wayne was diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent surgery to remove his left lung and four ribs. He was declared free of cancer in 1969. Three years after the release of "The Shootist," Wayne died of stomach cancer.

It is likely Wayne contracted stomach cancer as a result of his role in Howard Hughes' 1956 film, The Conqueror." The film was shot in St. George, Utah, which was about 100 miles from the US government's nuclear testing grounds at Yucca Flats, Nevada. At the time "The Conqueror" was being shot, the US government was testing nuclear bombs. On May 19, 1953, the Atomic Energy Commission set off "Dirty Harry," a 32 kiloton nuclear device. The bomb was one of 126 test fired on the Nevada range between 1951 and 1963. Utah was downwind of the tests, and radioactive fallout blanketed the state. (The fallout traveled as far as New York.)

For 16 days, the radiation levels in St. George were 1230 times the permissible fallout level. The government claimed the tests were safe, and that the people of St. George faced no risk from the fallout.

A 1980 report revealed 91 members of the crew of "The Conqueror" had contracted cancer. About half died from the disease. It is unknown how many of the Native American extras contracted cancer as their health was never studied.

The stars of "The Conqueror" who died from cancer as a result of the fallout include Pedro Armendariz (lymphatic cancer 1963), Dick Powell (stomach cancer 1963), Agnes Moorehead (uterine cancer 1974), Susan Hayward (brain and lung cancer 1975). John Wayne, the last of the major players from "The Conqueror," died of stomach cancer on June 11, 1979.

For more information, go to: www.utahgothic.com/movies/johnwayne.html

If John Wayne had any real,true friends,they would have talked him out of making this dog of a film.

Mr. Wayne had been in a vast catalog of films by the time this was made. Many of the movies he made were good,some were mediocre, and some just weren't too-good. That is the simple, unvarnished truth of the matter.

My point is that by the time this movie was made,Mr Wayne had literally nothing left to prove to anyone. He'd payed all his dues decades ago,he'd proven himself and he had a long productive career to look back on and be proud of.

Mr. Wayne had every right and every reason to retire quietly and rest on his hard-earned laurels.

When we factor-in that Mr. Wayne was in severely declining health when this movie was made,and when we add that this movie was undeniably a vanity project from the word 'Go',we start to have a problem.

Now,none of this,by itself,is necessarily a deal-breaker by any means. Hollywood always has,and always will be chock-full of vanity projects,and all of them aren't necessarily bad.

The real problem is,on top of all I've mentioned,this movie is pretty crappy to-boot.

It was a terrible way for him to end his long and very-productive career by having this disjointed disaster made as his last movie.

What a big disappointment and a sad send-off for such a legend of the Western genre.

If you respect Mr Wayne and his movies,do his memory and yourself a big favor and skip this movie and hold onto whatever good thoughts you have about him. 4/10 or less.