Is John Wayne really Luke Skywalker?



    There are 184 replies in this Thread. The last Post () by dukefan1.

    • Is it really 13 years since I started this thread about JW mentionings in popular culture? Nobody added "Trumbo" to the list yet. I finally got around to seeing it, having missed it in theaters. In this list, there's dozens of mentions of John Wayne's name in movies, of references or footage that has been inserted into newer films. However, this is the first time I can remember that Mr. Wayne is portrayed by another actor in an actual plot. The subject matter of the Hollywood witchhunt is, of course, still a controversial one (although it has been tackled numerous times before). Dalton Trumbo remains one of the best screenwriters ever. Interesting enough, after having been imprisoned, he scripted "Spartacus" and "Papillon", both about what caged men are able to endure (and if you compare them to the original books, you'll realise Trumbo's talent as a writer to make it work for the screen). It certainly isn't a secret that Mr. Wayne headed the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, a fact that must be judged from a standpoint of the late 1940s. The scenes in which he (or rather actor David James Elliot) appears (not in Western garb but in a business suit) are fictionalized but have a very authentic feel of the period. The movie also makes it a point that, even though Wayne is actively helping putting assumed Communists out of business, he believes in "giving a fella a second chance", meaning once you're cleared in the eyes of the Alliance you should be allowed to go back to work. While the subject of the "Hollywood Ten" is a fascinating one, in my opinion "Trumbo" fails as a dramatic movie. It never quite manages to grasb Trumbo's human tragedy and because it has to cover a lot of years, the scenes feel rather episodic.
    • Hello Robbie! It's something else how Duke and his image are still part of today's culture, many years after he has left us. You would be hard pressed to find anybody who doesn't know who he was. Many stars fade with time...not Duke!

