John Wayne Highlands, fierce fighters against communism, bestowed on Wayne a brass bracelet that he wore in the film and all subsequent films. Wayne finally won a Best Actor Oscar for "True Grit" (1969), two decades after his only other nomination. Wayne took on the role of the eponymous detective in the crime drama "McQ" (1974). His last film was "The Shootist" (1976), whose main character, J. B. Books, was dying of cancer—which Wayne himself succumbed to three years later. "The Shootist" (1976) contains numerous plot similarities to "The Gunfighter" of nearly thirty years before, a role which Wayne had wanted but
Death in the Desert (film) a complete blast in his most recent film, "Death in the Desert". "Vegas Seven Magazine", in its review, wrote, "Death in the Desert, despite its protagonist’s wealth, rides the downbeat vibe of a back-alley, underbelly Vegas. What emerges is a muted, thoughtful study of disillusionment, dashed dreams and fatal appetites via a relationship that takes root amid the mechanical sensuality of a Downtown strip joint." Death in the Desert (film) Death in the Desert is a 2015 American crime-drama film directed and produced by Josh Evans and starring Michael Madsen and Shayla Beesley, with John Palladino, Paz de la Huerta,