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 Reel
Rangers:
John Wayne and the Texas Rangers
During
a fabled career in which he appeared in more than 150 motion pictures,
John Wayne starred in scores of Westerns and became the silver screen’s
greatest Western star. From The Alamo to Texas Terror to
Three Texas Steers , many of Duke’s Western films were set in
the Lone Star State.
During
the 1930s, when he filmed dozens of
B-Westerns, John Wayne frequently rode the Texas range—but not as a
member of the world’s most famous law enforcement body. He was either
a Texas cowboy, an "undercover man," or a "special agent"
appointed by the governor. After John Wayne became a major star, he
enjoyed a Texas Ranger connection in three of his finest films.
In
1956, Duke starred as rugged, hard-bitten Ethan Edwards in The Searchers.
Directed by the legendary John Ford, The Searchers is regarded
by film critics as one of the greatest Westerns ever lensed. The movie
was based on a stark, gripping novel of the same title by Alan LeMay.
Set on the Texas frontier after the Civil War, The Searchers
centers on the Edwards family. Still wearing remnants of his Confederate
cavalry uniform, Ethan Edwards returns to his brother Aaron’s ranch.
Undercurrents of the family reunion include an unspoken love between
Ethan and his brother’s wife and Ethan’s vague racist discomfort with
Martin Pawley, played by Jeffrey Hunter. Years earlier, Comanches had
massacred the Pawley family and little Martin was rescued by Ethan.
Although Martin was one-eighth Cherokee, the orphan was raised on the
Edwards ranch.
The
morning after Ethan’s return, a small band of Texas Rangers and settlers
who are pursuing the Comanche raiders arrive at the ranch. The Rangers
are captained by Reverend Sam Clayton, forcefully portrayed by Ward
Bond. The Reverend Captain Clayton combines religious and military duties,
protecting his frontier society after the pattern of righteous Old Testament
leaders. Captain Clayton swears in Ethan and Martin as temporary Rangers,
although Ethan grumbles that he already swore an oath to the Confederacy.
But
while Clayton’s men ride in pursuit, the Comanches double back to strike
the Edwards ranch. The family is brutally slain, all except the youngest
daughter Debbie, who is carried off by the Comanches. Ethan and Martin
commence a five-year search for the girl. This search is a dangerous
odyssey because it is fueled by Ethan’s loathing of Comanches. When
Debbie is finally located, Ethan and Martin help Captain Clayton and
a small Ranger company attack the Comanche camp. They then succeed in
rescuing Debbie, who is now a beautiful teenager.
Also
participating in the climactic assault is a contingent of the U.S. Cavalry.
But the cavalrymen are considerably less experienced at fighting Indians
than the Rangers, and they consequently ride under the direction of
Captain Clayton. Historically, this situation is reminiscent of the
1850s, when the newly organized U.S. Cavalry learned techniques of fighting
horseback warriors while riding alongside veteran Texas Rangers.
Five
years later, John Wayne played Texas Ranger Captain Jake Cutter in The
Comancheros. Although the film is set in the 1840s, the Rangers
are armed with Winchesters and cartridge revolvers from a much later
period. But The Comancheros is packed with rousing action and
colorful characters. Lee Marvin almost steals the movie as a wild, vicious
villain
– until he is shot to death by Captain Jake. Character actor Edgar Buchanan
portrays a reprobate judge based on the legendary Roy Bean. The old
cowboy star Bob Steele, a boyhood friend of the Duke, plays a Texas
rancher. The Duke’s son, Pat Wayne, plays a young Ranger (Pat also was
a young cavalry lieutenant in The Searchers).
Based
on a novel by Paul Williams, The Comancheros centers on the traders
called Comancheros who supplied Comanches with rifles. As the formidable
Captain Jake, John Wayne is tough but good-natured, and he even has
a romance with beautiful Joan O’Brien. The Rangers heroically battle
Comanche warriors and eventually destroy the Comanche hideout. The
Comancheros is one of John Wayne’s most entertaining Westerns and
the only film in which his character is a Texas Ranger.
In
1969 the Duke starred in another delightful Western, True Grit .
Charles Portis created the one-eyed, quick-triggered lawman, Rooster
Cogburn. Rooster is hired by teenaged Mattie Ross to hunt down her father’s
killer: an Arkansas outlaw who rides in a gang led by Ned Pepper, played
by Robert Duvall. But Ned Pepper is wanted in Texas, and Rooster and
Mattie are joined in their manhunt by a Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf.
Both Rooster and Mattie dislike the egotistical Texas Ranger who is
played by Glen Campbell. At the time of filming, Campbell was a country-western
star at the height of his popularity. But he was no actor, and his awkward
portrayal of LaBoeuf makes the Ranger character seem genuinely unlikable.
John
Wayne, on the other hand, plays Rooster Cogburn to the hilt. The star
portrays Rooster as a hard man in a dangerous world. He has a rough
sense of humor and a mean streak, relieved by occasional kindnesses
to Mattie, or "Little Sister," as he calls her. The Duke’s
most memorable scene comes late in True Grit . Rooster puts the
reins of his horse in his teeth and then charges the outlaw gang, gunning
down the bad guys with a revolver in one hand and a rifle in the other.
And at the end of the fight, Rooster is saved by the dying Ranger who
fires a long rifle shot that finishes Ned Pepper. The movie closes with
Rooster and his mount jumping a fence. A freeze frame shows that the
Duke – not a stunt man – is astride the horse. John Wayne received his
only Oscar for his role in True Grit .
Perhaps
he should have filmed more movies that included Texas Rangers.
§
Bill
O'Neal first researched Jack Hays for his 1991 book, Fighting Men
of the Indian Wars. Bill is the author of more than twenty books
and three hundred articles and book reviews. He has appeared in televised
documentaries about the West on The Learning Channel, TNN, and TBS.
Bill teaches history at Panola College in Carthage, Texas, and recently
he was awarded a Piper Professorship.
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