John Wayne rides again on Blu-ray

By Christopher P. Jacobs
Movies Editor

Decades after his death, John Wayne remains an icon of American movies. Typically beloved by mainstream audiences but dismissed or even ridiculed by serious critics, his screen image is often seen as a stereotype to the point of caricature. Too few of his roles gave him a chance to demonstrate much dramatic range, but his strong screen presence could carry routine scripts and sometimes overshadowed just how skillfully he could handle comedy, drama, and full-fledged melodrama, usually within the same picture.

A good sampling of Wayne’s films can now be reappraised on Blu-ray, from acknowledged classics like “Stagecoach” (1939), “The Searchers” (1956), and “Rio Bravo” (1959), to audience favorites like “True Grit” (1969) and “The Cowboys” (1972), to a miscalculation like “The Green Berets” (1968). In recent months several semi-popular Wayne titles with middling critical reputations have made it to Blu-ray (“The Horse Soldiers,” “The Comancheros,” “Big Jake,” “Rio Lobo”). The high-definition format restores some of their luster, making it easier to understand why Wayne was such a big star, substantially more engaging on a sharp, big-screen picture than a little TV set.

THE COMANCHEROS (1961)

The final film by veteran director Michael Curtiz (“Casablanca,” “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” “White Christmas,” all on Blu-ray) was this rousing action western starring Wayne, who also directed many scenes uncredited when the ailing Curtiz was too ill to shoot.

It’s a pretty good western overall. If not terribly original, it’s a solid, entertaining production with a veteran cast, an occasional comic edge to the drama, and a few good action sequences that should please most fans of Westerns and Wayne. In his trademark style, Wayne plays Jake Cutter, a Texas Ranger trying to bring in a charming gambler charged with murder after a fatal duel, and also to deal with a band of outlaws who are trading guns and whisky with the hostile Comanche Indians.

Stuart Whitman plays the gambler, who meanwhile has fallen for a mysterious and independent-minded beauty he met before being arrested (Ina Balin), and later discovers she’s the daughter of the ruthless head of the Comancheros (Nehemiah Persoff). Balin’s character is unusually strong for this period about a decade before the women’s movement led to feminist reworkings of western stereotypes. There are brief but memorable roles played by Lee Marvin, Bruce Cabot, Edgar Buchanan, Henry Daniell, and Guinn “Big Boy” Williams, among others.

The wide CinemaScope picture looks extremely good on this hi-def transfer, with rich colors, notably reds and earth tones. The effective Elmer Bernstein score especially benefits from the stereo sound (in remixed 5.1 and original 4.0). There’s nice frequency range, although on a good audio system post-dubbed lines now seem more obvious.

While slightly overpriced for its slim 24-page size ($35 list, usually discounted or on sale for $20-25), the attractive 50th anniversary Digibook has some interesting material and nice photos, plus a couple of inserted miniature poster reproductions. Bonus features on the disc include an audio commentary with several cast members, a decent documentary on John Wayne’s films for 20th Century Fox, and an illuminating historical documentary on the real Comancheros. There’s also a brief Fox Movietone Newsreel, an interesting audio-only interview with Stuart Whitman, and an image gallery presenting the complete comic-book adaptation of the movie, which had a different ending. A number of the film clips in the Wayne at Fox documentary are in hi-def, perhaps hinting at future Blu-ray releases.

“THE COMANCHEROS” on Blu-ray—Movie: B+ / Video: A / Audio: A / Extras: A-

BIG JAKE (1971)

While certainly not a sequel to “The Comancheros,” John Wayne again plays a character named “Jake,” in this case Jacob McCandles, a free-spirited old cowboy in the early 1900s who has either left his wife or been thrown out by her (neither he quite seems to recall). The last film directed by George Sherman, who had produced “The Comancheros” and directed some of Wayne’s early westerns, it again has a cast packed with veterans, and a routine if well-executed plot. Richard Boone is the villain this time, with Maureen O’Hara reprising her familiar love-hate stormy romantic interest for Wayne.

The story is a fairly standard revenge melodrama and journey formula, with Wayne’s title character out to rescue his kidnapped grandson, Little Jake (played by Wayne’s son Ethan) with or without the not terribly competent help of his estranged sons (played by another of Wayne’s sons, Patrick, along with Christopher Mitchum and Bobby Vinton, of all people). Bruce Cabot has a decent supporting role as an Indian tracker and other veterans showing up include Hank Worden, Harry Carey Jr., John Agar, and more.

Unfairly underrated, it’s all a generally entertaining blend of Western genre and specifically John Wayne film expectations, great scenery, some comedy (including an apparent “Butch Cassidy” influence, especially the nostalgic opening sequence), and plenty of action. The climactic shootout may seem more extended than typical for Wayne films, perhaps influenced by the “new wave” of westerns by Leone and Peckinpah though nowhere near as violent (despite what some critics at the time complained). However, it’s been re-rated to “PG-13” from the “GP/PG” original.

Picture quality on Paramount’s no-frills Blu-ray is very strong, with the beautiful widescreen Panavision image looking much as it probably did in 1971 theatres. The audio is good, but not particularly outstanding. The so-called 5.1 DTS-HD Master stereo sounds more like it was reprocessed from the optical mono soundtrack rather than remastered from original stereo recordings (which would have been really nice for its fine archetypal movie Western score, again by Elmer Bernstein).

Unfortunately there are absolutely no bonus features other than multiple language dubs and subtitles, but at least there’s a main menu. It’s a good deal if you can find it on sale for $10-$15, but there’s no reason to spend the full $25 list price.

“BIG JAKE” on Blu-ray—Movie: B+  / Video: A / Audio: A- /  Extras: F

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