John Wayne filmography (1926–1940)
Due to its massive size, Wayne's filmography is divided into three articles:
- John Wayne filmography (1926-1940)
- John Wayne filmography (1941-1960)
- John Wayne filmography (1961-1976)
Overview
John Wayne began working in films in 1926 as an extra, propman, and stuntman, mainly for the Fox Film Corporation. He frequently worked with director John Ford and when Raoul Walsh suggested him for the lead in The Big Trail (1930), an epic western shot in an early widescreen process called "Grandeur Scope." it was Ford who vouched for him.[1] Wayne's early period as a star would be brief, as Fox dropped him after only three leads.
He moved over to Columbia Pictures, where he ran afoul of studio boss Harry Cohn. As a result, Wayne was dropped from leading man to supporting player to bit player and finally down to being an extra again.
After the Columbia debacle, Wayne solidified his stardom – albeit as a minor star – in a string of low-budget action films (mostly westerns) at Warner Bros. and Universal and the "poverty row" studios Mascot, Monogram, and Republic.
Fortunately, Wayne kept on friendly terms with John Ford and, as a result, gave Wayne a career boost with Stagecoach (1939). By 1940 John Wayne was firmly established as a major motion picture star.
Studio name abbreviations
abbreviation | studio name | abbreviation | studio name | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Col | Columbia | Rep | Republic | |
FN | First National | RKO | RKO Radio | |
Fox | Fox Films | Sho | Showman's Pictures | |
Mas | Mascot | Tif | Tiffany Pictures | |
MGM | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | WB | Warner Bros. | |
Mon | Monogram ("Lone Star") | UA | United Artists | |
Par | Paramount | Uni | Universal |
Filmography (1926-1940)
# | Title | Studio | Role | Leading Lady | Director | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
- 1926 - | |||||||
1 | Brown of Harvard | MGM | Yale Football Player | - | Jack Conway | Wayne was an unbilled football player in game sequences of this sports drama w/ William Haines, Mary Brian, and Jack Pickford. | |
2 | Bardelys the Magnificent | MGM | Guard | - | King Vidor | Wayne unbilled in this swashbuckler w/ John Gilbert and Eleanor Boardman. A lost film. | |
3 | The Great K & A Train Robbery | Fox | extra | - | Lewis Seiler | A Tom Mix western. Wayne unbilled. | |
- 1927 - | |||||||
4 | Annie Laurie | MGM | extra | - | John S. Robertson | w/ Lillian Gish and Norman Kerry. Wayne unbilled. | |
5 | The Drop Kick (US title) | FN | extra | - | Millard Webb | A football drama w/ Richard Barthelmess. Wayne once again unbilled as a football player in game footage. | |
Glitter (GB title) | |||||||
- 1928 - | |||||||
6 | Mother Machree | Fox | extra | - | John Ford | An Irish drama w/ Victor McLaglen. Wayne unbilled in his first film with Ford. Sources disagree whether Wayne actually appeared on film, as he was a prop man. | |
7 | Four Sons | Fox | extra | - | John Ford | Another Irish drama w/ Victor McLaglen. Wayne unbilled. Sources disagree whether Wayne actually appeared on film in this picture, as well. | |
8 | Hangman's House | Fox | Horse Race Spectator/Condemned Man | - | John Ford | Another Irish drama w/ Victor McLaglen. Wayne unbilled but noticeable as a spectator in a horse racing scene. | |
- 1929 - | |||||||
9 | Speakeasy | Fox | extra | - | Benjamin Stoloff | A sports drama w/ Lola Lane and Paul Page. Wayne unbilled. | |
10 | The Black Watch | Fox | extra | - | John Ford | Drama of the British army in India during WWI w/ Victor McLaglen and Myrna Loy. Wayne and Randolph Scott unbilled. | |
11 | Noah's Ark | WB | Flood Extra | - | Michael Curtiz | Biblical drama w/ Dolores Costello, George O'Brien, Noah Beery, and Myrna Loy. Wayne and Andy Devine unbilled as extras in the flood sequence. | |
12 | Words and Music | Fox | Pete Donahue | Lois Moran | James Tinling | Wayne billed under his real name, Duke Morrison. An early talkie musical. Now apparently lost. | |
13 | Salute | Fox | Bill, Midshipman | - | John Ford | A football drama w/ George O'Brien and Helen Chandler. Wayne and Ward Bond unbilled. | |
14 | The Forward Pass | Fox | extra | - | Eddie Cline | A football drama w/ Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Loretta Young. Wayne unbilled. A lost film. | |
- 1930 - | |||||||
15 | Men Without Women | Fox | Radioman on surface | - | John Ford | A submarine drama. Wayne unbilled. | |
16 | Born Reckless | Fox | Soldier | - | John Ford | A crime melodrama w/ Edmund Lowe, Lee Tracy, and Marguerite Churchill. Wayne, Randolph Scott, and Ward Bond unbilled. | |
Andrew Bennison | |||||||
17 | Rough Romance | Fox | Lumberjack | - | A.F. Erickson | A logging adventure w/ George O'Brien and Antonio Moreno. Wayne unbilled. | |
18 | Cheer Up and Smile | Fox | bit part | - | Sidney Lansfield | A musical w/ Arthur Lake, Dixie Lee, Olga Baclanova, and "Whispering" Jack Smith. Wayne and J. Carrol Naish unbilled. | |
19 | The Big Trail | Fox | Breck Coleman | Marguerite Churchill | Raoul Walsh | w/ Tyrone Power, Sr., Ian Keith, Ward Bond. An epic western shot simultaneously in standard 35mm and 70mm "Grandeur" wide-screen. Wayne's first starring role. | |
- 1931 - | |||||||
20 | Girls Demand Excitement | Fox | Peter Brooks | Virginia Cherrill | Seymour Felix | A college romantic comedy. | |
Marguerite Churchill | |||||||
21 | Three Girls Lost | Fox | Gordon Wales | Loretta Young | Sidney Lansfield | ||
22 | Arizona[2] (US title) | Col | Lt. Bob Denton | Laura La Plante | George B. Seitz | Based on the play by Augustus Thomas. Previously filmed in 1919 with Douglas Fairbanks in the Wayne role. | |
The Virtuous Wife (GB title) | June Clyde | ||||||
23 | The Deceiver | Col | Reginald Thorpe's corpse | - | Louis King | Wayne's most ignominious part. He played the corpse of the character played (alive) by Ian Keith. | |
24 | Range Feud | Col | Clint Turner | Susan Fleming | D. Ross Letterman | A B-Western starring Buck Jones. Wayne in a supporting role. | |
25 | Maker of Men | Col | Dusty Rhodes | - | Edward Sedgwick | A football drama w/ Jack Holt and Richard Cromwell. Wayne in a supporting role. | |
- 1932 - | |||||||
26 | The Voice of Hollywood No. 13 | Tif | Himself | Thelma Todd | Mark D'Agostino | A short subject. | |
27 | Running Hollywood | Uni | Himself | - | Charles Lamont | A two-reel short. | |
28 | The Shadow of the Eagle | Mas | Craig McCoy | Dorothy Gulliver | Ford Beebe | A 12-chapter serial. | |
29 | Texas Cyclone | Col | Steve Pickett | Shirley Grey | D. Ross Lederman | A B-Western starring Tim McCoy. Wayne in a supporting part. | |
30 | Two-Fisted Law | Col | Duke | Alice Day | D. Ross Lederman | Another B-Western starring Tim McCoy. Wayne in a supporting part. | |
31 | Lady and Gent | Par | Buzz Kinney | - | Stephen Roberts | A boxing drama w/ George Bancroft and Wynne Gibson. Wayne in a supporting role. Remade as Unmarried (1939) w/ Buster Crabbe in Wayne's role. | |
32 | The Hurricane Express | Mas | Larry Baker | Shirley Gray | Armand Schaefer | A 12-chapter serial. | |
J.P. McGowan | |||||||
33 | The Hollywood Handicap | Uni | Himself | - | Charles Lamont | A two-reel short. | |
34 | Ride Him, Cowboy (US title) | WB | John Drury | Ruth Hall | Fred Allen[3] | Wayne's first starring role in a B-Western, the first of six that he would make for Warner Bros. Remake of The Unknown Cavalier (1926) w/ Ken Maynard. | |
The Hawk (GB title) | |||||||
35 | That's My Boy | Col | Football Player | - | Roy William Neill | w/ Richard Cromwell and Dorothy Jordan. Another football drama with Wayne in a supporting role. | |
36 | The Big Stampede | WB | John Steele | Mae Madison | Tenny Wright | Remake of Land Beyond the Law (1927) w/ Ken Maynard. Remade under original title in 1936 w/ Dick Foran. | |
37 | Haunted Gold | WB | John Mason | Sheila Terry | Mack V. Wright | Remake of The Phantom City (1928) w/ Ken Maynard. | |
- 1933 - | |||||||
38 | The Telegraph Trail | WB | John Trent | Marceline Day | Tenny Wright | Wayne's first film w/ Yakima Canutt. A clip of this film was used in Footlight Parade (1933). Semi-remake of The Red Raiders (1927) w/ Ken Maynard. | |
39 | The Three Musketeers | Mas | Tom Wayne | Ruth Hall | Armand Schaefer | w/ Creighton Chaney. A 12-chapter serial set in the Arabian desert. Very loosely adapted from the Dumas novel. Later re-edited into a 1946 feature entitled Desert Command. | |
Colbert Clark | |||||||
40 | Central Airport | WB | Co-pilot in wreck | - | William Wellman | An aviation drama w/ Richard Barthelmess, Sally Eilers, and Tom Brown. Wayne in an unbilled bit, and his first on-screen death. | |
41 | Somewhere in Sonora | WB | John Bishop | Shirley Palmer | Mack V. Wright | Remake of the 1927 film of the same title w/ Ken Maynard. | |
42 | His Private Secretary | WB | Dick Wallace | Evelyn Knapp | Philip H. Whitman | Romantic comedy made by the independent company Showman's Pictures. | |
43 | The Life of Jimmy Dolan (US title) | WB | Smith | - | Archie Mayo | Boxing melodrama w/ Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Loretta Young. Wayne in small supporting role as a frightened boxer. Remade as They Made Me a Criminal (1939) w/ John Garfield, and Louis Jean Heydt in Wayne's role. | |
The Kid's Last Fight (GB title) | |||||||
44 | Baby Face | WB | Jimmy McCoy | Barbara Stanwyck | Alfred E. Green | Wayne in a supporting part. This was the only time he appeared in a film with Stanwyck. | |
45 | The Man from Monterey | WB | Capt. John Holmes | Ruth Hall | Mack V. Wright | Wayne's last B-Western for Warner Bros.. | |
46 | Riders of Destiny | Mon | Sandy Saunders ("Singing Sandy") | Cecilia Parker | R.N. Bradbury | Wayne's first B-Western for Monogram, released as a "Lone Star Western", and the first to present him as a singing cowboy (with a dubbed singing voice). Also his first teaming with George "Gabby" Hayes. | |
47 | The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi[4] | WB | Bit part | - | Edwin L. Marin | A college romantic comedy w/ Mary Carlisle, Buster Crabbe, Charles Starrett, and Betty Grable. Wayne wore a mustache in his bit part, which was cut from the final print. | |
48 | College Coach (US title) | WB | Student greeting Phil | - | William Wellman | Wayne's last bit part. Aside from cameos, he would play the lead - or one of the leads - in all of his subsequent pictures. | |
Football Coach (GB title) | |||||||
49 | Sagebrush Trail | Mon | John Brant | Nancy Shubert | Armand Schaefer | w/ Yakima Canutt. | |
- 1934 - | |||||||
50 | The Lucky Texan | Mon | Jerry Mason | Barbara Sheldon | R.N. Bradbury | w/ George Hayes, Yakima Canutt, Earl Dwire. | |
51 | West of the Divide | Mon | Ted Hayden | Virginia Browne Faire | R.N. Bradbury | w/ George Hayes, Yakima Canutt, Lafe McKee, Earl Dwire. | |
52 | Blue Steel | Mon | John Carruthers | Eleanor Hunt | R.N. Bradbury | w/ George Hayes, Yakima Canutt, Lafe McKee, Earl Dwire. Filmed on location in Lone Pine. | |
53 | The Man from Utah | Mon | John Westen | Polly Ann Young[5] | R.N. Bradbury | w/ George Hayes, Yakima Canutt, Lafe McKee. | |
54 | Randy Rides Alone | Mon | Randy Bowers | Alberta Vaughn | Harry L. Fraser | w/ George Hayes, Yakima Canutt, Earl Dwire. Another "singing cowboy" role for Wayne. | |
55 | The Star Packer | Mon | John Travers | Verna Hillie | R.N. Bradbury | w/ George Hayes, Yakima Canutt, Earl Dwire. | |
56 | The Trail Beyond | Mon | Rod Drew | Verna Hillie | R.N. Bradbury | w/ Noah Beery, Sr., Noah Beery, Jr., Earl Dwire. Based on the novel The Wolf Hunters by James Oliver Curwood. Also filmed under the novel's title in 1926 and 1949. | |
57 | The Lawless Frontier | Mon | John Tobin | Sheila Terry | R.N. Bradbury | w/ George Hayes, Yakima Canutt, Earl Dwire. | |
58 | 'Neath the Arizona Skies | Mon | Chris Morrell | Sheila Terry | Harry Frazer | w/ George Hayes, Yakima Canutt. | |
- 1935 - | |||||||
59 | Texas Terror | Mon | John Higgins | Lucile Brown | R.N. Bradbury | w/ George Hayes. | |
60 | Rainbow Valley | Mon | John Martin | Lucille Brown | R.N. Bradbury | w/ George Hayes. | |
61 | The Desert Trail | Mon | John Scott | Mary Kornman | Cullen Lewis | w/ Paul Fix. | |
62 | The Dawn Rider | Mon | John Mason | Marion Burns | R.N. Bradbury | w/ Yakima Canutt. | |
63 | Paradise Canyon | Mon | John Wyatt | Marion Burns | Carl Pierson | w/ Yakima Canutt. Wayne's last "Lone Star" western for Monogram. | |
64 | Westward Ho | Rep | John Wyatt | Sheila Mannors[6] | R.N. Bradbury | w/ Yakima Canutt. Shot on location in Lone Pine. Wayne's first film for Republic Pictures. | |
65 | The New Frontier | Rep | John Dawson | Muriel Evans | Carl Pierson | Not to be confused with the 1939 film Wayne made entitled New Frontier (no "the"). | |
66 | Lawless Range | Rep | John Middleton | Sheila Mannors[6] | R.N. Bradbury | w/ Yakima Canutt. | |
- 1936 - | |||||||
67 | The Oregon Trail | Rep | Capt. John Delmont | Ann Rutherford | Scott Pembroke | w/ Yakima Canutt. Shot on location in Lone Pine. A lost film. | |
68 | The Lawless Nineties | Rep | John Tipton | Ann Rutherford | Joseph Kane | ||
69 | King of the Pecos | Rep | John Clayborn | Muriel Evans | Joseph Kane | w/ Yakima Canutt. Shot on location in Lone Pine. | |
70 | The Lonely Trail | Rep | Captain John Ashley | Ann Rutherford | Joseph Kane | w/ Yakima Canutt. A post-Civil War yarn about carpetbaggers. | |
71 | Winds of the Wasteland | Rep | John Blair | Phyllis Fraser | Mack V. Wright | w/ Yakima Canutt. | |
72 | Sea Spoilers | Uni | Bob Randall | Nan Grey | Frank Strayer | The first of six non-westerns that Wayne did for Universal. | |
73 | Conflict | Uni | Pat Glendon | Jean Rogers | David Howard | Based on the novel The Abysmal Brute by Jack London. | |
- 1937 - | |||||||
74 | California Straight Ahead! | Uni | Biff Smith | Louise Latimer | Arthur Lubin | ||
75 | I Cover the War | Uni | Bob Adams | Gwen Gaze | Arthur Lubin | Shot on location in Lone Pine. | |
76 | Idol of the Crowds | Uni | Johnny Hanson | Sheila Bromley | Arthur Lubin | ||
77 | Adventure's End | Uni | Duke Slade | Diana Gibson | Arthur Lubin | The last of Wayne's non-Western "B" pictures for Universal. | |
78 | Born to the West (original title) | Par | Dare Rudd | Marsha Hunt | Charles Barton | w/ Johnny Mack Brown. Based on the novel of the same name by Zane Grey. Previously filmed in 1926 with Jack Holt in the Wayne role. | |
Hell Town (reissue title) | |||||||
- 1938 - | |||||||
79 | Pals of the Saddle | Rep | Stoney Brooke | Doreen McKay | George Sherman | w/ Ray Corrigan (Tucson Smith) and Max Terhune (Lullaby Joslin). The first of eight films Wayne did in Republic's "Three Mesquiteers" series. | |
80 | Overland Stage Raiders | Rep | Stoney Brooke | Louise Brooks | George Sherman | w/ Ray Corrigan (Tucson Smith) and Max Terhune (Lullaby Joslin). Brooks' final film appearance. | |
81 | Santa Fe Stampede | Rep | Stoney Brooke | June Martel | George Sherman | w/ Ray Corrigan (Tucson Smith) and Max Terhune (Lullaby Joslin). | |
82 | Red River Range | Rep | Stoney Brooke | Lorna Gray[7] | George Sherman | w/ Ray Corrigan (Tucson Smith) and Max Terhune (Lullaby Joslin). | |
- 1939 - | |||||||
83 | Stagecoach | UA[8] | Henry ("The Ringo Kid") | Claire Trevor | John Ford | w/ John Carradine, Andy Devine, George Bancroft, Louise Platt, Tim Holt, Tom Tyler. Filmed on location in Monument Valley. This is the film that boosted Wayne into major stardom. | |
84 | The Night Riders | Rep | Stoney Brooke | Doreen McKay | George Sherman | w/ Ray Corrigan (Tucson Smith) and Max Terhune (Lullaby Joslin), Tom Tyler.[9] The story of this film was loosely based on the incidents in the life of James Reavis.[10] | |
85 | Three Texas Steers (US title) | Rep | Stoney Brooke | Carole Landis | George Sherman | w/ Ray Corrigan (Tucson Smith) and Max Terhune (Lullaby Joslin). | |
Danger Rides the Range (GB title) | |||||||
86 | Wyoming Outlaw | Rep | Stoney Brooke | Adele Pearce | George Sherman | w/ Ray Corrigan (Tucson Smith) and Raymond Hatton (Rusty Joslin). | |
87 | New Frontier (original title | Rep | Stoney Brooke | Phyllis Isley | George Sherman | w/ Ray Corrigan (Tucson Smith) and Raymond Hatton (Rusty Joslin). Film debut of Phyllis Isley, later known as Jennifer Jones.[11] Wayne's last film in the "Three Mesquiteers" series and his last B-Western. | |
Frontier Horizon[12] (TV title) | |||||||
88 | Allegheny Uprising (US title) | RKO | Jim Smith | Claire Trevor | William A. Seiter | Wayne has second billing under Trevor. | |
The First Rebel (GB title) | |||||||
- 1940 - | |||||||
89 | Dark Command | Rep | Bob Seton | Claire Trevor | Raoul Walsh | w/ Walter Pidgeon, Roy Rogers, and George "Gabby" Hayes. A fictionalized account of the infamous William Quantrell. | |
90 | Screen Snapshots Series 19, No. 8: Cowboy Jubilee | Rep | Himself | - | Ralph Staub | A one-reel short also featuring Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. | |
91 | Three Faces West | Rep | John Phillips | Sigrid Gurie | Bernard Vorhaus | w/ Charles Coburn | |
92 | The Long Voyage Home | UA | John Phillips | Mildred Natwick | John Ford | w/ Thomas Mitchell, Barry Fitzgerald, Ward Bond. Based on four one-act plays[13] by Eugene O'Neill. | |
93 | Seven Sinners (original title) | Uni | Lt. Dan Brent | Marlene Dietrich | Tay Garnett | Wayne's first of three teamings with Dietrich.[14] | |
Cafe of the Seven Sinners (GB re-issue title) | |||||||
NOTE: Some Wayne filmographies list him as doubling for Gene Autry for the "car trolley crash stunt" in Melody Ranch (1940). This seems highly unlikely considering that Wayne had become a major star at this point in his career. |
Footnotes
- ^ "The tall, commanding figure of the prop boy looked right for the part and, when John Ford vouched for Wayne's dedication to work, Walsh arranged a screen test." - Eyles, Allen. John Wayne. p. 22. New York, NY. A.S. Barnes and Co., 1979.
- ^ Filmed as Arizona, the movie's makers applied to the New York State Censor Board for a new title, Men Are Like That, and the film was reviewed under that title in New York and other places.
- ^ Not the radio comedian.
- ^ Landesman, Fred. The John Wayne Filmography. McFarland & Company, Inc., 2007. ISBN-10: 0786432527
- ^ Sister of Loretta Young.
- ^ a b Later known as Sheila Bromley.
- ^ Later known as Adrian Booth.
- ^ A Walter Wanger production released thru United Artists
- ^ Tyler played Wayne's role of "Stoney Brooke" in some of the later "Mesquiteers" series.
- ^ These same incidents also formed the basis of the film The Baron of Arizona (1951) starring Vincent Price.
- ^ Jones' son, Robert Walker, Jr., appeared with Wayne in The War Wagon (1966).
- ^ The change in title was probably done to avoid confusion with an earlier Wayne film called The New Frontier (1936).
- ^ The Moon of the Caribees, In the Zone, Bound East For Cardiff, and The Long Voyage Home.
- ^ Dietrich receives top billing over Wayne in the opening credits. Posters for the film's reissue several years later gave top billing to Wayne.
References
- Boswell, John, & Jay David. The John Wayne Album. New York , NY. Ballantine Books, 1979.
- Eyles, Allan. John Wayne. New York, NY. A.S. Barnes and Co., 1979.