September 2018 44 At the start of 1931, John Wayne was given a second chance at leading man status when he was signed to a five-year contract by Harry Cohn and Columbia Pictures. His first assignment was the second remake of the western tale, “Arizona.” Not yet thought of for his western films, John’s version was updated to a 1930’s contemporary setting. The film made no impression on theatergoers. Once again, failing to make the grade as a leading man, Wayne was relegated to playing second fiddle to the studio’s cowboy stars Buck Jones and the newly signed Tim McCoy. If Columbia had any thought of grooming Duke as a cowboy star, it fell by the wayside when they acquired McCoy to compliment his friend Jones with the western audience. John’s contract was canceled by Columbia, a studio he swore to never work for again…he kept his word. Wayne finally found his niche in the western genre, when the independent producer, Leon Schlesinger signed him to appear in six westerns released by Warner Bros. The idea was to dress him similar to Ken Maynard from a series of silent westerns released by First National a few years before, and then match Wayne’s new footage with the old, giving the Warner released films a glossier look. Since Maynard’s horse, Tarzan was almost as popular as he was, Wayne was given a similar looking horse to match the long shots of Maynard and Tarzan; appropriately the horse was named “Duke.” It would seem that his career was finally on track when he was simultaneously signed by Nat Levine of Mascot Pictures for a trio of serials, “The Shadow of the Eagle” (1932) “The Hurricane Express” (1932), and “Three Musketeers” (1933), no relation to the 1844 novel by French author Alexandre Dumas. None of these cliffhangers were westerns, but the advantage was that Wayne appeared on the big screen week after week, enhancing his reputation as an action star while increasing his name value. John Wayne was now on the road to becoming a big draw in the ‘B’ film market while earning steady paychecks to boot. The only problem was that once you became attached to ‘B’ leading man status that’s where you were to remain. An ‘A’ actor like Warner (Cisco Kid) Baxter could be an Oscar- winning commodity for a few years and then, as his popularity waned, start churning out a ‘B’ series such By Charlie LeSueur Charlie LeSueur, AZ’s Official Western Film Historian. Encore Fellow @ Western Spirit, Scottsdale’s Museum of the West. 480.358.5178, azfilmhistorian@gmail.com, silverscreencowboyz.com as “Crime Doctor,” or up and coming leading man, Charles Starrett, could give up any possibility of ‘A’ film stature to happily become the star of the longest running western film series; but, although rarely spoken of, the creed “once a ‘B’ actor, always a ‘B’ actor;” held firm; just ask Johnny Mack Brown, Tom Keene or Don ‘Red’ Barry. This was the problem Wayne faced, but with a growing family, he accepted his status. Just around the corner, however, he would find grace from his guardian angel and encumbrance from a take no prisoners studio head. Next month, Part IV of “John Wayne, an Unlikely Star.” RELAXING HOME FOR RENT 3 BEDROOM / 2 BATH 1500 SQ FT / SLEEPS 8 3 NIGHT MINIMUM Full-Time, Local, Horse Property Specialist 472 E. Wickenburg Way, Ste. 102 Wickenburg, AZ 85390 Susan Abare, Real Estate Consultant Direct: 928-713-7472 Abarewickenburghomes.com Fax: 623-243-1295 Email: sabare@awardrealty.com Above: One sheet from the Warner's series "Three Musketeers". Right: Appropriately Wayne's horse was named "Duke". Above: Wayne's first of three serials for Mascot Pictures. Left: Wayne astride Duke the Wonder Horse for Warner Bros. JOHN WAYNE An Unlikely Star, Part III Part of the Lone Star series for Monogram Pictures