The Shootist  

By Tom Keogh

The last film of John Wayne could not have been more fitting, full of details that can't help but make one reflect upon his legacy in the movies and his life as a star. Wayne plays a career gunfighter in the autumn of his life, trying to hang up his pistols after he discovers he's dying of cancer. Boarding in the house of an attractive widow (Lauren Bacall) and her son (Ron Howard), Wayne's character opts for peace in his final days but is dogged by his reputation when a handful of killers seeks him out for a final fight. Howard is fine as a fatherless boy who needs the strong mentor the hero represents, and James Stewart--who costarred with Wayne in the great Man Who Shot Liberty Valance--plays the doctor who gives the big man the bad news. Don Siegel (Invasion of the Body Snatchers) thoughtfully directs a very special and sensitive production.

Academy Awards

The Shootist received an Academy Awards nomination for Art Direction/Set Decoration (Robert F. Boyle - Art Direction, Arthur Jeph Parker - Set Decoration).

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		Your Memories Shared!

"THE SHOOTIST is one of the greatest Westerns as well as one of the greatest movies ever made. Brilliant acting, direction and script. It is a fine example of American filmmaking. John Wayne gives an Oscar-calibar performance. The cast is grand. A favorite of mine and a milestone film." --Chad Perkins

"As in the description of the movie that you did, this movie has the character as having cancer and Wayne did have cancer during this movie. In fact, the scene in the bar after he was shot in the back shows his real pain. The movie was stopped and they had to pick him up off the floor and wait until he could finish the scene." --rovingcowboy

"Speaking from the heart this moving John Wayne western drama portrays the wisdom of being responsible for who you are and what you choose do. For living the truth of your being and also acknowledging your shortcomings, there may be few regrets when it comes to the end. There is painful comfort in stating as John Bernard Books (John Wayne) did, "my soul is what I made it". What I see in this film is a golden lesson for all of us, which is to seek to control only yourself in a world of false illusions that unfortunately teaches us otherwise." --Anonymous