The Shootist

John Wayne's final big screen role sees him playing a terminally-ill gunfighter determined to go out with his boots on - and to take as much local riff-raff with his as he goes. He settles down in a boarding house run by a slightly puritanical widow - Lauren Bacall, and her teenage son played by Ron Howard. Once his doctor, James Stewart, has confirmed the worst, he manipulates some of the local n...

I publicly take back every negative thing I ever said about John Wayne. I was so far wrong in claiming that he was just a very famous, highly overrated actor, but I blame my misconceptions on the fact that I was probably introduced to him via some of his lesser movies, or perhaps just not the kind of movie I like or usually bother with. I never have been big on Westerns, but after viewing The Ma...

The big man bows out and leaves an indelible mark. Legendary gunfighter J.B. Books rides into Carson City, diagnosed with terminal cancer he has a short time to live. After taking a room at the widow Bond Rogers' house, he becomes something of a mentor to Bond's son, Gillom. Dignified, eloquent, perhaps even incredibly sad, The Shootist mirrors John Wayne's personal situation and closes his ...