John Wayne _ The Man Behind the Myth - Michael Munn [54]
In February 1945, Wayne began work on They Were Expendable, John Ford’s tribute to the men in the PT boats (small, armed American craft) during the early months of the Pacific war. Produced at MGM and backed by the navy, it was all about sacrifice and duty.
Wayne was given only a secondary role to play, with the principal part of Lieutenant John Brickley—based on Lieutenant John Bulkley, who commanded the PT boats—going to Robert Montgomery.
“That was a slap in the face for Duke,” said Paul Fix. “Montgomery was not exactly a leading man, but he had served in the navy and been awarded a Bronze Star, so to Ford, who’d spent most of the war years at the front, he was a real war hero. But to Ford, Duke was not.
But Duke never complained. He was just delighted to be working with Ford again.”
Wayne admitted he did all he could to build up his own part.
He said, “I managed to persuade Pappy to expand the emotional range of my character, and he liked my ideas enough so that I had some really fine scenes, including my idea that my character should make an attempt to remain behind with his men.”
Donna Reed was the film’s leading lady, providing Wayne with the film’s only romantic moments. In 1979, she told me, “I really liked working with Duke. I don’t think it was easy for him to play second fiddle to Robert Montgomery, but he did it to please Ford.
I’d heard all the stories about how Ford could be really mean, almost sadistic, to his actors, and I saw how he treated Bob
[Montgomery] with respect, while he gave Duke a hard time. He’d say things like, ‘Haven’t you learned anything about acting yet?’
and I’d stand back and wait for Duke to explode. But he never did.
He just said, ‘Sorry, Coach, I’ll do it better in the next take.’
“In one scene Ford didn’t like the way Duke was saluting. He said,
‘You don’t have the faintest idea how to salute, do you, you clumsy so-and-so? That’s because you never joined up. You just stayed at home and made money from lousy pictures while your countrymen were giving their lives.’ And he kept on about this, really putting Duke 21184_ch01.qxd 12/18/03 1:42 PM Page 100
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down who said nothing in his own defense, until, finally, Bob stepped in and shouted at Ford, saying, ‘You don’t ever talk to Duke like that.
You should be ashamed of yourself.’ Ford just sat there, stunned into silence, and I think he did feel ashamed. In fact, I’m sure he was crying. Duke went over to him, patted his back, and said, ‘That’s okay, Coach. You just want to make this film the best it can be.’
“But there were also moments when you could feel the camaraderie between Ford and Wayne, and they’d share little jokes, often at someone else’s expense, usually Ward Bond’s. You could tell that Duke really loved Ford, and I think Ford loved Duke. Ford just didn’t know how to show it. Duke generally kept quiet and did his best.”
Wayne recalled a scene in which he did lose his temper: “We were shooting a scene where my boat is strafed by an airplane. A special effects guy was shooting ball bearings at my boat but he had forgotten to replace the windshield with a nonbreakable one made of Plexiglas. It was real fucking glass, and it went flying into my face. I picked up a hammer and went after the man, and Ford leaped up and said, ‘No you don’t. He’s part of my fucking crew.’ I yelled back, ‘Your fucking crew, goddamn it. They’re my fucking eyes.’
I was lucky not to have been seriously hurt.
“Toward the end of filming, Pappy fell badly and fractured the upper end of his tibia and was put in traction for two weeks. By then I felt I knew enough about moviemaking, and I expected Ford to ask me to direct the final scenes. But he didn’t. He asked Bob Montgomery.”
Donna Reed said, “Duke was really disappointed not to be asked to take over the direction. I think Ford was putting him in his place.
I’ve never seen such loyalty