John Wayne’s last film is remembered as one of his five all-time best Westerns
John Wayne became a major film star playing the Ringo Kid in John Ford’s 1939 western Stagecoach. From the moment Ford zoomed in on Wayne spin cocking his Winchester Model 1892, his place in film history was established. His career spanned more than three generations, from 1930 when he starred in Raoul Walsh’s The Big Trail until 1976 when he made his last film, The Shootist. Released 40 years ago this August, the film did not do well at the box office, but has since come to be regarded as one of The Duke’s five greatest westerns.