Rick Heldenfels in the Akron Beacon Journal:
John Wayne could act. Wayne himself tended to downplay this idea, declaring -- as Joan Didion once wrote -- that ``I don't act at all, I re-act.'' Nor did it help that he made so many Westerns, a film genre that seems simple even when the movies in it are not. His best actor Oscar, for True Grit, felt more like a career achievement award than an honor for a great performance.
But look at him, silent, in The Quiet Man. Or the pain on his soldier's face in Sands of Iwo Jima, when another day has passed without a letter from his son. Remember The Searchers, probably his greatest film, and possibly his best performance.The misery in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, the rage in Red River, the humor in True Grit, the courage in The Shootist.
To read the entire column click on the title for a link.
