John Wayne Six-Gun Salute, Encore Western Marathon on Memorial Day!

John Wayne fans get ready! Starting at 3:20 a.m (CST), on Memorial Day, the Encore Western Channel begins its Six-Gun Salute to John the "Duke" Wayne. Fans and new viewers will both like the roundup of westerns Encore has selected. Most people are aware of Wayne's latter westerns like Rooster Cogburn, True Grit and the Shooter. But when is the last time you saw John Wayne's B-movies?

Some B movies in the Encore Western lineup.

Randy Rides Alone-1934
The Man from Utah-1934
The Star Packer-1934
West of the Divide-1934
The Desert Trail-1935
The Trail Beyond-1934

Many don't realize that John Wayne struggled a bit to get to his famed career as a western legend. In 1926, John Wayne started his journey in the film industry by being an extra, a propman and a stuntman. His first starring role would be in a Fox Film western called "The Big Trail" (1930). He was let go from Fox after starring in three leads.

Next, Wayne went to Columbia Studios and got into it with Harry Cohen. This altercation took him from leading man back to extra status. He did B-westerns for such companies as Warner Bros, Republic and Universal.

John Ford tapped John Wayne for a starring role in "Stage Coach", a 1939 western hit. By 1940, John Wayne was the leading Western star in Hollywood. And went on to "legend" status in westerns.

Some things to note in the old B-movies are the 5-6 inch cuffs the cowboys wore. The lack of the infamous John Wayne stagger. There was always a definite good guy vs bad guy. The dialog was limited compared to the newer westerns and the profanity was non-existent in the older movies. These B-movies were entertaining and most ran just shy of 1 hour long.

One movie not in the lineup, "The Big Trail", included a lot of props. Its interesting to see the old time tools, wagons, etc. used at that time. The part where they lower wagons, livestock and people down over the cliffs using ropes was awesome. Make sure to catch this John Wayne movie sometime.

That tall, young, thin, smiling cowboy is a part of America. I believe its the good part. Thanks John. Thanks a lot.