John Wayne was an iconic actor best known for his western films. Back in the day, it was rare that you found a boy or man that did not want to be John Wayne. However, he wasn’t perfect. He had a temper that sometimes got him in trouble and sometimes felt guilt when filming his incredible movies.
One of John’s most famous movies is The Alamo, which details the battle of The Alamo and the events leading up to it. Even though John seems like an American hero, he actually did not serve in the military, although he wanted to. He was deemed too old when the war began, at the age of 34. Then when he was acting, Republic Pictures would not let one of their biggest stars get drafted.
John Wayne created ‘The Alamo’ out of guilt for not serving in the military
In addition to starring in The Alamo, John was the director. This was actually his directorial debut. At first, he didn’t want to star in the film but United Artists was only willing to help fund the film if he starred in it as well. John reportedly wanted to make The Alamo because of his guilt that he was never able to enlist in the military.
While iconic, some have bad reviews of the film. A writer at SlashFilm writes, “Mostly, though, I think this is a bitter, boring movie by a man who resented the fact that he lacked the nerve to live up to his filmed legend.”