THE FILM
FILM DIRECTOR: Don Siegel
SCREENWRITER: Miles Hood Swarthout, Scott Hale
FILM STARS: John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard, James Stewart, Richard Boone, Hugh O’Brian, Bill McKinney, Harry Morgan, John Carradine, Sheree North, Rick Lenz, Scatman Crothers, Melody Thomas
COUNTRY: USA
THIS BOOK
AUTHOR: Glendon Swarthout
TYPE: Novel
PUBLISHER: Pan
THIS EDITION PUBLISHED: 1976
COUNTRY: Great Britain
COVER: Paperback
THE ORIGINAL BOOK
ORIGINAL AUTHOR: As Above
YEAR FIRST PUBLISHED: 1975
ORIGINAL BOOK TITLE: The film title
NOTES
GENRE: Western
WORDS: A great film, a great book. The film is faithful to the book up to a point. The film is also an homage to, and for, its star John Wayne (whether they knew it or not). Wayne is great (perfect) in his last role of a shootist (a gunman) dying of cancer. James Stewart is great as the doctor as is the rest of the cast. Director Sigel, is in top form catching the twilight of the west with just the right amount of cynicism and impartiality. There is not heartfelt ruminations over the change from the old to the new, it’s just happening and so be it.
The book is more cynical with a different ending making the film and book contradictory, perhaps, in outlook. Wayne’s contract gave him script approval, and he made a number of major and minor changes I believe Though he would not have taken the role if there wasn’t something already there. The film is violent, the book more so. Perhaps it is one of the most violent books I have read. Not a sadistic violence but a matter of fact vivid one, with almost clinical medical descriptions of what happens when a person is shot. I went out and found a lot more Swarthout and have not been disappointed. A great writer
LINKS
PAGES
pp150-151
TRAILER
MUSIC
The title theme by Elmer Bernstein
MOVIE POSTER
A good movie and a great book. Do you think the author modelled the main character on JW?
Yes Swarthout is well worth reading if the 4 or 5 I have read are anything to go by. I have no idea if he did or didn’t model the character on Wayne’s persona (and real life health problems). But the role fits him like a glove. It’s the perfect swansong.
On the strength of your review, I dug out my own copy of The Shootist and read it for the first time. Very impressed, although the ending left me feeling restless – not sure if that’s a good or bad thing, but I’ll get back to you when I’ve had a little more time to digest it. Will also track down other works by Swarthout as a direct result of your review. Congratulations, you’ve kicked off a minor Swarthout revival.
Paul, ta. Yes, try the Homesman (which was made into a film not so long ago with Tommy Lee Jones. I literally just finished The Eagle and the Iron Cross (1966) about a couple of Germans who escape from a POW camp in Arizona during WW2. Another great read. You know where it’s going to end but the getting there is worth it. It also more than a little cynical. It is very filmable.