Saddle Up Your Horses and Celebrate John Wayne Day
Did you know that John Wayne was such a superstar that his birthday is a national holiday? This year marks the 116th anniversary of the acting legend’s birth.
If you’re in Texas, you can join the Wayne family to celebrate with John Wayne-themed coffee, old fashioneds and even bandana embroidering! For everyone else, we can just relax in front of the television and watch some classic Westerns. Here are just a few highlights of Wayne’s long, successful career:
The Searchers
Directed by John Ford, this 1956 Western features John Wayne as a Civil War veteran on a journey to rescue his niece from the Comanches after his brother’s family is massacred on their farm.
Red River
John Wayne leads a cattle drive to its destination in Missouri but his tyrannical behavior causes a mutiny along the way in this 1948 Western.
Everett Collection
Rio Bravo
A small-town sheriff enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk and a young gunfighter to keep a local criminal in jail in this 1959 classic. Wayne barely had to change outfits between films!
Rio Lobo
This 1970 Western is about a man looking for traitors following the Civil War.
True Grit (1969)
Before the Coen brothers released their 2010 adaptation of this Charles Portis novel, John Wayne portrayed the hard-nosed Texas Ranger who helps a teenager track down her father’s murderer.
The Train Robbers
John Wayne is a gun-hand named Lane hired by a widow to find gold stolen by her husband in this 1973 Western directed by Burt Kennedy.
Without Reservations
An author becomes smitten with a Marine (John Wayne) who is critical of her famous novel in this 1946 rom-com.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
James Stewart and John Wayne star in this 1962 John Ford-directed Western about a senator returning to town for a funeral and the story of how he got there.
Here’s where to find some of John Wayne’s movies airing this weekend:
Friday, May 26
Grit
6am — The Big Trail (1930)
9am — The Horse Soldiers (1959)
12pm — Cahill U.S. Marshal (1973)
2:30pm — The Cowboys (1972)
5:30pm — The War Wagon (1967)
8pm — Rio Bravo (1959)
11:30pm — The Alamo (1960)
INSP
8pm — Red River (1948)
10pm — Tall in the Saddle (1944)
Starz Encore Westerns
7:05pm — The Fighting Kentuckian (1949)
8:50pm — Angel and the Bad Man (1947)
10:30pm — War of the Wildcats (1943)
TCM
12:15am — They Were Expendable (1945)
Saturday, May 27
TCM
6:15pm — Back to Bataan (1945)
2am — Operation Pacific (1951)
Sunday, May 28
INSP
8pm — Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)
Monday, May 29
INSP
8am — The Comancheros (1961)
5pm — Flying Tigers (1942)
Wild West- Heroes & Villains
November 2022
Celebrates the unique sense of justice, compassion and adventure in the Old West as seen on TV and in the movies
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