Duke

Young Wayne in "The Big Trail"

Before I dive into my examination of John Wayne and characters he played in his films some background information would be helpful. John Wayne, real name Marion Morrison, was born May 26, 1907. Wayne’s nickname of “Duke” was one he was given by the local Volunteer Fire Department when he was young. Wayne explained why he kept the nickname his entire life saying, “I really looked up to those guys. They were heroes in my book. When they began calling me ‘Duke’, I made up my mind to use the name from then on” (Davis 24). Besides his nickname and role as a film icon Wayne is remembered for his large and often imposing figure. Standing nearly six-foot-five Wayne’s large build helped him in high school football and later as a western tough-guy. After graduating high school and prematurely ending his college football career due to injuries Wayne found himself in the film industry where he worked set jobs and eventually got into acting. For nearly a decade Wayne worked for B-movie Westerns, often as an extra and completely uncredited. It wasn’t until ten years of hard work and honing his craft did Wayne get his big break, which leads into the first film I’ll be analyzing.



Davis, Ronald L. Duke: The Life and Image of John Wayne. Norman: U of Oklahoma, 1998.
     Google Books. Google, 1 May 2001. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.