Trivia / The Shootist

• Acclaimed Flop: Despite receiving generally favourable reviews, the movie proved to be one of John Wayne's least successful films.
• Actor-Inspired Heroism: When viewing footage of the final gunfight in the bar, John Wayne saw that it was edited to show him shooting a guy in the back. He said, "I've made over 250 pictures and have never shot a guy in the back. Change it." They did. However, Wayne had shot men in the back in several of his movies, including The Searchers. He also objected to Books being killed by Gillom and suggested that the bartender do it, because "no one could ever take John Wayne in a fair fight".
• All-Star Cast: When word got out that John Wayne was doing what everyone assumed would be his final movie, people were nearly begging for parts. Wayne personally selected Lauren Bacall for the female lead, with Ron Howard and Jimmy Stewart in the two main supporting roles. Presumably the director was too scared of John Carradine to ask him to leave. Harry Morgan shows up for two scenes, Scatman Crothers for one. Richard Boone and Hugh O'Brian were also smuggled onto the set. Ricky Nelson is also shown briefly in flashback (actually a clip from Rio Bravo).
• Dawson Casting:
  • Ron Howard was 21 when he played the teenager Gillom.
  • Brooks' tombstone says that he is 58 years old. John Wayne was actually 69.
• The Danza: John Wayne as John B. Brooks.
• Enforced Method Acting: The plot involves an aging cowboy dying of cancer. Sadly, this required no acting on Wayne's part.
• Reality Subtext:
  • John Wayne plays a legendary gunfighter dying of cancer. While, contrary to popular belief, Wayne didn't have his fatal cancer at the time of filming, he was in ill health at the time. He fell ill with influenza during production and was hospitalized for two weeks, during which time production was shut down. It was uncertain at one point whether the film would actually be completed because Wayne was so ill his doctors were close to forbidding him to finish it. He was also suffering from heart problems during filming, the result of a severe bout of pneumonia in January 1974 that caused him to cough so violently that he damaged a heart valve.
  • Lauren Bacall plays a widow. This was something she was all too familiar with, having lost her husband Humphrey Bogart to cancer.
• Screwed by the Network: John Wayne was irked at the disappointing box-office of the film, which he blamed mostly on Paramount for poorly marketing the film. He complained that Paramount spent too much time focused on King Kong (1976) and relied too heavily on Wayne's name brand alone to sell the film, which by 1976 was not a sure thing as in years past after a couple of flops. He also felt it diluted any potential for his fine performance to be nominated for an Oscar, which after a few ads in Variety for consideration was quickly forgotten by the Academy.
• Wag the Director: John Wayne was highly self-conscious of his public image, considering it unmanly to be photographed in production stills while makeup was being applied with a powder puff. He also insisted on using a particular reddish tint of makeup, which flattered his complexion but created headaches for cinematographer Bruce Surtees. Most importantly, he insisted on toning down the profanity and more explicit references to cancer from the original novel. He also suggested that the setting be moved from El Paso to Carson City.
• What Could Have Been:
  • John Wayne asked Walter Hill to direct after seeing Hard Times. Hill declined because he didn't want to see his hero die onscreen.
  • George C. Scott was originally offered the role of Books, and accepted it on the condition that not one word of the script be changed. However, the role was given to Wayne after he expressed interest. The producers claim they had wanted him all along, but did not believe he would be interested in the film. Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman and Paul Newman turned it down before Wayne was cast.
  • Maureen O'Hara was considered for the role of Bond Rogers, but Don Siegel felt she wasn't suitable for the part.
  • The original screenplay had Gillom Rogers shooting and killing J.B. Books. In the screenplay, the killing disturbed Gillom so much that he throws away the pistol and leaves the bar, repulsed by the act. Wayne had the screenplay changed so that Books is killed by the bartender, who is then killed by Rogers.

---