First of a sporadic series of episodes about the decline of the Western genre in the 1970s. John Wayne, reluctant to stretch the boundaries of his image, made two Westerns which, more or less, did just that (TRUE GRIT, THE COWBOYS). Otherwise, he cranked out programmers for his core audience—both Westerns and cop films not departing markedly from his Western persona. Films from this period that go slightly out of the corral (BIG JAKE, McQ) are discussed. Also, his two final films (ROOSTER COGBURN, THE SHOOTIST) in the Western genre are discussed—plus Wayne’s farewell to playing his Western persona as a pitchman for both a headache remedy and Great Western Bank.
