Say What?When the Duke Spoke,The AFI Didn't Listen
by Wendel Potter
July 5, 2005
"That'll be the day"
I've always been a fan of American movies. Especially when I was young and it didn't cost half of your paycheck to buy a ticket and a soda. And that was when movies were great.
So it was a treat a couple of weeks ago when I was flipping TV channels and came to rest on a CBS special, "AFI'S 100 Years . . . 100 Movie Quotes". This program offered us a countdown of what the American Film Institute considers the Top 100 "greatest quips, comebacks, and catchphrases" from American films over the past 100 years.
Of course it was no stroke of genius when I prophetically announced to my wife my pick for the No. 1 all time line. What else could it be but Rhett Butler to Scarlett O'Hara at the climax of "Gone With The Wind": "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."
Not only was it the AFI top choice, but among movie lovers it had to be the odds-on favorite. It was a great line by a great actor from a great film.
Also weighing in were naturals like Bogey's "Here's looking at you, kid", the perfectly satirical one word piece of advice, "Plastics", from "The Graduate", and Clint Eastwood's threatening invitation, "Go ahead, make my day." These were all legitimate contenders.
But when it was all quoted and done, one was left wondering, "Where were the words of John Wayne?"
My research discovered that the Top 100 American film quotes were narrowed down from an original list of 400. Of these 400, not one John Wayne film quote appeared on the ballot.
Excuse me, but did they say American Film Institute? Were there any voters over the age of thirty? Have they ever actually seen-not to mention heard-a John Wayne film?
Mention John Wayne to any casual moviegoer even remotely familiar with The Duke's film history and you'll likely hear them repeat the line that set off the great brawl in "McClintock": "Somebody oughta belt you right in the mouth...but I won't...I won't...the hell I won't!"
John Ford's western classic from 1962, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" was bursting with wonderfully clever lines. One of the best is when John Wayne's rough-and-tumble character tells tenderfoot Jimmy Stewart, "Liberty Valance is the toughest man south of the picket wire...next to me."
How could the AFI snub Duke's line from "The Searchers", when co-star Jeffrey Hunter says to Wayne, "Uncle Ethan, you reckon they're throwing that party for us?" Wayne's edgy Ethan sarcastically spits, "That'll be the day."
"That'll be the day" inspired Buddy Holly's rock 'n roll mega hit of the same name. Apparently it did nothing for the voting members of the AFI.
And what about that brassy line from "True Grit", the film that finally hauled in an Academy Award for John Wayne? Perched upon his horse in an open field, Wayne's Marshal Rooster Cogburn faces his nemesis, Ned Pepper, who calls Cogburn "a one-eyed fat man".
Rankled, Cogburn takes pistol in one hand and rifle in the other and prepares for attack, sending this verbal warning signal: "Fill your hand, you son-of-a-bitch!"
These are all classic pieces of dialogue and delivered as only The Duke could have brought them to life. They were the stuff of the American Silver Screen. They added color and verve to each film.
Perhaps it was John Wayne's politics that deafened the AFI. Maybe it was the myth that Wayne couldn't act, so his lines didn't linger in the minds of the AFI folks.
Whatever it was, the omission was obvious and glaring. It was a shame. What is an American film retrospective when it doesn't mention John Wayne?
Frankly, I guess, the AFI doesn't give a damn.
Copyright 2005 Wendel Potter
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