The Shootist

Its hard to imagine a more fitting final film for a well known movie star then director Don Siegel's The Shootist starring John Wayne.  It's 1901 and the West, for the most part, has already been won.  Many towns of the West now boast running water, electric lights, telephones, and, soon, electrified street cars.  The once Wild West is becoming increasingly tamed.

The Duke plays aging gunslinger J.B. Books, a legend from that bygone era rapidly fading away into history, when men settled their differences with hot lead.  To further underscore the transition from one epoch to another, both in the history portrayed in the movie and the history of movies, a series of clips from John Wayne westerns through the decades stands in as evidence of J.B. Books' exploits in the Old West.  Diagnosed with a cancer of an advanced nature, Books arrives in Carson City for a second opinion from a trusted friend, Doc Hostetler, played by Jimmy Stewart.  Hostetler not only confirms the original diagnosis, but paints a vivid and painful picture of what Brooks can expect in his few remaining weeks and insinuates that for a man of courage there are other, much less painful ways to die.

Brooks takes up residence in the boarding house of widow Bond Rogers, played by Laruen Bacall, and her hot headed son Gillom, played by Ron Howard.  Brooks hopes to live out his final days in peace, anonymously in Carson City.  No such luck.  Before long word gets around the legend has moved into town, much to the chagrin of both Rogers and the loquacious Sheriff Thibido, played by Harry Morgan, who both fear his presence will bring to town those who wish to settle old scores or take up new ones now that Brooks is wasting away with disease.  Their fears are not without merit, as Brooks encounters old enemies and makes new ones upon his arrival, and there is at least one attempt on his life at the boarding house.

Besides the assassins  Books is beset with fortune seekers of every kind.  Books encounters newspaper men, aspiring gunmen, even an old flame, all looking to make a name, and a dollar, for themselves by cashing in on Books' legend.

There are only a couple of scenes of gunplay, as the movie is really a character study of Brooks as he takes stock of what his life has been in his dying days.  This is arguably The Dukes best acting performance, right up there with his role as Ethan Edwards in The Searchers and his two turns as Rooster Cogburn in True Grit (1969) and Rooster Cogburn.   John Wayne isn't for everybody, but I've always liked him, and no one can deny his place as one of movies all time legends.  He's a more reflective sort in The Shootist, as I suppose dying men often are, and you have to think that given the circumstances John Wayne must have seen quite a bit of himself in J.B. Books and vice versa.  Yet, he is without a doubt still John Wayne, quick with a quip and a gun, taking no lip from anybody.

As Books lives out his final days, his relationship with Bond is contentious--she does not approve of his life of work--but as two lonely souls brought together in the face of death, they develop a mutual respect which may have become something more if not for Books' dire diagnosis.  Then again, maybe if he wasn't at death's door he wouldn't have softened enough for a respectable woman like Bond.  Books also forges a relationship with her son, Gillom, who idolizes the legend of Books and thinks he knows the sort of man Books is and wants to emulate him.  He discovers he might not have what it takes, or even the desire to acquire it, to be a man like Books.  And maybe Books isn't exactly what Gillom thought he was in the first place.

In the end, Books decides that Doc Hostetler was right, and there are other ways to meet his finality then his insides being eaten away, and he engineers the final act of his life to that end.

If a western can be heartfelt and still be a western, this is it.  Great performances all around and a fitting end to a legendary career in the movies.

Here's a trailer: