The Shootist (1976)

Featured Audience Ratings

• moon r

  
  A touching film, heartfelt, as the Duke makes his final bow and he's fully aware that with him goes an era, the good and the bad. Here to say farewell are Stewart and Bacall, the old guard, and Ron Howard, the future. And the Duke makes his final bow.

• Randy T

  
  There is something to be said about an old legend dying of cancer playing an old legend dying of cancer.

• Michael G

  
  The idea of John Wayne's last movie being about a dying gunfighter is not only incredibly fitting but even when faced with the obvious ending that's been coming for over 90 minutes by the time it goes down, incredibly sad. Wayne does his later-era, typical cranky old codger… More
  The idea of John Wayne's last movie being about a dying gunfighter is not only incredibly fitting but even when faced with the obvious ending that's been coming for over 90 minutes by the time it goes down, incredibly sad. Wayne does his later-era, typical cranky old codger with entertaining diction well, Lauren Bacall fits the bill but shockingly enough, Ron Howard does a better job in front of the camera in The Shootist than he ever did behind the camera. The movie for the most part is what you expect, but that powerful shootout at the end compounded with Howard's performance made The Shootist for me. And despite the fact I really never dug on Wayne, I did get choked up a bit at the end despite the blatant ending.

• Chris G

  
  The Shootist represents John Wayne's swan song, the final film where the legend that is John Wayne appeared on the screen. The film follows the final days of J.B. Books (Wayne). Dying of cancer, he visits an old doctor friend (Jimmy Stewart) who informs the old gunslinger that he… More
  The Shootist represents John Wayne's swan song, the final film where the legend that is John Wayne appeared on the screen. The film follows the final days of J.B. Books (Wayne). Dying of cancer, he visits an old doctor friend (Jimmy Stewart) who informs the old gunslinger that he doesn't have much time left. Books takes up lodgings with a Mrs. Rogers (Lauren Bacall) and her son Gillom (Ron Howard). When the area finds out that Books is in town and dying it seems that everyone wants a piece of him, coming out of the woodwork with money making schemes as this shootist prepares for one final battle. Directed by Don Siegel (Dirty Harry) The Shootist is Wayne's best acting since The Searchers almost twenty years earlier. Instead of the invincible cowboy he plays a man at the end, preparing for what may lay beyond this world. The legend is still there, but he's a little humbler. Just looking at the rest of the cast, you know the films going to be good, though it does suffer from an almost Made For TV feel. John Wayne survived almost three years beyond the release of The Shootist. He never made another film. Having this film as a bookend to a career that was simply legendary was a great capstone. He was THE premiere MAN for over thirty years and brought his persona to his films in a way that has never been repeated except by Clint Eastwood. John Wayne was a man and a character that grew beyond the confines of the silver screen and into American culture.

• Anthony L

  
  John Wayne?s last movie, almost true to life as he was dying of cancer in real life as well as in the movie. It?s a classic and has Lauren Bacall, Scatman Crothers and little Richie Cunningham in it to boot! Classic.

• Tom E

  
  this is one of John's best -- It was also his last -- Very well done

• xGary X

  
  Largely of note for its parallel with John Wayne's own life, this is a sensitively acted and well told story of an ageing gunfighter coming to terms with his own mortality. A western with a brain.

• Dillon L

  
  Not John Wayne's most poigant or even most memorable film, but as a final film in a very successful career, it's a great film to go out on.

• Alec B

  
  A fitting end for John Wayne. The film is not perfect, (Ron Howard, REALLY?) but as John Wayne was dying of cancer it is fitting that his character should as well. John Wayne's films are all pretty much variations of the same character and it is as if they all come together and… More
  A fitting end for John Wayne. The film is not perfect, (Ron Howard, REALLY?) but as John Wayne was dying of cancer it is fitting that his character should as well. John Wayne's films are all pretty much variations of the same character and it is as if they all come together and end in a blaze of glory.

• Jonny C

  
  Great Western. The Shootist is an enjoyable retrospect of The Duke's career both as the characters he's played, and as an actor. With wonderful support from screen legends Lauren Bacall and James Stewart, and geeky teen idol, now big time director, Ron Howard lending a hand… More
  Great Western. The Shootist is an enjoyable retrospect of The Duke's career both as the characters he's played, and as an actor. With wonderful support from screen legends Lauren Bacall and James Stewart, and geeky teen idol, now big time director, Ron Howard lending a hand too. The dialogue is intelligent, and like Don Siegel's earlier picture, 'Dirty Harry', you can always count on realism and honest storytelling. The Shootist is a fine swansong for Wayne, who hung up his spurs soon after.

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