John Wayne had already remade 1959’s Rio Bravo, a movie a few sheriff defending his workplace from outlaws, in 1966’s El Dorado. Yet Howard Hawks, who directed each of these movies, needed to make it a 3rd time in 1970’s Rio Lobo.

When the filmmaker first approached Duke concerning the concept, the Hollywood star replied: “Do I get to play the drunk this time?”

Originally set to be shot in Durango, Mexico for $5 million, Rio Lobo – which celebrates its 53rd anniversary this week – was filmed for an additional $1 million at Old Tucson, Arizona, since 1971’s Lawman was already taking pictures south of the border.

Hawks had needed EL Dorado star Robert Mitchum to reprise his drunken sheriff, however he’d retired. Nevertheless, he would go to the set since his son Christopher had a task that the director needed to combat the studio to be included.

At this level in his profession, the 62-year-old Wayne was sick having had a cancerous lung eliminated just some years earlier. The star, who was 13 years older than Jack Elam’s Old Man character, struggled to get on and off his horse and was nonetheless recovering from having torn a ligament in his shoulder when taking pictures 1969’s The Undefeated.

Wayne’s combat scene with Victor French needed to be filmed very rigorously, with a lot of the pictures that have been used being together with his double. Much of the scrap occurred off-camera, with solely sounds of the scuffling being heard.

His Rio Lobo co-star Jennifer O’Neill remembered how Duke struggled to hold her up the steps. In an interview within the video beneath, she mentioned: “He became just completely exhausted, he really struggled through it.” Yet regardless of his struggling, the 21-year-old remembered Wayne being “the nicest guy in the world”, who went out of his means to assist younger actors attempting to enhance their performances. However, she couldn’t say the identical for director Hawks.

The filmmaker would blame Rio Lobo’s important and business failure on anybody however himself, saying “I didn’t think it was any good”. The director, who injured himself and wanted 4 stitches whereas filming the railway scene, felt that at 62-years-old Wayne was too outdated to hold the film – with critics saying the identical of their evaluations. He went on to say that O’Neill was inexperienced and troublesome to work with too.

However, she mentioned that when the filmmaker first spoke to her about her position as Shasta, he walked straight as much as the actress and punched her within the intestine, telling the 21-year-old that her voice was means too excessive. Hawks advised her to exit into the woods and simply sit there and scream at bushes in order that her vocal cords can be rougher for the half.

O’Neill mentioned Hawks’ punch harm her after the director actually thumped her with intent. The actress additionally claimed he mentioned he’d make her a star if she signed up for 3 motion pictures, regardless that Rio Lobo can be his final. Since she declined, the filmmaker’s emotions towards her modified and he handled her poorly on set. She even alleged that Hawks mentioned he would wreck her profession.

During filming, the 21-year-old felt that the director’s psychological colleges weren’t completely in working order, which may clarify a few of his nasty behaviour. In truth, O’Neill shot one scene carrying a false moustache as a joke, which Hawks utterly missed even after yelling reduce.