JOHN WAYNE: KARATE MASTER

The dojo is easy to miss. It is a small, modest building, standing off by itself in this little ghost town located at the end of long narrow dirt road in Utah's Monument Valley. 


The town has no name, there are no signs or route markers indicating its existence; if you did not know it was here, you would never find it. When you do find it you are still not sure that it exists, that it is what you think it is, that perhaps everything you heard was myth, was legend, and that this really is not the lost dojo of Marion Morrison.


The door creeks as you push it open, dust rising from the floor as you see a few strands that are remnants of the dojo's tatami matts. On the walls there fragments of framed photo's, pictures of the great master's students: Jimmy Steward, to whom sensei taught the Spur to the Groin strike; Marilyn Monroe who mastered the deadly Double Boob Face Mash; Dean Martin who of course was the original Drunken Master and Ursula Andress master of the Full Frontal Naked Choke ...


The Master's legend has faded a bit with time but there are those who keep his memory alive, acolytes all but hidden now, spreading word of his prowess person to person so that although his memory may fade, Duke Sensei's legacy will never totally be forgotten.


As you stand in the small space, redolent with sweat and effort and all the mystery of the martial arts, the words of Sensei Duke seem to ring in your ears .. "Wax on, wax off, Pilgrim"


John Wayne, Karate Master ... urban myth or fact? I consider myself a big fan of the Duke but I've recently learned that there may be parts of the actor's life of which I was totally unaware. I knew that he was a collegiate football player and that he developed into a pretty effective movie stunt man ... but martial arts? That was a new one for me

But then Collette relayed to me the mystery, not only was John Wayne a Karate Master he was a sensei, a teacher of the arts and his most famous student ... Jackie Chan. Yes, John Wayne taught karate to Jackie Chan.

Collette actually learned the truth behind the man from a couple of her grade 4 boys. She overheard one young fella telling the other "John Wayne is really cool!" That stopped her in her tracks... John Wayne is not really a movie star one expects to hear contemporary kids discussing.

Of course she had to ask the young man why John Wayne was cool.  His answer: John Wayne taught Jackie Chan karate.

It took me a while to delineate this dubious mythology. Jackie Chan made a comedy kung fu western called Shanghai Knights. Loosely based on an older Asian movie called Shanghai Joe (which also served as the base for David Carridine's TV series Kung Fu) it follows a faithful Chinese guard (Chan) as he travels to Old West America to rescue a princess.

 In the course of a story Chan meets a charming outlaw as portrayed Owen Wilson. Chan introduces himself as Chon Wang in his heavy accent. Wilson responds "John Wayne? That's a terrible name for a cowboy"

So, when the two boys were discussing the new version of the movie Karate Kid, the one lad thought no one could beat Jackie Chan in a fight whereas his friend assured him that John Wayne could, as it was John who taught Jackie everything he knows

And thusly, the lengend of John Wayne, karate master was created. Sensei Duke, the man who taught Jackie Chan karate.

TRUE GRIT: A TALE OF TWO ROOSTERS

The title of this post is both logical and misleading. I know, logic is not a word often associated with this blog, but read on

I suppose it was inevitable that I would go to see the new version of True Grit. A: It's a western. B: It stars Jeff Bridges, one of my favorite actors of all time C: It's a remake of the 1969 movie starring John Wayne .. who is John Wayne and needs no further explanation D: It's directed by the Cohen Brothers, who go beyond being among my favorite film makers and enter a fairly rare stratosphere of creativity that includes people like Martin Scocese, Philip K Dick, Robert Johnson etc.

I like the original True Grit. But it is not my favorite western. Nor is it my favorite John Wayne movie (even if he won the Oscar) and nor is it my favorite John Wayne western

I think Wayne's westerns like The Searchers, Red River or Rio Bravo are all round better movies than his True Grit. Red River and Rio Bravo feature far better ensemble acting, but it's hard to compared Glen Campbell and Kim Darby (of True Grit) with Dean Martin and Angie Dickonson (of Rio Bravo) or even Walter Brennan and Montgomery Clift of Red River. The Searchers is a much better written and much better actualized movie than True Grit. And it may feature Wayne's best performance but, damnit, he was pretty awesome in Grit as well
Both versions of the movie are of course based on the novel by Charles Portis. Both are fairly fairly faithful to the book, diverging towards the end of the story. Beyond that, the difference in the movies is in the emphasis. At the time he made this movie Wayne was towards the end of his career but still one of the most popular movie stars in the world. There was little question that the story would revolve around him. Kim Darby as Mattie achieved a level of stardom at the time but came no where close to Wayne and Glen Campbell as Texas Ranger LaBeouf, was a music star .. and never made much of an actor. So it was going to be the Duke's ride the whole way
It was indeed a great performance for Wayne. It was the first time in one of his movies were permitted to see John Wayne as he was: An old man with a ton of personality. Rooster Cogburn, the "one eyed fat man" allowed Wayne to, for the first time, settle his patented likeable machismo with this age and physical limitations. It also allowed him to flex two of his greatest assets as an actor: His impeccable comic timing, and his penchant for sentimentality.

Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn is another matter. Bridges comes from a generation of stars with the emphasis on acting and as such, through his career, he's been a bit of a chameleon. From an alien with halting speech patterns in Starman, to the burnt out country singer of Crazy Heart, to the ultimate dudeness of the Big Lebowski, Bridges has always been one to change his body and his behaviour to suit a role
The Big Lebowski was certainly the movie that landed him this role in True Grit, as both are Cohen Brothers films. Bridges is terrific in this movie, altering his body and his speech pattern to become Rooster. His Rooster is not quite the loveable rogue that Wayne's was, there is more of an edge to him, more of the grim fatalisim that such a character would certainly have. But the sense of humour is still there, but not quite as overt.
But as I stated, the title of this post is a bit misleading. It really isn't a tale of two Roosters, but more a tale of two Matties. Or, in reality one Mattie. Mattie being the 14 year girl of the story who hires Marshal Rooster (and perforce, Texas Ranger LaBeouf) to hunt down the scoundrel who killed her pa.
The Charles Portis novel is Mattie's story. It is narrated by her, told in her voice, all the actions and other characters are filtered through the eyes of this young girl. And a remarkable girl she is. Tough, smart (she can read write and do her sums) with a steel resolve. In the original versio of the movie, she was played by Kim Darby
Darby was 25 at the time and played Mattie as such. And as such, she almost came across as immature. In the Western era, a 25 year old woman would have a husband, children, responabilities. Darby comes across as spoiled and petulant and overly naive. This is not the case in the Cohen Brothers Grit. Mattie is played by Hailee Steinfeld
Haille was actually 14 at the time she made this movie but that is not the only factor that makes her a far superior Mattie. This young woman can act. She is Mattie, and her resolve, her determination, even her stubborness, does not come across as silly and naive but rather breath taking. She is a firecracker, and it is easy to believe why this little girl is capable of bending these tough, independent men to her will.

The Cohens knew what they had with this girl and with this cast in general. Although much of Portis' dialouge is brought over from the novel intact, they also understand the power of the visual image. If there is a scene that perfectly establishes Mattie's character, and her relationship with Rooster, it is one where the Marshal and the Texas Ranger try to "ditch" the girl to go on the manhunt on their own. Mattie, being Mattie, will have none of that. As the two men cross a river by ferry and leave her on the other side, Mattie gets aboard her recently acquired mustang pony and simply swims the river .. It is a remarkable scene. There is no dialogue. Just shots of this girl doing this thing the two men did not attempt and shots of Bridges watching her .. It says so much, without using any words

Likewise a scene where characters, at night, are rushing across the prarie in desperate need .. there is almost no dialouge but the lighting and editing and camerawork are so compelling, no words are needed.

So, in the end: I like both True Grits. I love both Roosters. But for me now there is only one Mattie. So perhaps the title of this post was not so misleading. There are two Roosters. And as for Miss Mattie Ross, there is only one