John Wayne's Directorial Career: Ranking His 5 Films

Western legend John Wayne didn't direct many movies throughout his 50-year career, but he went suitably big whenever he stepped behind the viewfinder. From the various John Ford/John Wayne movies to his collaborations with filmmakers like Howard Hawks and Henry Hathaway, Wayne had some great mentors when it came to filmmaking.

That said, he also clashed with famed directors such as John Huston, with Huston and Wayne getting into a fistfight making The Barbarian and the Geisha. While Wayne may have learned from the best, he wasn't really a natural when it came to directing movies.

The movies that he helmed - both solo or co-directing - tended to receive mixed reviews and box office. While Wayne's Western rival Clint Eastwood proved a natural behind the camera, Wayne's more heavy-handed approach tended to overwhelm his films. Still, there's no denying the passion he brought to them, especially a certain 1960 dream project.

5 The Green Berets (1968)

Wayne was famously conservative and was never afraid to air his political views. He was fully in favor of the Hollywood Blacklist, and Wayne co-directed The Green Berets solely to whip up public support for the Vietnam War. While the film might be unashamedly patriotic, it's also rather blatant propaganda.

Wayne co-directed the film with Ray Kellogg, and while it was a surprisingly big hit, it also earned the star some of his worst reviews. Roger Ebert (who would award Wayne's True Grit four stars the very next year) gave The Green Berets zero stars.

While other critics were slightly less vitriolic, the movie was roundly panned for its stodgy drama, stilted dialogue, and loose take on the reality of the war. The battle scenes are impressively staged, but at nearly two and a half hours, the film is punishing.

If The Green Berets was considered dated and out of touch in 1968, it is borderline unwatchable nearly 60 years later. It's an interesting relic of its time, but it really is one for Wayne diehards only.

4 The Alamo (1960)

The only movie John Wayne directed solo, The Alamo was the star's lifelong dream project. He spent over a decade trying to get it made, and had such a clear vision for what he wanted that he resolved to helm it himself.

Wayne put over $1.5 million of his own fortune into The Alamo, which had a then staggering production budget of $12 million. This historical Western is an epic in every sense, being littered with huge battle sequences, elaborate production design, and a cast of big names, including Wayne, Richard Widmark and Laurence Harvey.

There can be no denying the amount of heart Wayne invested into the film, but sadly, he just wasn't the right director. The Alamo is bloated, with Wayne letting long scenes of dialogue play out with no concern for pacing or narrative momentum.

Just like The Green Berets would be years later, it was also slammed for its inaccuracies. The Alamo is still a must-see for Wayne fans; yes, it's far too long and ultimately doesn't hold together, but it was also his biggest gamble and the one he put most of himself into.

3 Blood Alley (1955)

Wayne replaced Robert Mitchum in Blood Alley, after the latter was fired for reportedly throwing the movie's transportation manager into San Francisco Bay. Wayne's own company Batjec produced the movie, and after other major stars passed on replacing Mitchum, he was forced to play the lead role himself.

This adventure cast Wayne as an American Merchant who is broken out of a Chinese prison and tasked with escorting 200 villagers to safety. It's an odd movie overall, and its depiction of the Chinese has - to put it lightly - not aged gracefully.

Wayne doesn't have any real chemistry with leading lady Lauren Bacall either, though Bacall is more than a match for her co-star. Blood Alley was helmed by William A. Wellman, who was responsible for firing Mitchum after the two entered into a nasty feud. When Wellman fell ill during filming, Wayne took over directing duties for a time.

The result is a strange film that, nevertheless, has its own charms. Wayne and Bacall make for great leads, and it has beautiful cinematography and production design in addition to solid setpieces.

2 The Comancheros (1961)

Following The Alamo's failure, Wayne admitted to taking on several paycheck roles to refill his bank account. The Comancheros was no doubt one of those assignments. The film is a formulaic but fun Western romp that does little new, but it's still an entertaining way to pass a Sunday afternoon.

The movie was directed by Hollywood legend Michael Curtiz (Casablanca), though he was suffering from terminal cancer during production. Curtiz was often too ill to work, so Wayne took over as director and helped finish the Western.

The end result is The Comancheros is a solid little action Western, where Wayne plays the kind of tough-talking hero his fans loved. It's neither his best nor his worst outing from this era, and if the choice comes between this or The Alamo, The Comancheros is the safer bet in terms of entertainment value.

1 Big Jake (1971)

Big Jake is John Wayne's most violent movie, and sees his titular character reuniting with his estranged family after his grandson is kidnapped. Jake then leads his sons (including Wayne's real-life offspring, Patrick) on a rescue mission that turns very bloody.

Officially, George Sherman directed Big Jake, but the director's ill health saw Wayne take on many of the action sequences and exterior scenes. Despite the cast and crew crediting Wayne with taking on a significant chunk of Big Jake's helming duties, the star refused to take a credit.

Of all the movies Wayne had a hand in helming, Big Jake is the most purely enjoyable. It's got the best pacing, solid action, and some memorably nasty villains for Wayne's "Big" Jake to square off with. For a Wayne picture, the violence still has a lot of bite.

It's one of the star's best from his final run of Westerns, though it's still no classic. It's let down by several ill-fitting "comedy" scenes (put in at John Wayne's insistence as the film's bloodshed concerned him), and Big Jake is ultimately a well-made B-movie.