John Wayne was one of the first actors offered what would become the Western genre’s most notorious flop, but his involvement could have saved it. John Wayne starred in 80 Westerns throughout his career, with The Searchers and Rio Bravo considered among his finest work. On the flip side, he had some duds too, such as later career efforts Cahill U.S. Marshal or Howard Hawks’ Rio Lobo. Wayne had major successes in other genres too, but he’ll forever be tied to the Western.
Even during the 1970s when Westerns were increasingly seen as passé and dated, the majority of Wayne’s final films were “Oaters.” He mixed things up with his Dirty Harry ripoffs McQ and Brannigan, but he rode on a horse once again for movies like The Cowboys. Wayne’s only sequel was 1975’s Rooster Cogburn, another Western that was his penultimate film. Outside of Clint Eastwood, Wayne was one of a handful of actors who could draw audiences to a Western during the 1970s.
John Wayne Turned Down Heaven’s Gate During The 1970s
Heaven’s Gate killed the genre for almost a decade
Heaven’s Gate could have turned out differently had John Wayne signed on, with the Western icon being one of the first actors approached.
The 1980s was the worst decade for Westerns, largely due to the failure of Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate. Cimino was coming hot off of The Deer Hunter and was given a blank check to do this passion project set during the Johnson County War. United Artists gave the filmmaker total creative control, but his exacting style and demand for perfectionism saw the budget swell to four times its original size. Heaven’s Gate’s final budget was $44 million, but it only recouped a paltry $3.5 million at the box office.
The movie became one of Hollywood’s most largest bombs, leading to the demise of the auteur-driven films of the 1970s and the death of United Artists as an independent studio. Heaven’s Gate could have turned out differently had John Wayne signed on, with the Western icon being one of the first actors approached. Cimino penned the original script (titled The Johnson County War) even before he made his directorial debut with Clint Eastwood vehicle Thunderbolt and Lightfoot in 1974.
Wayne’s Star Power Could Have Saved Heaven’s Gate
Heaven’s Gate starring John Wayne is a VERY different film
Wayne and other star names like Steve McQueen were approached for this early version of Heaven’s Gate, but the project didn’t move forward at this time. Cimino was only able to push the movie through after the commercial and awards success of The Deer Hunter, which saw him anointed by the industry as a major new talent. When Heaven’s Gate finally entered production, the cast was loaded with great actors, including Kris Kristofferson, Jeff Bridges and Isabelle Huppert, but it also lacked a star of Wayne or McQueen’s caliber.
Wayne starring in Heaven’s Gate is a fascinating “what if” on several levels. For one, Wayne would never have stood for Cimino’s micromanaging style, and while this may have led to clashes, it would have helped keep the movie’s budget and schedule on track. Wayne also avoided films with bloody violence and bad language, so to see him front a Western loaded with both and exploring such a dark chapter in American history would be unique all on its own.
More than anything, Wayne would have brought some star power to Heaven’s Gate and aided its box office chances. Part of the movie’s legacy is that Cimino was given such free creative reign, resulting in a flawed, fascinating epic. Had Wayne been his star, an arguably less ambitious film may have resulted.
John Wayne Made His Final Public Appearance Handing Michael Cimino An Oscar
Wayne passed away two months after the 1979 Oscars
1976’s The Shootist proved to be Wayne’s final movie, with the star giving a moving turn as a gunfighter dying of cancer. Despite reports suggesting otherwise, the star was cancer-free while filming this Don Siegel movie, but was in poor health having battled the disease years before. He was later diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1979, and Wayne’s final public appearance was at the 51st Academy Awards ceremony in April of that year.
Wayne presented the Oscar for Best Picture to The Deer Hunter, presenting Cimino and the film’s producers with their statues. The ceremony was held on April 9th, while Heaven’s Gate began filming only a week later. Wayne himself would pass only two months after this Academy Awards ceremony in June 1979, at the age of 72.
Heaven’s Gate Has Been Reappraised Since Its Disastrous Debut
Cimino’s Western epic is considered a flawed masterpiece now
Heaven’s Gate was a punchline and became the poster child for a director’s ego run amok, but slowly, that perception began to shift. After Cimino unveiled a new director’s cut of his film in 2012, the Western was finally greeted with a warm critical response.
Stories of Heaven’s Gate’s messy production soon spread throughout the industry, as did tales of Cimino’s overbearing style. The filmmaker had difficulty wrestling the amount of footage he captured into a cohesive whole too, with his original edit being an eye-watering five-and-a-half hours. The film’s initial theatrical edit trimmed two hours off that but was so harshly reviewed that the Western was withdrawn so further cuts could be made. The theatrical re-edit was a lean two and a half hours, but by then, the damage was done and Heaven’s Gate was officially a bomb.
The movie’s failure saw studios seeking greater control and giving filmmakers less creative leeway. For decades, Heaven’s Gate was a punchline and became the poster child for a director’s ego run amok, but slowly, that perception began to shift. After Cimino unveiled a new director’s cut of his film in 2012, the Western was finally greeted with a warm critical response. The Western has some fundamental issues, including its length and somewhat plodding pace, but from the gorgeous cinematography to the intense performances, there’s much to admire about Heaven’s Gate.
Heaven’s Gate Could Have Been John Wayne’s Unforgiven
Heaven’s Gate would have been one of Wayne’s final movies
Clint Eastwood is another genre icon, but outside of the 1970s he only made two more Westerns; 1985’s Pale Rider and 1992’s Unforgiven. The latter is the ultimate deconstruction of Western myth, with the movie removing the romance and revisionism to tell a harsh tale of violence and its lingering aftermath. Unforgiven is an Eastwood’s classic and marked his final statement on the genre that made him a star. Had John Wayne starred in Heaven’s Gate, Cimino’s film could have performed a similar function for the screen legend.
The violence could have been a reason Wayne passed on Heaven’s Gate too, but having a star of his statue appearing in such a dark, grounded tale would have loaned it an unexpected power.
Heaven’s Gate is a bleak story looking at the government-sanctioned murder of immigrants in 1890s Wyoming, and the film is unflinching with its depiction. Not only did he tend to avoid overtly violent projects, Wayne decried films like The Wild Bunch or Eastwood’s High Plains Drifter for being too bloody and for “misrepresenting” the West; Wayne turned down an Eastwood Western for that reason. The violence could have been a reason Wayne passed on Heaven’s Gate too, but having a star of his statue appearing in such a dark, grounded tale would have loaned it an unexpected power.
Had the film been produced during the early 1970s, Heaven’s Gate would have become one of Wayne’s last projects. It could have become Wayne’s Unforgiven and seen the Western star sign off a legendary run in the genre. Sadly, this wasn’t to be, but Heaven’s Gate still became a classic of sorts – it just took a long journey to get there.