The Director Who Turned Down John Wayne’s Film Pitch

There’s a subtle but important difference between the films John Wayne chose to appear in and those that came about simply because he wanted them made. Sometimes, a director or producer would approach Wayne with a role, and he’d either sign on or pass. That was the usual way of things, and there weren’t many in the business he’d say no to—John Ford being a rare exception. But then there were the projects that existed purely because Wayne fancied the idea. With his name carrying serious weight in the industry, he could take a script he liked to any studio, and more often than not, they’d greenlight it. He’d have the final say on the script, the cast, and the director—basically, nothing happened without his nod.

When a Director Stood His Ground

Take the 1960 adventure flick North to Alaska as an example. It was the first in a three-film deal Wayne had with 20th Century Fox. He wanted his mate Henry Hathaway to direct, but when Hathaway’s schedule clashed, the studio looked to Richard Fleischer. Before Fleischer had even agreed, he was told Wayne had already given him the thumbs up. A producer rang to say,

‘Well, Duke phoned early this morning from the yacht, and I thought I’d save us all some time and trouble, so I told him all about you, and he said OK.’

Fleischer wasn’t exactly thrilled.

‘No, it isn’t great,’ I replied, steam beginning to rise from my collar. ‘It’s terrible. What if I don’t like the story? What if I don’t want to do it?’

Fleischer ended up reading the script and wasn’t impressed. The producer, though, wasn’t having any of it:

‘You’re committed now. You have to do it,’

he insisted. Fleischer refused to budge, saying he wouldn’t direct unless he was happy with the script. When that didn’t happen, he stood firm:

‘Next time you speak to him, you can tell him that I’m not doing the picture.’

The producer tried a bit of emotional blackmail, warning that Wayne would get suspicious if he heard Fleischer was out, but Fleischer didn’t change his mind. In the end, Hathaway came back and directed the film after all.

An Awkward Run-In Years Later

Years down the track, Fleischer bumped into Wayne, and things got a bit tense. Wayne asked,

‘So, you’re the fella who didn’t want to make a movie with me?’

Fleischer admitted,

‘I froze. Those bastards in Hollywood had really done it to me. They had given Wayne precisely the impression I didn’t want him to have; that I didn’t want to do the picture because of him.’

He quickly tried to clear things up, saying he was actually

‘the fellow who didn’t want to make a bad John Wayne movie.’

Thankfully, Wayne saw the funny side and replied,

‘You were right. I shouldn’t have made that picture, either.’