Maureen O’Hara may be John Wayne’s most famous onscreen love interest, but she’s not his only high-profile female co-star with multiple appearances in his films. Over the course of their respective careers, Maureen O’Hara memorably appeared opposite John Wayne in five of the Western icon’s movies.
Together, John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara made three Westerns, one period comedy-drama, and one biopic. One of those five films was The Quiet Man, a John Ford-directed classic that has gone down in cinematic history as one of John Wayne’s best movies, boasting one of the greatest fight scenes ever put to the screen.
It’s also worth noting that another actress also had a lot to contribute to John Wayne’s movie career. She didn’t make quite as many movies with him as O’Hara, but their shared work was crucial to his rise to stardom, not to mention the Oscar-nominated performance she delivered in one of their films.
John Wayne Made Four Movies With Claire Trevor
The actress with the most major roles in John Wayne’s movies is, of course, Maureen O’Hara. Right behind her is Claire Trevor, who co-starred in a total of four John Wayne movies. In fact, she was even billed ahead of him, on one occasion, something that was actually inconceivable by the time Wayne and O’Hara started working together.
The first time they shared the screen was in Stagecoach, the movie known for starting John Wayne’s transition from B-movie actor to Hollywood A-lister. In the movie, Claire Trevor played Dallas, the prosтιтute on board the тιтular stagecoach that John Wayne’s Ringo Kid was escorting to New Mexico.
At the time, Claire Trevor had already achieved significant fame in Hollywood, having already worked as the leading lady in the films of Spencer Tracy, Humphrey Bogart, and more. Because of that, she received top billing in Stagecoach, despite the Ringo Kid being the movie’s real protagonist.
After the success of Stagecoach, the two stars and the director of the hit 1938 movie were reunited for a follow-up Western – Allegheny Uprising. Once again, Claire Trevor was billed over Wayne. The trend continued into their third collaboration, where they were cast alongside Walter Pidgeon in Dark Command, which was also a Western.
After making three movies in three years with Claire Trevor, John Wayne’s partnership with the actress took a prolonged break. Their careers took different paths, but ultimately converged one final time in 1954, long after John Wayne had eclipsed Claire Trevor as a Hollywood star. The two co-starred in The High and the Mighty, a disaster movie set on an airplane.
Claire Trevor Received An Oscar Nomination For Her Role In The High And The Mighty
Although not commonly thought of as one of John Wayne’s greatest movies, The High and the Mighty did entertain a great deal of critical acclaim upon its release, which included significant Oscar buzz. It subsequently earned five Academy Award nominations, including Best Supporting Actress for Trevor.
In the film, Trevor played May Holst, a veteran movie actress well past her prime and a pᴀssenger on the plane. Claire Trevor’s performance was regarded as one of the best parts of The High and the Mighty, with the star helping to transform May into a compelling, nuanced character.
Based on her resume and experience, Claire Trevor’s performance warranting an Oscar nomination wasn’t surprising. The actress had won the same award before for her role in Key Largo, and was nominated years prior for her appearance in ᴅᴇᴀᴅ End.
In contrast, none of Maureen O’Hara’s roles in her five John Wayne movies received Academy Award nominations.
Like Maureen O’Hara, Claire Trevor Was One Of John Wayne’s Best Co-Stars
Looking at their overall body of work together, it’s fair to say that Claire Trevor made for one of the best and most important onscreen partnerships in John Wayne’s career, on a level not too far away from the duo of Wayne and O’Hara.
It’s true that Wayne and Trevor made a pair of forgettable Westerns in Dark Command and Allegheny Uprising, but then, not all of Wayne’s movies with O’Hara were hits either. McClintock! and The Wings of Eagles are hardly counted among Wayne’s best works.
Of the four movies Wayne made with Trevor, two have generally favorable reputations. The High and the Mighty is one of the better John Wayne movies that’s not a Western or a war movie, and Trevor’s performance was one of the many contributing factors that made it easy to invest in the characters aboard the plane.
Most importantly, Claire Trevor was the female lead of one of the most influential Westerns ever made, as well as one of the defining films in Wayne’s career. Wayne’s own larger-than-life performance naturally was what drove the movie, but his dynamic with Trevor was also crucial to its appeal.
So strong was John Wayne and Claire Trevor’s chemistry in Stagecoach that Paramount was compelled to make them a duo. According to Michael Munn’s John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth, recreating that great chemistry was the whole point of giving them two more Westerns together.
