For decades, John Wayne refused to shoot people in the back in his movies, but he finally broke this rule for McQ. Many actors pᴀssed on Dirty Harry, including Paul Newman, Frank Sinatra and John Wayne himself. Wayne pᴀssed on Dirty Harry partly because Sinatra had already said no and he didn’t want to feel like the backup choice. The star came to regret that decision, feeling “Dirty” Harry was similiar to many other characters he had played.

That’s why a couple of John Wayne-fronted Dirty Harry ripoffs happened. These were 1974’s McQ and 1975’s Brannigan, where he played tough cops armed with magnums who weren’t afraid to bend a few rules. Eastwood himself had pᴀssed on McQ, which was a serviceable of not very memorable thriller. While not nearly as violent or scuzzy as Dirty Harry, McQ was a darker movie for Wayne and one that even saw him shoot a character in the back.

John Wayne Broke His Rule About Never Shooting People In The Back In McQ

In Wayne’s defense, the other guy started it

Wayne broke some rules of his own when he became a star, such as making his characters “fight dirty,” as he didn’t see a need for his protagonists to be polite when punching opponents. Wayne also wanted his characters to adhere to certain moral codes, such as always helping somebody in need and never shooting an unarmed man. Another of Wayne’s rules included never shooting an attacker in the back, since he felt this was a cowardly act; that’s why it’s so surprising to see Wayne break his no back shooting rule in McQ.

The thriller features a scene where a hitman opens fire on Detective Lieutenant “McQ” McHugh, before fleeing. Wayne’s тιтular cop then aims his revolver at a man and fires, killing him in one sH๏τ. Such a moment would be unthinkable in the likes of the Rio Bravo trilogy, but it doesn’t feel so out of place in a gritty 1970s cop thriller. Nobody would blink an eye if it were Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson behind the trigger, but when it’s John “Duke” Wayne, that gives the scene a whole different vibe.

Even Wayne’s toughest Western protagonists would refrain from shooting a man from behind, whether they “deserved” it or not. Of course, McQ isn’t set in the Old West, and a scene like this underlines that it was a new kind of character for its veteran star. It’s also unusual to see Wayne wielding a machine gun, which he uses to great effect in the movie’s finale.

McQ Was John Wayne’s Attempt To Reinvent His Screen Image

Dirty Duke doesn’t have the same ring to it

In hindsight, John Wayne would have been a terrible Dirty Harry. He also would have insisted that the profanity, bloodshed and other spicy elements be dialed way back had he signed on. This would have dulled the 1971’s thriller harsh edge, and it wouldn’t have lasted the test of time the way it has. Still, the film’s success likely made Wayne jealous of his younger rival Eastwood, and with the Western genre waning in popularity, Wayne must have seen films like McQ and Brannigan as a way to connect with younger audiences.

That’s what makes them such intriguing curios in Wayne’s filmography, especially considering they were among his final films. Wayne’s charisma is undeniable and helps make both movies enjoyable, but they’re ultimately generic cop movies where Wayne feels at least five years too old to play the lead. Still, it’s fun to see Wayne take a swing at something different and portray a less morally rigid character.

Wayne Refused To Break This Rule Again In His Final Movie The Shootist

“I don’t shoot ’em in the back!”

Wayne later worked with Dirty Harry helmer Don Siegel on what proved to be the star’s final acting role. The Shootist cast Wayne as a gunfighter dying of cancer, who plans to die in a glorious shootout with some old enemies. In both the source novel and the screenplay, Wayne’s Books shoots one of his foes in the back during the finale. Clint Eastwood later recounted this story on Inside the Actor’s Studio, after Siegel told him what happened.

After Wayne stated “I don’t shoot people in the back,” Siegel argued that Books has other killers to deal with and didn’t have time to be so morally upstanding. Wayne still insisted he wasn’t filming the scene that way, leading Siegel to retort that Eastwood would do it that way. Apparently, Wayne then went “blue,” and yelled at the director “I don’t care what that kid woulda done, I don’t shoot ’em in the back!” Wayne got his way, and in the final cut of The Shootist, he doesn’t sneakily kill anyone from behind.

It’s interesting Wayne was so adamant that Books wouldn’t shoot anyone this way, as he had already broken that rule for McQ. Perhaps sensing The Shootist could be his final Western, perhaps Wayne felt it could sully his image to perform such a “cowardly” deed, no matter the circumstances. It’s also amusing that Siegel evoked Eastwood’s name to get a rise out of Wayne, knowing that Clint’s Westerns had overtaken Wayne’s in terms of popularity – and that he was smart enough to accept Dirty Harry after Wayne pᴀssed.

Two Of John Wayne’s Characters Died From Being SH๏τ In The Back

Wayne’s final two onscreen deaths saw the bad guys take the easy kill

Wayne rarely died onscreen, so when it did happen, it hit audiences all the harder. Arguably his most heartbreaking demise came with 1972’s The Cowboys, where, after a vicious brawl with Bruce Dern’s villain, Wayne’s character is sH๏τ as he walks away. When he dies the next day, the boys who had been helping his cattle drive seek vengeance. As mentioned previously, Wayne’s final onscreen death came with The Shootist, where Books is blasted with a sH๏τgun as he walks out of the bar.

In both The Cowboys and The Shootist, Wayne’s characters are shown to be a tough but fair figures with a code, whereas the bad guys take the cowardly way and shoot him when his back is turned. Wayne saw this as the ultimate dishonorable act, which just makes it curious that he was ok with doing it in McQ. Maybe Wayne felt the modern-day setting made it more acceptable, but it still feels like a distinctly un-John Wayne thing to do.

That said, considering McQ was written with Eastwood in mind, perhaps Wayne decided to perform the scene as written to see how such a moment would play with his own audience. Neither McQ nor Brannigan did great business, though The Shootist was a strong note for Wayne to close out his 50-year career on; and of course, he played a character who could only be taken down by a coward who lacked the guts to face him head on.

Source: Inside the Actor’s Studio