John Wayne was very particular regarding the movies he starred in and those that he admired.
There were two classic 1959 movies that Wayne called “too disgusting even for discussion,” largely because of their sense of morals and values.
John Wayne believed that movies should be appropriate for the whole family
Wayne primarily starred in Western and war movies throughout his career. Audiences knew exactly the type of film they were paying for when it came to his projects before ever sitting in a theater chair.
However, these scenes still avoided violent realism, allowing them to remain accessible to both younger and older audiences.
The ratings board asked Wayne to help with monitoring movies with a system for parents to follow. However, he disagreed with this notion.
Rather, the movie star believed that audiences of all ages should be able to enjoy every film together. As a result, he had some strong opinions when it came to movies that pushed the boundaries for their time.
John Wayne called ‘Suddenly, Last Summer’ and ‘They Came to Cordura’ ‘too disgusting even for discussion’
In a 1960 radio interview, Wayne talked about the state of movies at the time in 1959. There were two films, in particular, that stuck with him in the most negative way possible. Suddenly, Last Summer and They Came to Cordura both stirred a huge reaction that wouldn’t be seen quite the same way from a present-day perspective.