John Wayne Movie List

Here’s a list of the films in which John Wayne appeared, in chronological order:

  • The Drop Kick (1927) – Bit part
  • Bardelys the Magnificent (1928) – Bit part
  • Noah’s Ark (1928) – Extra
  • The Forward Pass (1929) – Bit part
  • Salute (1929) – Bit part
  • Words and Music (1929) – Bit part
  • Rough Romance (1930) – Bit part
  • The Big Trail (1930) – Breck Coleman
  • Girls Demand Excitement (1931) – Peter Brooks
  • Three Girls Lost (1931) – Gordon Wales
  • Arizona (1931) – Lt. Bob Denton
  • The Deceiver (1931) – Faxon
  • Range Feud (1931) – Clint Turner
  • Maker of Men (1931) – Dusty
  • The Voice of Hollywood No. 13 (1932) – Himself
  • Texas Cyclone (1932) – Steve Pickett
  • Two-Fisted Law (1932) – Duke
  • Lady and Gent (1932) – Buzz Kinney
  • Ride Him, Cowboy (1932) – John Drury
  • The Big Stampede (1932) – Deputy Sheriff John Steele
  • Haunted Gold (1932) – John Mason
  • The Telegraph Trail (1933) – John Trent
  • The Three Musketeers (1933) – Lt. Tom Wayne
  • Somewhere in Sonora (1933) – John Bishop
  • The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933) – Smith
  • The Man from Monterey (1933) – Captain John Holmes
  • His Private Secretary (1933) – Dick Wallace
  • Riders of Destiny (1933) – Singin’ Sandy Saunders
  • The Lucky Texan (1934) – Jerry Mason
  • West of the Divide (1934) – Ted Hayden aka Gat Ganns
  • Blue Steel (1934) – U.S. Marshal John Carruthers
  • The Man from Utah (1934) – John Weston
  • Randy Rides Alone (1934) – Randy Bowers
  • The Star Packer (1934) – U.S. Marshal John Travers
  • The Trail Beyond (1934) – Rod Drew
  • The Lawless Frontier (1934) – John Tobin
  • ‘Neath the Arizona Skies (1934) – Chris Morrell
  • Texas Terror (1935) – John Higgins
  • Rainbow Valley (1935) – John Martin
  • The Desert Trail (1935) – John Scott/John Jones

a mix of leading and supporting roles, and even some bit parts from when John Wayne was just starting out in his career. By the mid-1930s, Wayne began to get more starring roles, particularly in Westerns, which would soon make him a major star in Hollywood.

  • Paradise Canyon (1935) – John Wyatt
  • Westward Ho (1935) – John Wyatt
  • The New Frontier (1935) – John Dawson
  • Lawless Range (1935) – John Middleton, aka John Allen
  • The Oregon Trail (1936) – Capt. John Delmont
  • The Lawless Nineties (1936) – John Tipton
  • King of the Pecos (1936) – John Clayborn
  • The Lonely Trail (1936) – Capt. John Ashley
  • Winds of the Wasteland (1936) – John Blair
  • Sea Spoilers (1936) – Bob Randall
  • Conflict (1936) – Pat Glendon
  • California Straight Ahead! (1937) – Biff Smith
  • I Cover the War! (1937) – Bob Adams
  • Idol of the Crowds (1937) – Johnny Hanson
  • Adventure’s End (1937) – Duke Slade
  • Born to the West (1937) – Dare Rudd
  • Pals of the Saddle (1938) – Stony Brooke
  • Overland Stage Raiders (1938) – Stony Brooke
  • Santa Fe Stampede (1938) – Stony Brooke
  • Red River Range (1938) – Stony Brooke
  • Stagecoach (1939) – The Ringo Kid
  • The Night Riders (1939) – Stony Brooke
  • Three Texas Steers (1939) – Stony Brooke
  • Wyoming Outlaw (1939) – Stony Brooke
  • New Frontier (1939) – Stony Brooke
  • Allegheny Uprising (1939) – James Smith
  • Dark Command (1940) – Bob Seton
  • Three Faces West (1940) – John Phillips
  • The Long Voyage Home (1940) – Ole Olsen
  • Seven Sinners (1940) – Lt. Dan Brent
  • A Man Betrayed (1941) – Lynn Hollister
  • Lady from Louisiana (1941) – John Reynolds
  • Shepherd of the Hills (1941) – Young Matt
  • Reap the Wild Wind (1942) – Captain Jack Stuart
  • The Spoilers (1942) – Roy Glennister
  • In Old California (1942) – Tom Craig
  • Flying Tigers (1942) – Capt. Jim Gordon
  • Pittsburgh (1942) – Charles ‘Pittsburgh’ Markham/Charles Ellis
  • Reunion in France (1942) – Pat Talbot
  • A Lady Takes a Chance (1943) – Duke Hudkins

John Wayne had firmly established himself as a leading man in Hollywood, especially in the Western genre, though his roles started diversifying in the 1940s. The list continues to showcase Wayne’s evolution as an actor, as he began to get more complex and varied roles.

  • In Old Oklahoma (War of the Wildcats) (1943) – Dan Somers
  • The Fighting Seabees (1944) – Lt. Cmdr. Wedge Donovan
  • Tall in the Saddle (1944) – Rocklin
  • Flame of Barbary Coast (1945) – Duke Fergus
  • Back to Bataan (1945) – Col. Joseph Madden
  • They Were Expendable (1945) – Lt. (J.G.) ‘Rusty’ Ryan
  • Without Reservations (1946) – Rusty Thomas
  • Dakota (1945) – John Devlin
  • Angel and the Badman (1947) – Quirt Evans
  • Tycoon (1947) – Johnny Munroe
  • Fort Apache (1948) – Capt. Kirby York
  • 3 Godfathers (1948) – Robert Marmaduke Hightower
  • Red River (1948) – Thomas Dunson
  • Wake of the Red Witch (1948) – Capt. Ralls
  • She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) – Capt. Nathan Brittles
  • Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) – Sgt. John M. Stryker
  • The Fighting Kentuckian (1949) – John Breen
  • Rio Grande (1950) – Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke
  • Operation Pacific (1951) – Lt. Cmdr. Duke E. Gifford
  • Flying Leathernecks (1951) – Maj. Daniel Xavier Kirby
  • Big Jim McLain (1952) – Jim McLain
  • Trouble Along the Way (1953) – Steve Aloysius Williams
  • Island in the Sky (1953) – Capt. Dooley
  • Hondo (1953) – Hondo Lane
  • The High and the Mighty (1954) – Dan Roman
  • The Sea Chase (1955) – Capt. Karl Ehrlich
  • Blood Alley (1955) – Capt. Tom Wilder
  • The Conqueror (1956) – Genghis Khan
  • The Searchers (1956) – Ethan Edwards
  • The Wings of Eagles (1957) – Cmdr. Frank ‘Spig’ Wead
  • Jet Pilot (1957) – Col. Jim Shannon
  • Legend of the Lost (1957) – Joe January
  • The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958) – Townsend Harris
  • Rio Bravo (1959) – Sheriff John T. Chance
  • The Horse Soldiers (1959) – Col. John Marlowe
  • The Alamo (1960) – Col. Davy Crockett
  • North to Alaska (1960) – Sam McCord
  • The Comancheros (1961) – Texas Ranger Jake Cutter
  • The Longest Day (1962) – Lt. Col. Benjamin Vandervoort
  • The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) – Tom Doniphon

By this time, John Wayne had become one of the most recognized and iconic figures in Hollywood. He starred in a diverse range of films, but he was particularly associated with the Western genre. Many of the films from this period of his career are classics and showcase Wayne’s enduring appeal and talent as an actor.

  • Hatari! (1962) – Sean Mercer
  • How the West Was Won (1962) – Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman (Minor Role)
  • McLintock! (1963) – George Washington McLintock
  • Donovan’s Reef (1963) – Michael Patrick ‘Guns’ Donovan
  • Circus World (1964) – Matt Masters
  • The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) – Centurion (Minor Role)
  • In Harm’s Way (1965) – Capt. Rockwell Torrey
  • The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) – John Elder
  • El Dorado (1966) – Cole Thornton
  • Cast a Giant Shadow (1966) – Gen. Mike Randolph (Cameo)
  • The War Wagon (1967) – Taw Jackson
  • The Green Berets (1968) – Col. Mike Kirby
  • Hellfighters (1968) – Chance Buckman
  • True Grit (1969) – Rooster Cogburn
  • The Undefeated (1969) – Col. John Henry Thomas
  • Rio Lobo (1970) – Col. Cord McNally
  • Big Jake (1971) – Jacob McCandles
  • The Cowboys (1972) – Wil Andersen
  • The Train Robbers (1973) – Lane
  • Cahill U.S. Marshal (1973) – J.D. Cahill
  • McQ (1974) – Det. Lt. Lon McQ
  • Brannigan (1975) – Det. Lt. Jim Brannigan
  • Rooster Cogburn (1975) – Reuben J. ‘Rooster’ Cogburn
  • The Shootist (1976) – J.B. Books

Please note that while John Wayne’s primary film roles ended with “The Shootist” in 1976, a number of documentaries, archival footage compilations, and other projects have been made featuring or referencing him posthumously. This list merges both his traditional film roles and these subsequent appearances or references.

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