The Shootist (1976) is a fine western. It was John Wayne's last. It was directed by Don Siegel and had a helluva cast - Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard, James Stewart, Harry Morgan, Richard Boone, Hugh O'Brian, John Carradine, Bill McKinney and Scatman Crothers. I watched it recently for the umpteenth time. It never fails to entertain for all kinds of classic western reasons and for the emotional fact that it was Wayne's final film. It was the perfect finale to his distinguished career.
Here are some quotes from his character, dying gunfighter J. B. Books:
"I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them."
When told he swears too much:
"The hell I do."
To the town Marshal who wants rid of Books:
You're the longest winded bastard I've ever known.
On amateur gunfighters:
"There's always some six-fingered bustard that couldn't hit a cow in the tit with a tin cup. That's the one who usually does you in."
On his approach a gunfight:
"Sometimes it isn't being fast that counts, or even accurate. Most men will draw a breath or blink an eye before they shoot. I won't."
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