Most movie stars toward the end of their careers have already made their best films. This was true of John Wayne, most of whose films after True Grit in 1968 were routine potboilers. However Wayne’s last film, The Shootist from 1976, was excellent and about as good as any he ever made. I’m glad he got to go out on a high note.

I first saw this beautiful, elegiac film in the theater in Birmingham, Alabama in 1976 with my three cousins, the Swindall boys: Pete, Butch and Mike. Many years later I had a copy of it on laser disc but I sold on ebay or gave away to my brother David all my laser discs several years ago so I haven’t been able to watch this film since then.

It is on DVD but I don’t want to settle for an ordinary DVD of this film. The Shootist is special for me and deserving of only the best so I’m going to keep waiting for a Blu Ray version to come out. Lots of John Wayne films are being released these days on Blu Ray so hopefully I won’t have much longer to wait. 

I first saw the 27″ x 41″ standard one-sheet size version of this wonderfully designed poster in a comic book / movie memorablia store named the Fantasy Castle in Tarzana, California in the early 1980s. I bought there that day four insert size posters of The Alamo, Shane, The Big Country and The Far Country so I couldn’t afford The Shootist that day.

 So all these years since then I’ve searched ebay and Bruce Hershenson’s internet auctions waiting for a rolled poster (non-creased) of The Shootist to show up. Finally a week ago this high grade rolled insert size 14″ x 36″ poster showed up in a Hershenson auction and I got it for about $180.00. I just got it back today from Ocean Art in Virginia Beach who does all my poster framing. The Ocean Art folks picked out nice matching matte colors and a wooden frame that matches the Western motif of the poster. It’s hanging proudly now in my poster gallery and I’m sure I’ll have it until the end of time.