True story. I always hated Bruce Dern. Didn't know exactly why, just didn't like him in anything. Then I saw an interview he gave where he talked about working with Wayne on the film. He said that during their fight scene, Wayne actually beat the hell out of him. Right before shooting the scene where Dern kills Duke, Wayne turned to him and said, "They're gonna hate you for this."
Stop the music record scratch! That's why I always hated Dern! He killed John Wayne! It fit together now. The fact that it felt real enough for me to hate him was testament to his acting, which in this film was excellent. Add in Roscoe Lee Brown's performance as Mr. Nightlinger and some good acting by the kids playing the cowboys and it's a hell of a movie.
" I regret trifling with married women. I'm thoroughly ashamed at cheating at cards. I deplore my occasional departures from the truth. Forgive me for taking your name in vain, my Saturday drunkenness, my Sunday sloth. Above all, forgive me for the men I've killed in anger, and for those I am about to."