Made me think of this story from Dick Cavett at his name-dropping best:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/awesome-and-then-some/

During a chance encounter, Cavett shares a quiet moment with Wayne and catches him humming Noel Coward. Later he tells the story to Woody Allen, who remarks, “It reminds you that he’s an actor, not a cowboy.”

[1] Interesting: "How could I ever hope to find myself standing beside the star of “Sands of Iwo Jima,” seen five times by Jimmy McConnell and me in our Nebraska youth? (Later, we’d “play” the movie, taking turns being The Duke, our bikes standing in for horses.)"

Um, Iwo Jima was a WWII movie, not a Western. There were no horses on that God-forsaken island.

For my money (limited though it may be), this was Wayne's best (even better than the Searchers). Although the final shot of the latter is "classic" this was a better movie all around. Great quote and observation from Matt!

Like those painters, Ford could fill a frame with so much meaning and resonance.