At age 36, John Wayne's grandson Brendan has finally found his way to the western genre via a pair of 1870's tales.
By FilmStew Staff, FilmStew.com
The short film prospectus screening Wednesday, May 7th at the National Theater in Graham, Texas wasn't just any old short film prospectus. For one thing, the cast of this 37-minute western teaser features Parisse Boothe, daughter of actor Powers Boothe, and Brendan Wayne, grandson of John Wayne. For another, Mouth of Caddo: The Legend of Hell's Gate is being presented by someone who knew the Duke personally.
""I've known Brendan's mother," 76-year-old one-time stuntman Dean Smith tells the Mineral Wells Index. "I knew his dad and I knew his grandfather, John Wayne. Duke helped me, I'm trying to help these young producers."
Among Smith's credits are the Wayne films True Grit, Rio Bravo and El Dorado. As recently as 2006, he was the stunt coordinator on another western, Comanche Station.
The story behind Mouth of Caddo is that which gave Possum Kingdom Lake's famous landmark (Hell's Gate) its name. It involves three outlaws in the 1870's, some Comanche Indians and at least one innocent man caught in the middle. With the help of Smith and others, writer, director and co-star Tanner Beard hopes to turn Caddo into a feature-length film for 2009 release.
Brendan Wayne is also part of the cast of Chinaman's Chance, another western set in the 1870's starring Sean Connery's son Jason. Wayne's other credits include guest starring on episodes of CSI, The Closer, Cold Case and Angel.
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