70 years ago, John Wayne was blackmailed into making this adventure film: “Either you star, or I’m out”

Once, in one of his films, John Wayne was blackmailed – both to fire the main actor and for him to take on the role himself! I’m talking about Bloody Route, which tells the story of Tom Wildera ship captain who spends two years in a Chinese prison. One day, he manages to escape, but is forced to transport almost 200 people from a small town to Hong Kong so they can regain their freedom.

Goodbye, Mitchum

Based on the novel by Albert Sidney Fleischman, who also wrote the screenplay, Bloody Road was originally conceived to have Robert Mitchum as the protagonist and Wayne as producer. However, director William A. Wellman was not happy with Mitchum’s attitude.

Aissa Wayne, daughter of the western icon, revealed this in the book John Wayne: My Father: “He said Mitchum drank all night, slept soundly, and didn’t answer his alarm clocks in the morning, making life impossible for the cast and crew. As producer, my father tried to resolve the situation, but one day Mitchum stormed off the set and said he couldn’t work for Wellman. Wellman insisted that my father take the lead role.”

The director gave Wayne an ultimatum: “It’s either Mitchum, or it’s me. Either you star in the movie, or I’m out.” There was an additional problem: Wayne was on his honeymoon with Pillar Pallete. For now, Wayne accepted Wellman’s first demand and fired Mitchum, but the second remained unresolved.

The actor tried to call Gregory Peck, who refused, and Humphrey Bogart, who demanded a minimum of $500,000 to accept the role. He was out of options: he had no choice but to star in the film to avoid it being canceled at the last minute. Everyone except him was happy, but the actor never worked with Wellman again.

Bloody Road was finally released in October 1955 and can hardly be considered a success, as it grossed just $2.2 million in US theaters on an estimated budget of $2 million.

Wayne, at least, achieved something positive, as he was so impressed with Lauren Bacall’s talent that, years later, he wanted to work with her again in The Last Gunman, the last film of his acting career.