Best 103 quotes of John Wayne on MyQuotes

All battles are fought by scared men who'd rather be some place else.

A long time ago, I made me a rule. I let people do what they want to do.

A man deserves a second chance, but keep an eye on him.

A man's got to have a code, a creed to live by, no matter his job.

A man's got to do what a man's got to do.

America is the land of freedom and that’s the way I enjoy living.

Any man who'd make an X-rated movie ought to have to take his daughter to see it.

But don't get me wrong. As far as a man and a woman is concerned, I'm awfully happy there's a thing called sex. It's an extra something God gave us. I see no reason why it shouldn't be in pictures. Healthy, lusty sex is wonderful.

But you know, I'm very conscious that people criticize Hollywood. Yet we've created a form, the Western, that can be understood in every country. The good guys against the bad guys. No nuances. And the horse is the best vehicle of action in our medium. You take action, a scene, and scenery, and cut them together, and you never miss.

Communism is quite obviously still a threat. Yes, they are human beings, with a right to their point of view . . .

Contrary to what people think, I'm no politician, and when I have something to say I say it through my movies.

Courage is being afraid and going on the journey anyhow.

courage is being scared to death - and saddling up anyway" "A goal, A love and A dream give you total control over your body and your life

Courage is being scared to death... and saddling up anyway.

Don't ever for a minute make the mistake of looking down your nose at westerns. They're art - the good ones, I mean. They deal in life and sudden death and primitive struggle, and with the basic emotions - love, hate, and anger - thrown in. We'll have westerns films as long as the cameras keep turning. The fascination that the Old West has will never die. And as long as people want to pay money to see me act, I'll keep on making westerns until the day I die.

Every country in the world loved the folklore of the West--the music, the dress, the excitement, everything that was associated with the opening of a new territory. It took everybody out of their own little world. The cowboy lasted a hundred years, created more songs and prose and poetry than any other folk figure. The closest thing was the Japanese samurai. Now, I wonder who'll continue it.

General MacArthur told me, "You represent the American serviceman better than the American serviceman himself.

Get off your horse and drink your milk.

Getting rid of a man without hurting his masculinity is a problem. "Get out" and "I never want to see you again" might sound like a challenge. If you want to get rid of a man, I suggest saying, "I love you. . . . I want to marry you. . . . I want to have your children." Sometimes they leave skid marks.

Give the American people a good cause, and there's nothing they can't lick.

Government has no wealth, and when a politician promises to give you something for nothing, he must first confiscate that wealth from you -- either by direct taxes, or by the cruelly indirect tax of inflation.

Healthy, lusty sex is wonderful.

I am an old-fashioned, honest-to-goodness, flag waving patriot.

I believe humor nullifies violence.

I believe in white supremacy, until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don't believe giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people ... I don't feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from [the Native Americans] ... Our so-called stealing of this country from them was just a matter of survival. There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.

I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to the point of responsibility. I don`t believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people.

I didn't vote for him, but he's my President, and I hope he does a good job.

I'd like to know why well-educated idiots keep apologizing for lazy and complaining people who think the world owes them a living.

I don't feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them. There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.

I don't want ever to appear in a film that would embarrass a viewer. A man can take his wife, mother, and his daughter to one of my movies and never be ashamed or embarrassed for going.

I drink for comradeship, and when I drink for comradeship, I don't bother to keep count.

I eat as much as I ever did, I drink more than I should, and my sex life is none of your goddamned business.

If everything isn't black and white, I say, 'Why the hell not?'

If I depended on the critics' judgment and recognition, I'd never have gone into the motion-picture business.

I figured I needed a gimmick, so I dreamed up this drawl, the squint and a way of moving meant to suggest that I wasn’t looking for trouble but would just as soon throw a bottle at your head as not. I practiced in front of a mirror.

If you can't be thankful for what you have, be thankful for what you have escaped.

I have found a certain type calls himself a Liberal...Now I always thought I was a Liberal. I came up terribly surprised one time when I found out that I was a Right-Wing Conservative Extremist, when I listened to everybody's point of view that I ever met, and then decided how I should feel. But this so-called new Liberal group, Jesus, they never listen to your point of view.

I have tried to live my life so that my family would love me and my friends respect me. The others can do whatever the hell they please.

I'm a greedy old man. Life's been good to me, and I want some more of it.

I'm sure we can talk things out like civilized people.

In my acting, I have to identify with something in the character. The big tough boy on the side of right - that's me. Simple themes. Same me from the nuances. All I do is sell sincerity and I've been selling the hell out of that ever since I started.

I play John Wayne in every part regardless of the character, and I've been doing okay, haven't I?

I read someplace that I used to make B-pictures. Hell, they were a lot farther down the alphabet than that . . . but not as far down as R and X. I think any man who makes an X-rated picture ought to be made to take his own daughter to see it.

I stick to simple themes. Love. Hate. No nuances. I stay away from psychoanalyst's couch scenes. Couches are good for one thing.

It rankles me when somebody tries to force somebody to do something.

It's kind of a sad thing when a normal love of country makes you a super patriot. I do think we have a pretty wonderful country, and I thank God that He chose me to live here.

I've always followed my father's advice: he told me, first to always keep my word and, second, to never insult anybody unintentionally. If I insult you, you can be goddamn sure I intend to. And, third, he told me not to go around looking for trouble.

I've had three wives, six children and six grandchildren and I still don't understand women

I want to play a real man in all my films, and I define manhood simply: men should be tough, fair, and courageous, never petty, never looking for a fight, but never backing down from one either.

I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.