Before John Wayne Took on Westerns, He Fought a Sea Monster in This Film

Just about everyone knows that John Wayne is one of the undisputed kings of the Western genre, but before finding stardom as the quintessential American cowboy, he flexed his acting muscles in various roles ranging from romance and horror to action-adventure. In 1942, Wayne portrayed Jack Stuart, the unfortunate captain of a wrecked ship rescued by marine salvage company heiress, Loxi Claiborne (Paulette Goddard), in the swashbuckling film, Reap The Wild Wind, directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film stands apart from John Wayne's usual six-gun stoicism and puts him smack dab in the heart of a rollicking romantic adventure on the high seas as a good guy in need of redemption.