Good. Neither one would have been right for that.

Gotta be The Quiet Man.

I think Sinatra could have pulled it off. He was pretty good playing that vengeful cop in that episode of Magnum.

I really like Hatari!

Either would have been fine as Dirty Harry. It would just be a very different version, but still just fine.

Lee Marvin would have made a great Harry Callahan. I think James Coburn would have been great too. Steve McQueen of course, if he didn't get cancer.

Thing is, each of these Hollywood tough guys would have played it differently from what they bring to the silver screen, but every one would make it work.

John Wayne is the one I have a hard time really seeing as Harry Callahan, but he was a very good actor in his own right and played his owl style of the strong/silent type. You watch him in "The Searchers" and what is he in that but Harry Callahan. The Vengeance of Hell on wheels with steely eyes and single minded focus. He would need a director to keep him in that dead serious mode from The Searchers, and not take it ironic or comedic at all, but yes... the Duke could have pulled it off. No problemo.

You just wouldn't have lines like "Make my day" or "Do I feel lucky? Well, do you...Punk!"

But the Duke would have had his own memorable lines. Bank on it.

Who's John Wayne?

Well, maybe not the Duke. I guess there is a reason they never made a sequel from McQ or Brannigan.

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I'll throw in my vote for The Cowboys. How can a western with Louis from Revenge of the Nerds as one of the main characters not be at the top of the list?

Heh, Brannigan. That was the one I was trying to think of earlier. For some reason I thought it was a sequel to McQ. They look pretty similar.

Not his biggest fan, but I'd have to go "The Shootist"... he was dying at the time and knew it, he displayed some vulnerability in that one that he never did in others.

Being old and worn out came naturally to him in that one.

A Mule for Sister Sara.

What about the other one?

He needs a few more dollars.

I think why I liked Big Jake so much was Dick Boone. That guy was one of my favorite all time bad guys. And near the top of my list for westerns was Paul Newman and Dick Boone in Hombre.

Why? He was a horrible actor. He was always just John Wayne. Even when he was Gengis Khan he was still saying Pilgrim to everyone. He had less range than one of those cork popguns with the string on them.