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Western movie star John Wayne and classic Hollywood actor Lauren Bacall combined their efforts for 1976’s The Shootist. The film required them to demonstrate a certain uneasy chemistry that blossoms over the course of the runtime. However, Bacall had a real issue with how Wayne couldn’t stop spitting on the set, which really got on the actor’s last nerve.

‘The Shootist’ actors John Wayne and Lauren Bacall worked together once before

'The Shootist' Lauren Bacall as Bond Rogers and John Wayne as J.B. Books in a black-and-white picture, smiling next to each other in costume.
L-R: Lauren Bacall as Bond Rogers and John Wayne as J.B. Books | Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

Wayne personally recommended hiring Bacall for The Shootist after they worked together on 1955’s Blood Alley. It tells the story of Capt. Tom Wilder (Wayne) after Chinese Communists capture his ship. Meanwhile, Bacall plays Cathy Grainger, a medical missionary’s daughter.

The Shootist follows an older gunfighter named J.B. Books (Wayne), who has an infamous reputation that precedes him. However, his whole world falls apart when he discovers that he has cancer and not much longer to live. Books seeks out a room to rent from a widow named Bond Rogers (Bacall) and her son, Gillom (Ron Howard).

Books simply wants to die with peace and dignity, refusing to tell anybody around him about his diagnosis. Nevertheless, the people around him continue to confront him with varying motives. Meanwhile, Rogers doesn’t want a “shootist” like Books around in her home. Books still manages to strike a deep relationship with the widow and her son, using his final days to make a difference.

Lauren Bacall complained that John Wayne kept spitting on her hemline

The Shootist director Don Siegel wrote a book called A Siegel Film: An Autobiography, which expanded on the working relationship between Bacall and Wayne. She impressed him with her talent, but he didn’t always have the proper manners and professionalism that she expected. As a result, she complained to Siegel directly about his behavior, which had her calling him a “big slob.”

Siegel recalled that she had a fire in her eyes when he met up with her. “If that big slob spits on my hemline once more, I’ll crack his head wide open with a two-by-four,” Bacall said.

The director tried to make light of the situation and joke about it, but she was in no such mood. “Don’t get funny with me,” Bacall responded. “I’m in no mood to banter words with you.”

Siegel tried to compare the situation to baseball etiquette, demonstrating how normal it is to spit. Bacall laughed, emphasizing that reasoning wouldn’t work on her.

“Seriously, Duke doesn’t know he’s doing it,” Siegel said. “He’ll feel ashamed when I tell him. I promise not that he won’t spit, but that he won’t spit on you or near you.”

Bacall thanked him for agreeing to do something about it.

‘The Shootist’ was John Wayne’s final movie

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Wayne and Bacall only starred in Blood Alley and The Shootist together, but they demonstrated a superb level of chemistry. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the opportunity to collaborate again, as the Western was the final performance of his career. His health declined to the point where he couldn’t continue his career, ultimately dying from stomach cancer on June 11, 1979.

Meanwhile, Bacall continued acting over the years between television and feature films. Misery and Dogville are just a couple of the movie titles that she starred in, with her final performance being in 2012’s The Forger. She died from a massive stroke on Aug. 12, 2014.

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