John Wayne Once Partied in Shreveport While Making a John Ford Movie

In the not too distant past, Shreveport was a hot bed of film making. Everyone from Kevin Costner to Samuel L. Jackson to Tom Sizemore came to town to make a movie. Some were major motion picture productions, some were small fry independent films. But no matter what they were, they were made here. And, it may again be a filming hot bed if 50 Cent's studio idea takes off.

Now a lot of people think that film making in our area is a recent venture. And, I suppose it is on a large scale. But there have been films and TV shows shot in the area that you may not realize. In fact, did you know "The Duke" John Wayne made a movie in and around Shreveport? And it wasn't just any film...it was a John Ford movie!

John Ford shot his 1959 film "The Horse Soldiers" all over Louisiana and Mississippi (mainly in Natchitoches Parish & Natchez Mississippi) but the film included a stop in Shreveport. The film starred John Wayne and William Holden. And according to co-star Constance Towers, the two Hollywood leading men had quite a time while filming in the area:

They even took an evening off. They cooked up a scheme [claiming that] in the dailies, Duke’s teeth looked discolored. He went into Shreveport with Bill, supposedly to have his teeth cleaned, and, of course, they had a night on the town. The next morning, we’re all waiting for them on location. Off in the distance, you saw this car driving in fast. They stopped, and John and Bill got out, looking like they hadn’t been to bed at all, and Pappy Ford had all the stuntmen lined up to smell their breath.

In fact, there is a photo floating around social media of The Duke and Holden posing for photos with a group of Shreveport Police officers. There's not a lot of details about said photo, but one thing is certain: the Duke and other A-List celebrities were no stranger to Shreveport because back in the day,

The Florentine Supper Club played hosted to several wild parties that featured some big name guests - including the Duke. You can read that history here. In fact, there's a long history of celebrities hanging out (and occasionally getting arrested) in Shreveport - which is pretty awesome to think about.

When you think of western movies and days gone by, the first two names that come to mind are John Ford and John Wayne. And it is kind of awesome that those two made a film together in our neck of the woods. Even if, critically speaking, it wasn't their best outing.