“I Know It Is Not a Popular War”
After acquiring the film rights to the best-selling novel by Robin Moore (1925–2008), The Green Berets, John Wayne (1907–1979) wrote this letter to President Lyndon Johnson (1908–1973) to request Defense Department cooperation in making a film to rally support behind the unpopular Vietnam war. The administration acceded to Wayne’s wishes after he agreed to extensive script changes. Released in mid-1968, the film, characterized by Wayne as “naturally from the hawk’s point of view,” became a box-office success despite critics’ pans.
After acquiring the film rights to the best-selling novel by Robin Moore (1925–2008), <em>The Green Berets</em>, John Wayne (1907–1979) wrote this letter to President Lyndon Johnson (1908–1973) to request Defense Department cooperation in making a film to rally support behind the unpopular Vietnam war. The administration acceded to Wayne’s wishes after he agreed to extensive script changes. Released in mid-1968, the film, characterized by Wayne as “naturally from the hawk’s point of view,” became a box-office success despite critics’ pans.