John Wayne Almost Starred in a Western with Famous French Comedians 50 Years Ago!

Could John Wayne and Les Charlots have ever shared the screen? Indeed, it almost happened! The year was 1975, Wayne had just finished filming the Western “Rooster Cogburn,” and Les Charlots had completed “From Hong Kong with Love,” showcasing them as James Bond-esque secret agents. Their producer, Christian Fechner, conceived the idea of bringing the comedic quartet together to star in a Western, and who better to join them than the genre’s leading star.

John Wayne had agreed to the film, titled “Les Charlots Go West,” and the plot is known. The iconic actor from “The Searchers” was to play a rancher who needed to transport cattle. The story unfolds further as Jean-Guy Fechner, a member of Les Charlots, explains in the documentary “Les Charlots, Intimate” by Maxime Delavant:

“However, bandits wanting to seize his farm prevent his real cowboys from accompanying him. He goes to the local saloon and ends up with a group of total misfits: a poker cheat (Rinaldi), a phony preacher (Phil), a guy who thinks he’s a hitman but can’t shoot (Jean), and a deserter from the Confederate army who has been looting. None of them are actual cowboys.”

“Each of them is wanted and pursued by various people, so they have to contend with the villains who want to steal the farm, cross Indian territory, and deal with those chasing the preacher because he got a girl pregnant, the fake hitman because he’s believed to have killed someone, the gambler because he’s swindled people, and the looter for his thefts.”

Driven by their producer Christian Fechner, Les Charlots were trying at the time to break into the American and Commonwealth markets, where their films, dubbed in English, were not making any headway. After learning English for “From Hong Kong with Love,” they were ready to work with John Wayne and were set to follow that with a film starring Louis de Funès.

However, due to financial and artistic reasons (including Fechner’s refusal to direct the comedy group in Bertrand Blier’s “Charlots Charlottes”), Gérard Rinaldi, Gérard Filipelli, and Jean Sarrus decided to split from the group, leaving Jean-Guy Fechner by his brother Christian’s side. Thus, Les Charlots were down to three members and continued their careers independently, and their planned film with John Wayne remained an unfulfilled dream…