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Established by war's end as a major star, Wayne further defined his image acting in films directed by Ford and Howard Hawks, his best known work from the postwar period being the so-called “Cavalry Trilogy” for Ford – ''Fort Apache'' (1948)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040369/]; ''She Wore A Yellow Ribbon'' (1949)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041866/]; ''Rio Grande'' (1950)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042895/] – in which Wayne played calvary officers in the Old West, with ''Yellow Ribbon'' being interesting in which Wayne plays a colonel facing his own sunset.  Indeed, his films with Ford show an honor of the mythological aspects of the Old West, yet in many ways undermines it.  In his critically-acclaimed ''The Searchers'' (1956)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049730/] Wayne's character is obsessed with the search for his niece kidnapped by renegade Commanches, but his heroism is negated by his bigotry of the Indians to the point he is willing to kill his niece upon learning she had become an Indian.  Wayne would again visit a darker version of the western in Ford's ''The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance'' (1962)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056217/], in which the philosophy related to “truth vs. legend” is severely questioned.  But he also did several other, albiet non-western, films for Ford, among them the sentimental favorite ''The Quiet Man'' (1952)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045061/], in which he plays a Pittsburgh steel worker who returns to his boyhood home in [[Ireland]]; his screen pairing with close friend Maureen O'Hara is among the classics in romantic film.  

Established by war's end as a major star, Wayne further defined his image acting in films directed by Ford and Howard Hawks, his best known work from the postwar period being the so-called “Cavalry Trilogy” for Ford – ''Fort Apache'' (1948)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040369/]; ''She Wore A Yellow Ribbon'' (1949)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041866/]; ''Rio Grande'' (1950)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042895/] – in which Wayne played calvary officers in the Old West, with ''Yellow Ribbon'' being interesting in which Wayne plays a colonel facing his own sunset.  Indeed, his films with Ford show an honor of the mythological aspects of the Old West, yet in many ways undermines it.  In his critically-acclaimed ''The Searchers'' (1956)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049730/] Wayne's character is obsessed with the search for his niece kidnapped by renegade Commanches, but his heroism is negated by his bigotry of the Indians to the point he is willing to kill his niece upon learning she had become an Indian.  Wayne would again visit a darker version of the western in Ford's ''The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance'' (1962)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056217/], in which the philosophy related to “truth vs. legend” is severely questioned.  But he also did several other, albiet non-western, films for Ford, among them the sentimental favorite ''The Quiet Man'' (1952)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045061/], in which he plays a Pittsburgh steel worker who returns to his boyhood home in [[Ireland]]; his screen pairing with close friend Maureen O'Hara is among the classics in romantic film.  

His films with Howard Hawks differed in some degree from Ford's, but featured Wayne in the role of an individual who intends to do his duty against overwhelming odds.  In ''Red River'' (1948)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040724/], Wayne plays a cattle baron determined to complete a drive despite the growing antagonism between himself and his adopted son; Wayne's character is shown as a megalomaniac who's attempt at total control causes a loss of control, resulting in another criticaly-acclaimed performance.  Among his perssonal favorites, Wayne thought so much of this film that the image of the D-Bar Ranch brand penned into the dirt in the final scene would be crafted into a belt buckle he would wear in many of his later films.

His films with Howard Hawks differed in some degree from Ford's, but featured Wayne in the role of an individual who intends to do his duty against overwhelming odds.  In ''Red River'' (1948)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040724/], Wayne played a cattle baron determined to complete a drive despite the growing antagonism between himself and his adopted son; Wayne's character is shown as a megalomaniac who's attempt at total control causes a loss of control, resulting in another criticaly-acclaimed performance.  Among his personal favorites, Wayne thought so much of this film that the image of the D-Bar Ranch brand penned into the dirt in the final scene would be crafted into a belt buckle he would wear in many of his later films.

''Rio Bravo'' (1959)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053221/] would be his next film with Hawks, in which Wayne played a sheriff holding a man who's cohorts are determined to get him out of jail; the resolute stand Wayne's character made was his (and Hawks') response to the weak-willed characters portrayed in ''High Noon'' (1952)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044706/], which both saw as an example of cowardice in the face of adversity, which was especially telling during the [[Cold War]].  Although ''Rio Bravo'' was not a box office hit at the time of release, it has since been considered a classic of the genre; Hawks would remake the film with Wayne twice, as ''El Dorado'' (1967)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061619/], and ''Rio Lobo'' (1970)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066301/])

''Rio Bravo'' (1959)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053221/] would be his next film with Hawks, in which Wayne played a sheriff holding a man who's cohorts are determined to get him out of jail; the resolute stand Wayne's character made was his (and Hawks') response to the weak-willed characters portrayed in ''High Noon'' (1952)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044706/], which both saw as an example of cowardice in the face of adversity, which was especially telling during the [[Cold War]].  Although ''Rio Bravo'' was not a box office hit at the time of release, it has since been considered a classic of the genre; Hawks would remake the film with Wayne twice, as ''El Dorado'' (1967)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061619/], and ''Rio Lobo'' (1970)[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066301/])