I think John Wayne was held up as the epitome of bravery and the American spirit because of his unbelievable charisma and - face it - incredible male beauty. John Ford recognized this in the early 30s and set him up for stardom by his first amazing closeup in “Stagecoach.” Still my favorite closeup in film history - along with the shot of Wayne in “The Searchers” after he visits the sanctuary of women who were raped by Indians.
There was no way a David Niven or Lee Marvin could compete with that image. Lee Marvin is exceptional though, in some of the Duke’s movies. Liberty Valence himself!
It’s interesting to watch Marvin in a number of fifties movies before he became a big star. In westerns like “Seven Men From Now” a Randolph Scott vehicle, Marvin steals many scenes. He was usually a heavy in those films, but he had that something that audiences found appealing. In my mind, that more than just acting ability makes movie stars. Charisma is something that can’t be learned in acting school. Actors either have it, or they don’t.
Marvin was quite good in Donovan’s Reef as well.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}