The Infamous Cigarette Toss

Smoking may be bad for you, but it's even worse for bad guys--particularly when John Wayne stops smoking. Wayne perfected the cigarette toss, which says more than words. When he throws that half-smoked butt into the dusty street, his meaning is clear: "I've had enough!" And as film-goers, we know that someone is about to get their comeuppance--whether from a punch in the jaw or a bullet from a six-shooter. Although Wayne tosses ciggies in disgust in countless movies, the first time he does it (that we can find) is in Angel and the Badman, one of his finest performances. In the scene below, Wayne has called out Laredo Stevens, a villain who's waiting just on the other side of the saloon's swinging doors...