Steve Schwartz wrote:

>Fans may remember it fondly as the source of a beloved howler: John Wayne
>as a Roman centurion grunting, as only he could, the line "Truly, this
>was the Son of God."

Why is that a howler, Steve? It is taken verbatim from the New Testament
(Matthew 28:54), where it is indeed spoken by a Roman centurion.  Check
your Funk & Wagnalls and you'll be reminded that a howler is a mistake,
especially an embarassing one in speech that provokes laughter.  Therefore
the line would be a "mistake" only asymmetrically, i.e.  if the listener
were a non-believer and disallowed the believer any representation of his
faith.

My favorite Alfred Newman score was to the 1939 "Gunga Din." It was a score
IMO every bit as striking as any of Korngold or Moross, but strangely got
scant recognition at the time.

John Dalmas
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