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DVD McQ
After turning down the role of Dirty Harry, John Wayne made up for lost time by starring in this pretty-good 1974 police drama. Shot on location in a gritty pre-Microsoft Seattle, McQ finds John Wayne butting heads with fellow cops and local crime elements as he investigates the murder of a fellow cop and friend. Wayne is obviously a bit long-in-tooth to be taking on this kind of role, but the script allows for some decent character development, including Colleen Dewhurst in a brief but memorable role as a washed-up barmaid, and the action sequences by veteran director John Sturges still hold up well. For anyone who cares, a key drug-heist sequence was shot in the hospital that now houses Amazon.com's Seattle headquarters. --Kristian St. Clair
"Look McQ, on the force or off, you are bad news..."
I guess ones enjoyment of the film McQ (1974) is based largely on ones being able to accept a John Wayne aka Marion Michael Morrison in a role one would normally expect see a much younger actor in (Wayne was pushing 70 at the time), perhaps a Clint Eastwood or Steve McQueen. I was a bit skeptical at first, and maybe the fit never felt complete to me, but even for a man as on in the years as he was, I think Wayne did well, and the movie ended up being a lot of fun in a slightly cockeyed sort of way. Written by Lawrence Roman (A Kiss Before Dying), the movie was directed by Hollywood veteran John Sturges (Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape). Starring is, as I mentioned, John Wayne (Rio Lobo, Brannigan), along with Eddie Albert (The Longest Yard, The Devil's Rain), Diana Muldaur ("McCloud"), and Colleen Dewhurst (The Dead Zone). Also appearing is Clu Gulager (The Return of the Living Dead), David Huddleston (The Big Lebowski), Jim Watkins (Cool Breeze), Julie Adams (Creature from the Black Lagoon), Roger E. Mosley ("Magnum, P.I."), and Al Lettieri, a man who made a career out of playing `heavies' in such films as The Godfather (1972), The Getaway (1972), and Mr. Majestyk (1974) before his untimely death in 1975.
As the film, set in Seattle, begins its open season on the police as two cops are shot dead by a mysterious gunman in the quiet moments of the early morning. Not only that, but the original mysterious gunman is then shot in the back by another mysterious gunman...what the hell's going on? Turns out one of the men shot was Sgt. Stan Boyle, close friend of Detective Lt. Lon McQ (Wayne), who also had an attempt on his life the very same morning (the would be killer got blasted). Captain Kosterman (Albert) believes the violence is related to dirty, longhaired, radical, hippy militants, but McQ thinks the recent spate of bloodshed leads back to a local businessman named Manny Santiago (Lettieri), who everyone knows is actually the source for illegal drugs in the Seattle area. After butting heads one too many times with his boss, the obstinate Kosterman (the latest tussle over a bathroom beating McQ gave Santiago in a restaurant), McQ quits the force and decides to continue the investigation by becoming a private investigator, but guess what? Without the juice of the detective's shield, McQ's network of sleazy, underworld contacts (snitches) dries up (welcome to the private sector), and the information he wants becomes very expensive, but the leads do come, many of which point to a place he doesn't want to go...
Was this Wayne's attempt to stay relevant with the popular cinematic themes of the time? I'd say yes, as the film seems something of an amalgam of previously released `cops who play by their own rules' movies like Bullitt (1968), starring Steve McQueen, and Dirty Harry (1971), starring Clint Eastwood...perhaps this was meant to be a Dirty Harry for the geriatric set? I don't know, but Wayne did look slightly uncomfortable, especially when the jive talk started flyin', most of it provided by the streetwise snitch Rosey, played by Mosley..."What choo gonna do? Go fist city on me?" Also, he did look a little out of place speeding around in a souped up Trans Am, one that had a whole lot of junk in the trunk (damn shame what they did to that car)...and check out the scene with McQ in the disco, looking for his snitch...talk about sticking out like a sore thumb...but, despite these aspects, I felt Wayne gave it an excellent effort, showing the professionalism and experience that made him the film icon he is...the weakest element, in my opinion, was the story itself, which seemed mostly borrowed from other movies, despite the inclusion of some interesting twists, like Santiago and his plan to steal from the police. I thought the red herring element a little too obvious (especially within the character played by Eddie Albert), but I truly wasn't sure who was involved until just prior the revelation. The roguish, divorced (his ex couldn't compete with his devotion to duty) police detective investigating the death of someone close to him, unable to acquiesce to a seemingly ambivalent higher ups, slams his shield down to work the case on his own (he does, in fact, have a good relationship with his ex-wife, which goes against the cinematic norm). By the way, McQ sure seemed to draw the ladies...sad when a character from a movie in his twilight years gets more action than I do...Who's the white private d!ck that's a sex machine to all the chicks? McQ! Can you dig it? You damn right! The strengths lie in the strong direction and also the solid acting, especially within the supporting cast. Director Sturges creates an uncomplicated sense of flow, keeping the story moving along, using the backdrop of Seattle very well. Some parts that would normally seem slow (character development) are kept afloat by better than average performances by Watkins, Muldaur and Dewhurst, who, incidentally, doesn't do any skag. I liked the hot pursuit car chase sequences (there were three) not because they were car chase sequences, but thoughtfully done, well-planned, professionally shot, highly exciting car chase sequences. The one near the end was really pretty cool, as the participants raced on the beach, splashing seawater all over (no seagulls were harmed in the making of this movie)...and if you ever had a jones to see John Wayne fire a Ingram 9mm automatic weapon, then this is the movie for you. Are there better John Wayne movies out there? You bet, but even a lesser effort from The Duke is better than a lot of the stuff out there...oh, I almost forgot to mention the `waka-cha waka-cha' musical score by Elmer Bernstein...it is definitely dated, but fun nonetheless...
The picture on this DVD, presented in widescreen anamorphic (2.35:1), is clear, sharp, and the colors vibrant. The Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio comes through well, and there are English subtitles. Special features include a featurette titled McQ: John Wayne in Action, along with a series of trailers of other films featuring The Duke including Tall in the Saddle (1944), Fort Apache (1948), Blood Alley (1955), The Sea Chase (1955), The Train Robbers (1973), Cahill: United States Marshall (1973), and one for this film.
Cookieman108
I couldn't diasgree more - Duke is great as a cop!
The Duke owns the screen, the script is serviceable - Bullitt's script had huge holes and wasn't perfect either - Elmer Bernstein's music is super-groovy, and there's plenty of action. But I can't stress this enough - Duke chews the scenery, even though his performance is understated. It's called presence. If you think of John Wayne as a one trick pony, there's a few tricks up this old horse's sleeve and McQ allows him to show 'em off.
Good action-movie for the time
One of the best action-movies of the 70:s. Diana Muldaur is great as always!
I always find this movie a little sad to watch, I guess because John Wayne looks so old and almost feeble here. This is a much different role from the "Cowboys," where he consciously played an old man. This is the kind of movie he should have made five or ten years earlier. In addition, the plot itself is so feeble that if John Wayne and Ben Johnson weren't in it, no one would watch it. Still I feel an obligation to watch it whenever it's on, perhaps out of loyalty to the Duke for all the great movies he made. Even at age 66, he still had an undeniable presence that transcended the quality of a particualr movie. (And Ann Margret's not bad to look at either!) More Info about this DVD Actor(s): John Wayne - Ann-Margret Director(s): Burt Kennedy DVD Release Date: Released the 03 May 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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John Wayne personally produced many of his '50s films, which is why some of them have languished in corporate limbo following his death. The High and the Mighty was one of his most popular vehicles (no pun intended). This long, necessarily sedentary drama aboard an endangered airliner is a CinemaScope bridge between 1932's Grand Hotel and 1970s disaster movies. Despite Wayne's iconic presence as a pilot--now copilot--who survived the plane crash that wiped out his family, it's an ensemble movie with an impressive cast: Robert Stack sharing the cockpit, Oscar® nominees Claire Trevor and Jan Sterling, Laraine Day, Robert Newton, Paul Kelly, John Qualen, Regis Toomey, the ubiquitous Paul Fix, and director William A. Wellman's good-luck character actor Douglas Fowley.... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): John Wayne - Claire Trevor - Laraine Day Director(s): William A. Wellman DVD Release Date: Released the 02 August 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Fortunately, John Wayne had two vastly more interesting feature films (Rooster Cogburn and The Shootist) left in him following this disposable, leaden 1975 fish-out-of-water story. Wayne phones in his performance as a Chicago cop, Jim Brannigan, whose hunt for a fugitive in London is mostly an excuse for cross-cultural conflicts and comedy. Richard Attenborough adds local color as a Scotland Yard detective who partners with the Duke, and Judy Geeson plays a lovely, liberated constable who won't brook Brannigan's ingrained sexism. The by-the-numbers script is more pacifying for diehard Wayne fans than exciting to everyone, and the film looks embarrassingly ornamental with its naked display of touristy backdrops. Still, Brannigan is a slick tribute to the staying power... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): John Wayne - Richard Attenborough Director(s): Douglas Hickox DVD Release Date: Released the 02 October 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Out of circulation for a quarter-century following the death of producer-star John Wayne, Island in the Sky is a tale of survival focused on the pilot (Wayne) and crew of a DC-3 forced to crashland somewhere in the uncharted Canadian wilderness, and the fellow airmen (Lloyd Nolan, James Arness, Andy Devine, Paul Fix) determined to find them before hunger and the 70-below winter do them in. The movie, set in the post-WWII era when military and commercial aviation were still intertwined, was written by bestselling novelist Ernest K. Gann and directed by William A. Wellman, an aviation-movie veteran whose Wings won the first-ever Academy Award (1927–28).
Wellman resolutely downplays the histrionics and conventional heroics; Wayne indulges in none of the macho... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): John Wayne - Lloyd Nolan Director(s): William A. Wellman DVD Release Date: Released the 02 August 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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