Change Your Image
ejgreen77
Reviews
McQ (1974)
"I feel kind of silly, acting like an avenging angel all that time"
Whenever I watch McQ, two things always stand out to me. First, John Wayne always gets criticized for copying Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry with both of his "cop" films, McQ and Brannigan. And it's always commonly said that the Duke was "too old" to play a cop. But, I've always disagreed with that line of thinking. Remember, Dean Martin had his Matt Helm series going on at Columbia in the late 60's, and Frank Sinatra had his Tony Rome series over at Fox at the same time. Later on, Robert Mitchum would play Chandler's Philip Marlowe in two films. All those guys were definitely in the Duke's age bracket, and I think they were what Duke had on his mind when he decided to make a detective movie, not Eastwood.
The second thing I've always noticed is what no one has mentioned here so far (and I'm a bit surprised nobody has mentioned it), that even if you count films like The Long Voyage Home and The Cowboys, McQ may very well be the most depressing movie John Wayne ever made. Think about it; at the end of the film Lon McQ's best friend and partner (William Bryant) is revealed to be a drug dealer in league with many other crooked city officials, the friend's wife (Diana Muldaur) is revealed to have been in the scheme with him, McQ's wife (Julie Adams) has gone on the "women's lib" movement and divorced him and married another man, his daughter (Kim Sanford) would rather hang out with her friends then spend time with her father, McQ's so-called "friends" Kosterman (Eddie Albert) and J.C. (Jim Watkins) have been using their personal friendship to spy on him with the intent of arresting him for the drug ring's crimes.
In other words, everyone and everything in this film is a complete and total S.O.B. - except for Lon McQ. He stands alone against the corruption and moral relevancy in his colleagues and friends all around him. The straight and narrow way is usually hard, and Lon McQ certainly has his share of troubles, both professional and personal, throughout the film.
The two scenes in this film that really stand out to me are, first and foremost, the Duke's encounter with druggie lowlife Colleen Dewhurst, who he is trying to get some information from. The Duke is his usual professional self, but Colleen Dewhurst really shines here. Had this been anything but a Batjac film, she would probably have gotten a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance here, she's really great. And once again, Duke proves what a generous actor he was. John Ford taught him on the set of Stagecoach that good supporting performances make the star look even better, and it was a lesson he took to heart. All of his costars throughout his long career always said that he never once "counted minutes" or worried about being upstaged by his co-stars. Maureen O'Hara said in her autobiography that his view was always that if you wanted steal a scene from him, go ahead and try to do it; and if you succeeded, more power to you. Here, he underplays his scenes with Dewhurst magnificently, allowing her to deliver the acting goods.
The second scene occurs when Wayne confronts Diana Muldaur in her car as she is about to drive out of town to meet her lover (Clu Gulager) and skip town. Muldaur is driving the car and Wayne is sitting in the passenger's seat. When he confronts her about her and her husband's involvement in the drug ring, and finds the drugs hidden in a suitcase in the back seat of her car, she becomes angry, and goes into a completely post-modern, morally relativistic speech, trying to justify her actions. The Duke's facial expressions during her angry diatribe are worth millions. The hurt, pain, frustration, disappointment, and anguish in that close-up are the stuff aspiring actors would kill to have. Just for comparison (as people seem to love to compare the Duke's cop movies to Eastwood's, though as I said, I don't know why), there is no way in the world Eastwood at that point in his career could have played that scene anywhere nearly as effectively as Duke. Once again, the folks who say the Duke couldn't act are proved wrong by a country mile.
As I said before, I think that this is probably the most depressing movie in the Duke's filmography. I remember the first time I watched this, and I don't ever remember feeling so down after watching a Duke movie. Interestingly enough, I mentioned Frank Sinatra earlier in this review, he also ran into a similar problem earlier in his career. In 1967 he made Tony Rome, a lighthearted Rat Pack detective romp that was a hit for him. He followed it up the next year with The Detective, a serious drama dealing with political corruption in the New York City Police Department. Like the Duke's film here, the serious film flopped, so Sinatra went back to playing Tony Rome again in Lady in Cement. Well, the Duke must have taken his cue from Sinatra, because the very next year, he starred in Brannigan, another detective movie with a much more lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek tone.
Once again, I have to give credit to the Duke for trying something this different this late in his career, he really hadn't done anything like this since Big Jim McLain in 1952. Unfortunately, I think the story was just too much of a downer for his fans to accept. Thankfully, he learned his lesson here and next year come out with Brannigan, which took itself far less seriously then McQ.
Legend of the Lost (1957)
Wayne, Loren, and Brazzi; Lost in the Desert
Legend of the Lost is a film that could have been pretty good, but was destroyed because of the lack of chemistry between the leads, John Wayne and Sophia Loren. They don't relate or react to each other at all, and every "intimate" scene between them seems forced.
On the bright side, you have cinematographer Jack Cardiff's gorgeous on-location Technirama cinematography. The deserts of Libya never looked so good. And the script by Ben Hecht was actually quite good.
But Legend of the Lost is a member of an entire genre (or sub-genre) of films that might best be called "Two-person Films." That is, the entire film centers on two or three characters that are somehow isolated from society and exist on their own in some desolate or deserted place. John Huston was a master of this genre, and his films The African Queen and Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison may very well be the best examples of the genre. Unfortunately for Legend of the Lost, this type of film mandates that there be great chemistry between the leads, or the whole film breaks down. Look at the great chemistry between Bogart and Hepburn in The African Queen and the great chemistry between Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr in Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison. This is where Legend of the Lost begins to come apart. Wayne was an actor who was legendary for his ability to relate to his leading ladies on screen. Throughout his six decade long career, he played opposite a wide variety of actresses (from Jean Arthur to Marlene Dietrich to Lauren Bacall to Katharine Hepburn) and was able to light up the screen with just about all of them. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the chemistry between him and Loren just wasn't there. In hindsight, of course, its easy enough to clamor for Maureen O'Hara (who had done similar roles in the many "Arabian Knights" type adventure films she had spent most of the 40's doing), but I do give Wayne credit for taking a chance on the then almost unknown Loren. Unfortunately, things just didn't work out.
Veteran director Henry Hathaway directed Legend of the Lost, and after its failure placed most of the blame on Loren, saying something to the effect that she was gorgeous to look at, but wasn't a very good actress. Although he might have had a point, Hathaway was also likely trying to deflect blame away from himself for the failure. The fact remains that he failed to overcome the casting problems that beset the film. And this is why Hathaway is remembered as a good, but not great director (and I say this as Hathaway's biggest fan). The great directors have the ability to elevate a film above script and casting problems, and Hathaway failed to do that here. Of course, Hathaway would say that given the material and genre it would have been very hard, if not impossible to do that here. And he may very well be right. In hindsight it might have been better to get John Huston himself to direct the film, though considering Wayne and Huston's equally disastrous joint project The Barbarian and the Geisha was still waiting in the future, perhaps its better Huston wasn't involved here.
I've always felt that Legend of the Lost was Batjac's attempt at a "prestige picture." I think that Wayne was trying to impress the critics by producing an "artsy" film that would appeal to them, and when it failed, he went back to the familiar places and faces that he had found success with earlier in his career. It was probably a very wise decision on his part.
Legend of the Lost is not for everyone. With different casting the film could have become a classic. As it is, it survives best as a remembrance of "what might have been."
The Conqueror (1956)
"I am Temujin, the Conqueror. No prison can hold me, no army defeat me"
Of course, everyone knows the story of this one. The original plan from the brain trust at RKO was to borrow Marlon Brando from 20th Century Fox and have him star in this one. When Fox refused to cooperate, Howard Hughes apparently remembered that John Wayne still had one more picture left on the RKO contract he signed back in 1939. And so, one of the most dubious casting decisions in Hollywood history was made. It deserved its spot in the "50 Worst Films of All Time" list. This one is for Wayne completests and die-hard bad film junkies only.
This is the one film John Wayne made that is truly terrible. All the others (even the lesser ones) at least have something to recommend them. But the thing that sets The Conqueror apart from all the rest is how extremely pedestrian everything is. Let's start with the script, which is the overriding problem throughout the whole film. It's written in a sort of mock-Shakespearian lingo and is filled with dialogue that anyone on earth would have a hard time saying with a straight face.
Next we have the casting. John Wayne and Susan Hayward, both at their career peak, were cast in this one. Neither one looks the least bit Asian (Hayward doesn't even try to). You get the feeling throughout that both of them know this thing is a joke, and they are both just trying to make it through. Wayne drawls his way through the role of Genghis Khan, while Hayward is alternately dumb/boring as Bortai, his red-headed wife. Even the lower billed actors look uncomfortable in gaudy costumes that look like they were borrowed from a high school play.
Of course, we can't forget the music. Victor Young (The Quiet Man) wrote some of the greatest scores in Hollywood history, but this one certainly ranks as one of his worst. Here he seems to be repeating the same few bars of the melodramatic theme over and over again throughout the film with little to no variation.
Next we come to the cinematography. This was the one thing that could have made the film worthwhile. It didn't. While the on-location battle scenes were well-suited to the CinemaScope photography, too much of the film took place inside tents and palaces (i.e. on soundstages), giving it a cluster phobic look at times. Most of the action takes place in the middle of the frame, the director doesn't even come close to tapping the full potential of the widescreen technology he was working with. Other Wayne films from around the same time (The High and the Mighty, The Sea Chase, Blood Alley) made much better use of CinemaScope photography.
Last we have the direction by Dick Powell. This was just the second film Powell directed (the first was Split Second, a 1953 noir film also for RKO that starred Stephen McNally and Jan Sterling), and it showed. In all fairness, he was saddled with a impossible script and a meddling boss (Hughes). Powell would later go on to direct some good war movies over at Fox with Robert Mitchum (The Enemy Below, The Hunters). I guess Powell learned his lesson with this one and stuck to twentieth-century wars after this, leaving the ancient history alone!
Of course there were other problems during shooting (Sue's erratic and irrational affection for Duke) and the cancer cases that occurred later were an unintentional tragedy of this film. Hughes personally bought back the rights to this film (along with Jet Pilot) when he sold RKO in the late 50's. Legend has it that in his last days, he watched this film over and over while in bed. Maybe his strange behavior before his death was the result of seeing a little too much of the The Conqueror. Viewers, Beware!!!!!
In Harm's Way (1965)
"All battles are fought by scared men who'd rather be someplace else."
In Harm's Way is a film that is historically important in the career of its star, John Wayne, for two reasons. First, it marked his last appearance in a Black and White film, and second, it was his last film before undergoing surgery for lung cancer. It also marks Wayne's first of three films with Kirk Douglas, and his only film with director Otto Preminger.
As for the film itself, it is a character-driven story with the World War II setting used as a backdrop. Like other Preminger pictures of the time (Exodus, Advise and Consent) it has a big-name cast and an "epic" feel. Watch for Henry Fonda in a small part as Admiral Nimitz (referred to as "CINCPAC II"). Wayne plays Rockwell Torrey, a naval officer blamed for the Pearl Harbor disaster, and demoted. But Nimitz (Fonda) knows that Torrey is a good commander, and when timorous politician-turned-Admiral Broderick (Dana Andrews) botches a key operation, Nimitz turns control over to Torrey, giving him a second chance.
On the personal side, Torrey tries to help his second-in-command, Paul Eddington (Kirk Douglas), who, as they say, is going through some personal problems of his own. Torrey also tries to repair his relationship with his estranged son Jeremiah (Brandon De Wilde), and finds time to conduct a "twilight romance" with nurse Lieutenant Maggie Haynes (Patricia Neal).
Two scenes in particular make this film stand out. The first occurs when Wayne and Neal are alone together in his apartment, the night before she is about to be shipped out. I won't spoil it for anyone, but let me say that it is a classic example of how a scene can ooze with "sex" without actually "showing" a single thing. It's a perfect example of how this kind of scene can be handled tastefully and professionally. It's called class, folks, and it is apparently something that modern Hollywood cannot or will not understand. The second is a discussion on cowardice between Wayne and Burgess Meredith as the fleet is preparing to meet the Japanese in battle. Once again, I won't spoil it, but it a memorable and classic scene, the quote that I have used to head my review is delivered by Wayne during it.
While In Harm's Way may, at first, seem to be simply a film about the politics of Navy hierarchy, it is really a film about the personal lives and struggles of the men and women of World War II.
Dark Command (1940)
"We've got a saying down in Texas, ma'am. . ."
John Wayne's first "A" film at Republic is a good story carried by a strong cast. One year after Stagecoach, he still takes second billing after Claire Trevor in their third of four pairings together. They worked extremely well together, and remained close friends for the rest of their lives. Walter Pigeon is given the part of the heavy, Roy Rogers gives the finest acting performance of his entire career, and veteran character actors Gabby Hayes and Marjorie Main round out the cast. Veteran director Raoul Walsh keeps the story moving and gives emotional depth to the characters that was unusual for Republic films at the time.
Set in pre-Civil War Kansas, when both Northerners and Southerners were scrambling to settle Kansas and decide its political position on slavery, the story revolves around an uneducated Texas cowboy, Bob Seton (Wayne), who finds himself in conflict with local schoolteacher Will Cantrell (Pidgeon) over both the job of Marshall in Lawrence, Kansas, and the hand of the local Southern banker's daughter, Miss Mary McCloud (Trevor). When Seton appears to have won not only the job, but also Mary's heart, Cantrell decides that the way to power lies through lawlessness, and forms a band of freebooters who ravage both Northern and Southern settlements, causing destruction and terror in Kansas.
While the film is not totally historically accurate, it does do a good job of portraying the viciousness and ruthlessness of pre-Civil War Kansas. It is told from the Northern point of view, and is a nice contrast to Errol Flynn's Santa Fe Trail, which came out the same year (1940) and portrays similar events in "bleeding Kansas" from a Southern point of view.
Part-Western, part-Civil War movie, Dark Command is one of Wayne's best early starring roles. Fans of his, or of the genre's will not be disappointed.
The Sea Chase (1955)
"Auf Wiedersehen, Sidney"
No, John Wayne and his crew don't speak German, but what do you expect of a film from this era? In Ben-Hur the Romans speak with British accents and the Jews speak with American accents. The same line of reasoning applies here. The English have British accents and the Germans have American accents. Accept it and move on. Once one can get past the accent issue, this is really quite a good film. All of the credit in the world goes to John Wayne for making this film. Made in the mid-50's, just ten years after the end of World War II, I would imagine it was not very popular subject matter at the time. It is one of the few Hollywood films to try to show the Second World War from the German point of view. Karl Ehrlich (Wayne) is a man torn between his love for his country and his personal hatred for the ideals of Hitler. He is an officer of the old school Prussian monarchy still loyal to the Kaiser who does not like the new regime. As Jeff Napier (David Farrar) notices, he flies the swastika outside on his ship but still has the old imperial battle flag hanging in his cabin. He must decide whether to allow his ship to be taken or defy the entire British Navy and try to bring the Ergenstrasse back safely to the Fatherland. The flag he flies during the final battle is a telling sign of where his loyalty lies and (in my opinion) is Ehrlich's explanation for his actions. An interesting, intriguing, and thought-provoking war film.