User reviews

There has been no tougher or more formidable Western heavy than Richard Boone… He has occasionally depicted hard-bitten nobility, as his portrayal of General Sam Houston in "The Alamo" or the ageing cavalry officer in "A Thunder of Drums"—but more often his grim, craggy features have led him to villainy…

He was Randolph Scott's intelligent, embittered adversary, smooth as a rattlesnake and twice as treacherous, in the Tall T; he wrapped non-conforming farmers in barbed wire in Man Without a Star; as mean, sadistic Major Salinas, he persecuted Rory Calhoun in Way of a Gaucho; and he gave Paul Newman a rough ride in Hombre. In "Big Jake," he was—as always—a powerful presence and one of the screen's most efficient scene-stealer…

George Sherman's "Big Jake" was the Duke fifth and final film played opposite the lovely redheaded Maureen O'Hara who plays, here, his wife Martha McCandles…

The movie opens in 1909 where nine men crossing the Rio Bravo into Texas… Their leader—a sadistic gunrunner—John Fain (Richard Boone) is ready for his bloody McCandles' raid where ten people were slaughtered and Big Jakes's grandson, the 8-year-old Little Jacob (Ethan Wayne) is kidnapped, and a ransom note is left demanding one million dollars in $20 Bills for Jacob's safe return…

Martha—quite sure that this job requires an extremely harsh and special kind of man to attend it— called back her husband, absent for many years, to pay the ransom, and take back home the little boy alive…

Jacob McCandles (Wayne)—who has never seen his grandson—responds to his wife's call and organizes a hunting party to track down the dangerous and violent men…

With his two sons, his faithful Indian scout (Bruce Cabot), his loyal dog, and with a large red strongbox packed to the back of a good mule, McCandles initiates his very daring hunt…

There are some hard feelings among Wayne's resentful boys, and as the film progresses, Wayne's blue eyes were gentle and revealing a wonderful caring father but also his eyes turn to blue steel as he took that decision to get alive his grandson… The heart of the film is Wayne interacting with his wife and what he has in store for his sons next...

Patrick Wayne plays Wayne's older son who is short on ears and long on mouth… Christopher Mitchum rides a 'crazy bicycle,' carries a Bergman 1911, and a rifle with one fancy new telescope...

With great action scenes, great photography and with a terrific Elmer Bernstein musical score, "Big Jake" is one of Wayne best Westerns

Though Big Jake doesn't go down with the greatest of John Wayne's films I put it in the class of The Comancheros which I also found entertaining. This film is the right mixture of chemistry and action. No doubt helped by the fact that John Wayne was surrounded with family literally.

John Wayne is the estranged patriarch of a family who owns a big cattle spread just as he did in McLintock. A gang of kidnappers came on the place while most everyone was on roundup and killed several people and kidnapped Wayne's grandson. Grandmother Maureen O'Hara sends for her estranged husband to deal with the kidnappers as he sees fit. Being this is a John Wayne movie, you already know how that is.

Son Michael Wayne is the producer and sons Patrick and Ethan play Wayne's son and grandson. This is a bit of a change for Patrick Wayne. From back in the days of The Searchers, Pat Wayne always played callow youths in his father's and in other films. Here he's a grown man and quite bitter at his father. The conflict between them crackles on the screen. Christopher Mitchum, the son of another Hollywood icon, plays another Wayne offspring as does Bobby Vinton.

The action flows pretty good here and the tension does not let up for a moment. There are some good comic moments, but they are well integrated into the plot of the story.

Of the Duke's films post his Oscar from True Grit, Big Jake is one of his best and a personal favorite of mine.

First I have to say that I am a huge JW fan. In this film JW is his classic Kick A** self. There is some sentimental stuff in here, about the old man's relationship with his grown sons. Basically it is good old John Wayne Action. When the bad guys get the drop on him, all you can think is "Big mistake" This film is set in the early 1900s. There is an interesting parallel between the passing of the baton from one generation to the next (Jake and his grown sons) and the passing of technology. We see new fangled weapons and a motor car. (Naturally Jake rejects these)

Finally: You got to love the idea of Big Jake owning a dog named ..... DOG.

Some comments here have mentioned how much the Western "Big Jake" reminds them of "Dirty Harry." Actually, both films were written by the same screenwriters -- Harry and Rita Fink -- though additional writers were brought in on "Dirty Harry." Both films were developed and shot around the same time. "Big Jake" came out in summer 1971, and "Dirty Harry" came out at Christmas 1971. John Wayne said he was offered "Dirty Harry" before Eastwood took it (but Dirty Harry was also supposedly offered to Paul Newman, Frank Sinatra, Bill Cosby and Walter Matthau before Eastwood, too!)

The twice-repeated "do you feel lucky?" speech in "Dirty Harry" and the twice-repeated "your fault, my fault, nobody's fault" speech in "Big Jake" prove to me that the same writers worked on both scripts.

Also, Richard Boone must be singled out. This powerful, amusing actor always made a great villain. Wayne had tried to get him as the villain for several films before "Big Jake" (he'd done a cameo in "The Alamo"). Boone finally said "yes" to "Big Jake" and the verbal showdowns between Big John and Big Boone in "Big Jake" are a wonder to behold.

BTW, Boone turned down a lot of movie parts during the 70's (like the Robert Shaw part in "The Sting") but came to help out his old friend Wayne twice in that decade: "Big Jake" and "The Shootist" (1976.)

From the outset 'Big Jake' will always be a firm favourite of mine, it's the first John Wayne movie I can recall watching, and this is the movie that has made him my all-time favourite movie star and actor.

The movie follows Dukes pursuit of seven kidnappers whom killed a large number of people at his former ranch (now run by his estranged wife) and kidnapped his grandson.

Up until this point in John Wayne's career he had by in large refrained from using excessive violence in his movies. However it could be argued and with some basis that movies such as 'True Grit', 'The Green Berets' and 'The Alamo' to name but three were physically violent in their own right. Regardless of this however 'Big Jake' was to be a dramatic departure for John Wayne due to the fact that on numerous occasions it give an honest depiction of physical violence. The opening shootout at the Candles ranch is a prime example of this, the sequence is extremely well executed by the director and stunt co-coordinators and there are many examples gunshot wounds which add to the realism of the movie.

The screenplay is rather slick with ample action included to satisfy audience expectations. The movie does contain many memorable scenes such as the opening and closing shootouts, Dukes casual killing of a would be assassin and some touching and at times volatile scenes involving Jake and his ex wife played eloquently by the great Maureen O'Hara.

An interesting segment at the start involves a voice-over retelling the transformation of the west from the early 1800's to its relatively civilised state in 1909 (when the film is set). The voice-over also introduces the audience to nine bandits whom act as the heavies in the movie, its fascinating to hear a brief introduction of each bandit and what skill they bring to the group e.g. Fain is the leader, O'Brien the gunfighter and John Goodfellow is proficient with a machete etc etc.

Duke in this movie is accompanied is his pursuit if the kidnappers by a trusted dog (who is very violent) an Indian friend played very well by Bruce Cabot, and his two on screen sons James (Patrick Wayne who is Dukes own son) and Michael (Chris Mitchum). The main protagonist in the movie is John Fain played superbly by Richard Boone and some of the scenes between him and John Wayne are very memorable containing both tension and style. John Wayne's youngest son John Ethan Wayne makes his debut in this movie playing the kidnapped grandson of Jake and acquits himself very impressively to the field of acting.

Despite my fondness for this movie it is not however without its weaknesses, for one the acting by both Patrick Wayne and Chris Mitchum is horrendous and neither one manages to endear the audience to their respective characters. Some sloppy direction also resulted in the disappearance of one of the Fain gang early in the movie, despite being given an introduction at the start of the movie; young Billy simply disappears without any explanation right at the beginning of the raid on the McCandles ranch. Several campfire scenes that are set at night appear much too bright; the director should have masked the lens on the camera more in order to ensure the scenes effectiveness. Finally several stunts involving Mitchum and a motorcycle come across as tired, overblown and generally dull although the director rightly erased the motorcycle from the movie quite early on much to the relief of the audience.

Critics were less than impressed with the movie stating that it was 'overly violent', these were the same critics who praised the Wild Bunch months earlier for being innovative and honest in its depiction of violence. Despite what he critics stated and some of the minor criticisms I have pointed out about this movie it remains a firm favourite and was a big box office hit when first released.

This was a John Wayne film I greatly enjoy and was surprised at the wonderful old automobiles from the 1900's driving up and down every trail and even motorcycles. John Wayne played the role as Jacob McCandles who was looked up to as a man you did not mess with and respected. Maureen O'Hare, (Martha McCandles) seeks the help of her husband after years of being separated when their grandchild is kidnapped for a ransom for One Million Dollars. The gang of crooks is headed by Richard Boone, (John Fain) who will kill women and children in cold blood and think nothing of it. Patrick Waynes son has a role in this film along with the Polish Prince of Music and Song, Bobby Vinton. Maureen O'Hara had a very brief appearance only in the beginning and end of this film and this was also the last film that Wayne and O'Hara appeared together. Very entertaining film, you will not want to miss this great film Classic from 1971.

From its documentary style opening, Big Jake delivers big fun, big adventure, nasty villains, whippersnapper sons and classic John Wayne. This movie has something for everyone, but be warned it has plenty of violence and is definitely a PG/ PG13 type film.

The supporting cast is excellent with Patrick Wayne, Christopher Mitchum, Richard Boone,Bruce Cabot, Maureen O'Hara, Gregg Palmer and Dog turning in solid performances.

While there are the formulaic elements such as horrendous acts perpetuated by bad men that give license to the good guys to do whatever is necessary to right the wrong, Big Jake also has other elements that make this film not just another Western:

1) Takes place in transition period of the turn of the century which provides some interesting interaction between the old ways and new ways.

2) Fun relationships and interplay between an estranged father and his young adult sons.

3) Great mixture of fun and intense gritty action. (John Wayne movies are known for this)

Consequently -

If you like Westerns this is a classic that you will enjoy.

If you are a fan of John Wayne at all this is a must see film.

If you are just looking for a good gritty action film with a healthy dose of humor seamlessly woven in to the story you will not be disappointed.

Ultimately, this is one of my favorite John Wayne films.

Regardless about how one feels about his arch-conservative politics, there really isn't any secret as to why John Wayne personified what it meant to be a star in Hollywood for decades on end. And even though he seemed to settle into a routine of making films under his Batjac production banner in the last decade and a half of his life without the strong guiding hand of a John Ford, a Howard Hawks, or a Henry Hathaway, he still put out what everyone had come to expect of the man. Case in point, BIG JAKE.

Written by the same writers who gave Eastwood DIRTY HARRY, BIG JAKE stars Wayne as Jake McCandles, a Texas rancher whom everyone thought was dead because no one had seen him in eighteen years (as always, rumors of his death were greatly exaggerated). But he is called back into action by his estranged wife (Maureen O'Hara) after a gang of ruthless outlaws, led by Richard Boone, shoot up his ranch, kill much of the hired help, and kidnap his grandson (Ethan Wayne). Wayne, not surprisingly, takes up the challenge. But he also has to keep his sons (Glenn Corbett; Chris Mitchum) in line when they call him Daddy (obviously, this gets a burr up the Duke's backside). They all must venture across the Rio Grande to Boone's hideout on the Mexican side, helped out by Wayne's trusty Indian aide (Bruce Cabot). And it all comes down to an eminently satisfying and traditional showdown between Wayne and Boone.

BIG JAKE is very much in the style of Wayne's other Batjac westerns (CHISUM; THE UNDEFEATED; THE WAR WAGON; CAHILL, U.S. MARSHAL) in its being somewhat predictable, but that predictability is precisely what makes it a success; people want Wayne to win, and who can blame them? Fortunately, he gets a vicious enough antagonist in Boone, who had had a minor role in the Duke's own 1960 directorial opus THE ALAMO and who does sagebrush villainy as well as anyone else. George Sherman, who had directed Wayne in several B-westerns prior to the Duke's ascension to stardom via Ford's STAGECOACH, shows he still has the directorial goods here despite the poor health he suffered during its making (Wayne reportedly directed significant sequences, but refused to take credit or have Sherman taken off). BIG JAKE also has superlative cinematography by William Clothier, no stranger to Westerns he, all of which was done on location in what had become the Duke's favorite Western locale--the landscape around Durango, Mexico. The only really serious disappointment with BIG JAKE is that Wayne and O'Hara barely have any screen time together, given how well they worked under Ford, particularly on 1952's THE QUIET MAN, and seeing as how this was their last joint appearance on screen (Wayne died in 1979, and O'Hara wouldn't make another feature film until ONLY THE LONELY in 1991).

Still, just about everything else one expects from the Duke on screen happens here in BIG JAKE, including those little bits of humor revolving around being called "Daddy" and being thought dead. It's just a lesson to you: You don't mess with the Duke.

And you definitely don't call him Daddy either!

That's one of my favorite lines from this picture and the way it's delivered, both times, is thrilling. Violent and bloody (and Bernstein's music makes one of the machete attacks even worse, his sense of drama is so good!) so don't let pre-teens or the impressionable see it! Boone is an awesome villain and Wayne and his "dog" make an odd hero combo. Big Jake is a big film, depicting the end of the cowboy era, without bemoaning the passing, and deftly incorporating new technology with the old. The tension between Wayne and his three boys is fine and there's some funny scenes, too. Highly recommended. PS: a Big Jake fan wrote into Entertainment Magazine in the 80s that this was one of his favorite Wayne films; the EM staff had never heard of it. I canceled my subscription.

John Wayne is undeniably my favorite of all actors, and I'm happy that he was still around when I came into the world (He died when I was 5). Here's where the Duke does the stuff he's good at, dry humor, laying down the law, and pulling no punches. The whole "Your fault, my fault, nobody's fault..." exchange is Classic!! It's a great family reunion (John, Patrick, and Ethan). His oft costar Bruce Cabot does great in his supporting role. As well, the Duke and O'Hara show splendid chemistry in their final costarring. Not to mention the very intimidating performance by Richard Boone as the big villain. Gotta' love this one!!

John Wayne playing John Wayne. Nobody does it better. Not that impressed with the acting of some minor characters. The film was quite violent, interspersed with some mildly humorous sequences. The late setting (1909) and the appearance of automobiles, etc. were a nice touch, keeping it from being a total repeat of other Wayne movies. This is not really one of Wayne's better Westerns, but worth seeing for any of his fans, like me, who have somehow missed it all these years.

This is not John Wayne's best film or his worst either, for me it leans towards the watchable but disappointing category. It is definitely watchable, especially for the handsome photography and scenery. Also the first five minutes was inspired I think, and the score was more than adequate. While past his prime, John Wayne is good here, I liked how Maureen O'Hara was so elegant and Richard Boone is very entertaining.

Sadly, Big Jake is also quite lazily directed, and the plot is disappointingly meagre. The script is an uneven mix, one minute it flows well, the other it feels stilted, while the ending could have been better rounded off. Out of the cast, I liked Wayne, I liked Boone, I liked O'Hara, but I thought Chris Mitchum and Patrick Wayne were pretty awful.

All in all, it is a watchable effort but doesn't quite work. 5/10 Bethany Cox

He is not dead...NOT HARDLY!! This movie was great. I can't believe I had never seen it. I loved the way he put his kids in place every time they got out of line. Especially that guy with the mustache (Wayne's real life son). I have seldom seen movies where there is so much suspense. The mean man with the blanket was super good also at being a MEAN AND BAD GUY!!!! John Wayne is the best cowboy ever. He looked and acted tough and was apparently TOUGH in real life. I wish Maureen O'Hara would have been in this movie more. She is so good looking. John Wayne was so fearless. I loved the way he bled RED PAINT. Back then, the blood looked like RED PAINT. Haha.

I give this movie a perfect 10!

Excellent western from Duke's later years. In the early 1900s, Jacob McCandles (John Wayne) sets out to rescue his grandson from kidnappers led by John Fain (Richard Boone). On the journey he gets to know his two grown sons (Patrick Wayne, Christopher Mitchum) he hasn't seen in nearly a decade. This one's lots of fun. Richard Boone makes for a great villain. One of the few villains Duke ever had in his films that seemed close to a match for him. Maureen O'Hara plays Duke's wife in their last movie together. Duke's longtime friend and frequent costar Bruce Cabot is very likable as Sam the Indian. This is one of those "death of the West/old vs new" stories that were all over the place in the '60s and '70s. Not surprisingly, Wayne made some of the best of those. It's a great western with some lighter moments, lots of action, and memorable tough guy lines.

Fine Western packs thrills , family feeling , shoot'em up and results to be pretty entertaining . Set in 1909 , McCandles Ranch is run over by a gang of cutthroats led by the evil John Fain . As John Fain's (Richard Boone) as leader band kidnaps Jacob McCandles' grandson (John Ethan Wayne, John's little child) , previously injuring (his separated wife played by Mauren O'Hara and son Bobby Vinton) and killing ranch people , subsequently holds him for ransom. As they abduct little Jacob McCandles and hold him for one million dollars ransom. There is only one man brave enough , tough enough , and smart enough to bring him back alive , and that man is Big Jake (John Wayne) , he is the toughest cowboy they've got , just the sound of his name makes bad guys stop in their tracks . Accompanied by other sons , Michael McCandles (Christopher Mitchum) riding a speed motorcycle and James McCandles (his real son Patrick Wayne) , all of them set out to rescue him . Break the law and he's the last man you want to see , and the last you ever will . Big John = Big Jake = Big Western .The Most Violent and Unusual Western Ever! They wanted gold. They gave them lead instead! .Big Jake... A legend of a man. A man who fought his way through hell to save a grandson he had never seen!. John Wayne and Richard Boone star in a thrilling chase across the changing frontier.

This exciting film packs Western action , go riding , thrills , emotion , shoot-outs and being quite amusing . It contains an excellent main cast as John Wayne facing off his contender Richard Boone and a top-notch support cast . It's a sympathetic western , with a beautiful cinematography , glamorous scenery and great soundtrack . Besides , it contains good feeling as friendship , faithfulness , companionship , and enjoyable father-sons relationship . Furthermore , an anti-racism subtext was written into the script in response to ongoing criticism of John Wayne . The screenplay is plain and simple, with a conventional plot , but ultimately gets overcome . Gorgeous outdoors with decent art production by Carl Anderson . The picture bears a certain resemblance to ¨Chaill US Marshal¨ (1973) by Andrew V. McLagen replacing the baddie George Kennedy for Richard Boone . Enjoyable acting by always great John Wayne , owing to the hit of this movie , John Wayne was number one at the U.S. box-office for the last time, a bit later on , he sicked by cancer . Most of the scenes showing John Wayne riding from a distance were filmed with Chuck Roberson substituting for Wayne . Bruce Cabot was surprised to be offered the role of Commanche scout , a part he felt he was badly unsuited for, but accepted it just because he liked working . There also appears notorious secondary actors from a great number of Westerns , as well as friends and relatives of the producer/actor John Wayne , such as : Christopher Mitchum, Ethan Wayne , Bobby Vinton , Bruce Cabot , Glenn Corbett , Harry Carey Jr., John Doucette , Hank Worden , Jim Davis, John Agar , Gregg Palmer , Roy Jenson and Patrick Wayne, in fact this one was tenth out of ten John Wayne films co-starring his son, Patrick.

Rousing musical score by Elmer Bernstein in his ordinary style , though he borrows from his own Oscar-nominated score for 'The Magnificent Seven' (1960) for some themes in his score for this film. Colorful and spectacular cinematography in Panavision by William H. Clothier . Rightly produced by Batjac Production , a company presided by John Wayne and his son Michael A. Wayne . This well-paced film was compellingly directed by George Sherman and uncredited John Wayne himself . Sherman does the human touch including lots of nice moments , it is a very good picture that could become another western worthy of any anthology . Sherman made reliable low-budget fares for Columbia between 1945-48, then moved on to do the same at Universal for another eight years . Sherman specialized almost exclusively in "B" westerns there , including the "Three Musketeers" series, which featured a young John Wayne. George directed lots of Westerns as ¨The Last of the Fast Guns¨ , ¨The Lone Hand¨, ¨Santa Fe stampede¨ , ¨Red skin¨ , ¨Chief Crazy Horse¨ ¨Calamity Jane¨, ¨Relentless¨ , ¨Comanche Territory¨ , ¨Dawn at Socorro¨, ¨Border River¨ and many others . He also made occasional forays into action and horror themes, often achieving a sense of style over substance . The only "A"-grade films to his credit were two westerns starring John Wayne: ¨Comancheros¨ (1961) (as producer) and ¨The big Jack¨ (1971) . His last films were realized in Spain as "Find That Girl" , ¨The new Cinderella¨ and ¨Joaquin Murrieta¨. Rating : 7.5/10. Well worth watching.

A very entertaining John Wayne western. Richard Boone makes a great villian. It's action packed much more in the style of a Clint Eastwood Dirty Harry picture than a vintage John Wayne. Most highly recommended of Wayne's movies in the post-True Grit period.

Mark this down as a very entertaining western with more realistic gunfight scenes than most films, meaning the good guys get shot as well as the villains. John Wayne's "The Searchers," a very similar movie story-wise, gets a lot better press than this film but "Big Jake" is just as good, if not better.

To be fair, while the gunfights in here were well done, the fistfights were an insult. Whenever someone got slugged, such as Wayne belting his kids, it had no effect on them, except just to knock them down for a second or two. In real life, folks, chances are you will knocked unconscious if you are hit in the face, especially by a powerful man like Wayne. This has been a ludicrous fact-of-life, however, in all films for 100 years, not just here.

Other than that, the film is a straight hard-nosed one with Wayne and adversary Richard Boone both fascinating. The dialog between the two was especially fun to hear. Too bad there wasn't more of it. Boone did not have enough lines in this film. Wayne's real-life sons in this film didn't impress me with their acting but they weren't horrible either.

Bruce Cabot was a hoot as an old Indian friend of Wayne's. As with most westerns, there is some nice scenery so if you have the opportunity, watch this on widescreen DVD. It was nice-looking movie.

An American Western; A story about a gunfighter called for by his wealthy estranged wife because his grandson has been kidnapped by bandits demanding $1 million ransom. His sons join him on the rescue trail. The film's long prelude, following a brutal kidnap sequence, has a ransom and rescue plot with many drawn out travelling sequences alebit glued together with a first rate musical score and captivating Mexican locales. The third act is worth the wait. Patrick Wayne and Christopher Mitchum provide some comedy relief but are resigned to stooge roles, receiving the usual lessons in macho morality. Shouldering the weight of the uneventful build up John Wayne gives a convincing performance from his formidable persona for mythmaking and reverence for tradition. A high dose of overgratuitous violence mirrors the influence of revisionist filmmakers like Sam Peckinpah in the early 1970s. Richard Boone is impressive as the quietly psychopathic villain leading a band of cut-throats. There is only passive support from Maureen O'Hara.

Which isn't to say it's his best (it may not be better than TRUE GRIT and is nowhere near as moving as THE COWBOYS, just to name a couple) but it is a hell of a lot of fun. When he was a young man John Wayne once said he'd have to retire when he reached forty because after that you couldn't play a believable hero. Well, here he is at 63, still kicking ass with the best of them! BIG JAKE has a sense of self-referential humor about it that I find irresistible (the "I thought you wuz dead?" running gag, for example). Written by the screenwriters of DIRTY HARRY, this movie always struck me as their attempt to send up the larger than life image of The Duke in the most affectionate possible way. Wayne's introductory shot (and the line leading up to it) makes me laugh out loud every time I see it (it was cut from a TNT showing of the movie a few years ago, making me howl with such outrage that my kids cracked up!). The only thing I don't like about this movie is the callousness of much of the violence. I know Richard Boone and his gang are being set up as the baddest of the baddies, but women and children being hacked to bits with a machete is a bit much. Still, not enough to ruin BIG JAKE for me. "Not hardly."

Big Jake is directed by George Sherman and written by Harry and Rita Fink. It stars John Wayne, Richard Boone, Patrick Wayne, Christopher Mitchum and Maureen O'Hara. Elmer Berstein scores the music and William H. Clothier is the cinematographer. It's shot in Panavision and Technicolor with the principal location for the shoot being Durango in Mexico. Plot finds Duke Wayne as tough old rancher/gunfighter Jake McCandles, who is estranged from his family and spends his days roaming the west with his trusty dog. However, when the McCandles family ranch is raided by a gang of outlaws led by John Fain (Boone), and Jake's grandson Little Jake is kidnapped for ransom, Big Jake gets the call from his separated wife Martha (O'Hara) to go find the boy. Which he sets off to do, with two of his sons in tow.

There were many critics who felt John Wayne should have stopped making movies before the 1970's arrived. Which is a bit ignorant considering he would bow out with the heartfelt and poignant The Shootist in 1976. It's undeniable that of the ten 1970's film's he made before his death, half of them are disposable at best, Big Jake isn't one of them. Yes, the formula is hardly new, only here the blood quota is considerably higher than previous Duke Wayne outings, and yes, tonally the film is a bit too up and down for its own good. But it's a film that finds old hands Wayne and Boone turning in good shows and the action and thematic camaraderie on show more than compensates for the looming cloud of same old same old.

Of worth, too, is the time setting of the story, coming as it does towards the back end of the Old West, we get to see many examples of the Wild West being tamed. Be it the railroad, or motor driven vehicle's, our protagonist and antagonist are old school characters framed by a changing West. This is where it pays to have Wayne and Boone in the main roles, turning it in in an old school, knowing, style. The names Clothier and Bernstein are synonymous with the Western genre, and they don't disappoint here, both the photography and score treat the eyes and the ears. And although not in it for very long, O'Hara adds a touch of class in what was the last of the five times she appeared on film with her friend Duke Wayne. In amongst the violence there's also plenty of fun, some intended courtesy of banter between Duke and his estranged sons, some not intended; such as watching the dog out act the siblings of Duke and Robert Mitchum! But all told, if you don't expect The Searchers or Hondo et all, then this holds up as a good way to spend an afternoon. 7/10

Footnote: I wonder if John Carpenter watched and enjoyed this film so much he cribbed a reoccurring joke from it for Escape from New York? Big Jake keeps coming up against people who say that they thought he was dead, same thing happens to Snake Plissken in Carpenter's picture. A homage I'm sure.

I'm a huge fan of John Wayne and this was the first Wayne western I saw in a theater on first release. It's a treat seeing Wayne and O'Hara again and many of the veteran character actors such as Bruce Cabot, Harry Carey, Jr. and Hank Worden that have appeared in many films with the Duke. Richard Boone also gives a marvelous performance as the vicious villain and he's the perfect foil for Wayne in the film. No one could play a slimy bad-guy like Boone. Having said all that however, this still is not a very good picture. The direction is shoddy (reportedly director Sherman was ill during the shoot and Wayne directed scenes himself), the script weak and many of the performances are sub-par (Patrick Wayne is particularly bad). Most of the humor in the film comes across as forced and some of the violence is kind of gratuitous and in bad taste. This was typical of most of Wayne's 1970's films (the exceptions are the classic "The Shootist" and the underrated "The Cowboys"), he often gave clichéd performances during this era and was mostly just going through the motions and playing his "personna." I almost gagged when I saw an earlier reviewer state that this is better than "The Searchers." Sorry - not even close. Still, it's The Duke and most of the movie is kind of fun - just don't compare it with Wayne's best Westerns. "Stagecoach," "Red River," "Rio Bravo," "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," and the aforementioned "The Searchers" and "The Shootist" are all miles ahead.