The Comancheros (1961 John Wayne) - May 17th

[Bourne1886]

Originally Posted by ltb2.0

It's a thoroughly enjoyable mostly lighthearted romp with everyone clearly enjoying themselves.

The chemistry between the three leads is where this movie really excels.

Keep an eye out for Duke's son Patrick Wayne is a smallish role, Lee Marvin nearly stealing the movie in his one major scene, and Jack Elam in a bit role as a henchman near the end.

Also of interest this Michael Curtiz's (Adventures of Robin Hood, Casablanca) final directorial effort. Duke stepped in to complete the picture when Curtiz became too ill from cancer to continue.

Apparently according to the tracking it’s arriving today. I also ordered Chisum and Big Jake so when I’m off on Friday I’ll be watching those three. Would like to get Mclintock next and Cahill. Reckon it won’t be long before I have over 20 of his films. I’ve also ordered TheAlamo on dvd, shame there’s no Blu ray.

[ltb2.0]

Originally Posted by Bourne1886

Apparently according to the tracking it’s arriving today. I also ordered Chisum and Big Jake so when I’m off on Friday I’ll be watching those three. Would like to get Mclintock next and Cahill. Reckon it won’t be long before I have over 20 of his films. I’ve also ordered TheAlamo on dvd, shame there’s no Blu ray.

Chisum is a lesser effort from John Wayne/Andrew McLaglen (Son of Victor McLaglen) for me, and it's the least entertaining of his final 10. I usually find it a chore to sit through despite a stellar supporting cast of familiar faces. Ben Johnson as Pepper, Forrest Tucker as the slimy villain, and Bruce Cabot as the sheriff. Just name a few.

[Show spoiler]The big issue is I can't behind the romantic leads of the picture, I have difficulty liking them, with Billy the Kid being particularly unlikeable in the movie.

The pacing kinda drags, and I feel they should've edited out 10-20 minutes.

But the movie does have stellar cinematography, solid direction and great scenery. Aside from the romantic leads, the cast all deliver great performances.

However ask me again in a few months and I'm likely to have a different opinion on the movie. I have a love/hate relationship with this one and my thoughts change depending on my mood when I re-watch.

Big Jake is an awesome movie from Duke in the twilight of his career. Solid performances all around from an cast full of familiar and much loved faces from cinematic history.

I can best describe Big Jake as: Duke does a Spaghetti Western. It is his most graphically violent and brutal movie that shows that he was capable of switching gears and adapting to the more violent films of the era. It was also his last big hit and marked his last time as the #1 box office draw.

[Show spoiler]John Wayne's youngest son plays his grandson in the movie.

Patrick Wayne plays Duke's son who holds him on contempt.

Maureen O'Hara makes her last appearance in a John Wayne movie, proving once again she was the only actress ever truly his equal.

Richard Boone plays a fantastic charismatic villain who you hate. His gang is filled with lots of familiar faces as well.

Long story short, don't mess with Jacob McCandles family because to paraphrase Liam Neeson

but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my grandson go now that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you, but if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you.”

Duke simply didn't like graphic violence and this remained 1 of 2 anomalies in his final dozen movies or so. All of his next movies were fairly tame in comparison.

McLintock! is probably John Wayne's most loved and iconic movies of the 60's, sure True Grit won him an Oscar, but this one is most seen and cherished. For good reason, I might add. It's the one that solidified the more tongue in cheek, gentle poking fun of his image, approach he took in most of his later movies. basically it's the definitive image of John Wayne most fans have of the era.

[Show spoiler]Again Maureen O'Hara proves why she was truly Duke's equal, giving as good as she gets. The chemistry between the two is a delight.

It's also a fast paced movie that never lags and is packed with delightful and memorable scenes from beginning to end.

And the cast is fantastic from top to bottom. Patrick Wayne as a young settler that McLintock hires, Yvonne De Carlo as his mother, along with Aissa Wayne (Duke's daughter) as the little sister. Chill Wills, Hank Worden, Bruce Cabot and far too many to list off all deliver enjoyable performances. In fact there's not one truly despicable character in the movie. Obviously there's a few jerks, but the cast somehow makes them a valuable part if the fabric of the movie and you just enjoy the ride.

This is also the first teaming of Andrew McLaglen as Director and John Wayne as Star.

Cahill... I make no apologies for this, is one of my all time favorite John Wayne movies. The plot is a little patchy in some areas, and despite the fact John Wayne's heart wasn't in it, because Ford was dying during the production, you can't tell he wasn't giving his all.

[Show spoiler]It feels like Duke's personal meditation on being a father and how he felt he failed his children, or at least his first children. This movie is, I feel, his definitive statement on fatherhood and the roles fathers play in the development of their children.

The underlying themes feel very intimate to me and add another layer of enjoyability to what basically amounts to a John Wayne western. It's one that features him at his most meditative and reflective, something we wouldn't see again till The Shootist.

Again the cast is solid and everyone delivers good performances, with George Kennedy going all out and being downright terrifying at times.

It's an entertaining effort all around featuring great cinematography and one of my favorite scores (Provided by Elmer Bernstein) to a John Wayne movie.

[Duke_45]

Originally Posted by ltb2.0

Chisum is a lesser effort from John Wayne/Andrew McLaglen (Son of Victor McLaglen) for me, and it's the least entertaining of his final 10. I usually find it a chore to sit through despite a stellar supporting cast of familiar faces. Ben Johnson as Pepper, Forrest Tucker as the slimy villain, and Bruce Cabot as the sheriff. Just name a few.

[Show spoiler]The big issue is I can't behind the romantic leads of the picture, I have difficulty liking them, with Billy the Kid being particularly unlikeable in the movie.

The pacing kinda drags, and I feel they should've edited out 10-20 minutes.

But the movie does have stellar cinematography, solid direction and great scenery. Aside from the romantic leads, the cast all deliver great performances.

However ask me again in a few months and I'm likely to have a different opinion on the movie. I have a love/hate relationship with this one and my thoughts change depending on my mood when I re-watch.

Big Jake is an awesome movie from Duke in the twilight of his career. Solid performances all around from an cast full of familiar and much loved faces from cinematic history.

I can best describe Big Jake as: Duke does a Spaghetti Western. It is his most graphically violent and brutal movie that shows that he was capable of switching gears and adapting to the more violent films of the era. It was also his last big hit and marked his last time as the #1 box office draw.

[Show spoiler]John Wayne's youngest son plays his grandson in the movie.

Patrick Wayne plays Duke's son who holds him on contempt.

Maureen O'Hara makes her last appearance in a John Wayne movie, proving once again she was the only actress ever truly his equal.

Richard Boone plays a fantastic charismatic villain who you hate. His gang is filled with lots of familiar faces as well.

Long story short, don't mess with Jacob McCandles family because to paraphrase Liam Neeson

Duke simply didn't like graphic violence and this remained 1 of 2 anomalies in his final dozen movies or so. All of his next movies were fairly tame in comparison.

McLintock! is probably John Wayne's most loved and iconic movies of the 60's, sure True Grit won him an Oscar, but this one is most seen and cherished. For good reason, I might add. It's the one that solidified the more tongue in cheek, gentle poking fun of his image, approach he took in most of his later movies. basically it's the definitive image of John Wayne most fans have of the era.

[Show spoiler]Again Maureen O'Hara proves why she was truly Duke's equal, giving as good as she gets. The chemistry between the two is a delight.

It's also a fast paced movie that never lags and is packed with delightful and memorable scenes from beginning to end.

And the cast is fantastic from top to bottom. Patrick Wayne as a young settler that McLintock hires, Yvonne De Carlo as his mother, along with Aissa Wayne (Duke's daughter) as the little sister. Chill Wills, Hank Worden, Bruce Cabot and far too many to list off all deliver enjoyable performances. In fact there's not one truly despicable character in the movie. Obviously there's a few jerks, but the cast somehow makes them a valuable part if the fabric of the movie and you just enjoy the ride.

This is also the first teaming of Andrew McLaglen as Director and John Wayne as Star.

Cahill... I make no apologies for this, is one of my all time favorite John Wayne movies. The plot is a little patchy in some areas, and despite the fact John Wayne's heart wasn't in it, because Ford was dying during the production, you can't tell he wasn't giving his all.

[Show spoiler]It feels like Duke's personal meditation on being a father and how he felt he failed his children, or at least his first children. This movie is, I feel, his definitive statement on fatherhood and the roles fathers play in the development of their children.

The underlying themes feel very intimate to me and add another layer of enjoyability to what basically amounts to a John Wayne western. It's one that features him at his most meditative and reflective, something we wouldn't see again till The Shootist.

Again the cast is solid and everyone delivers good performances, with George Kennedy going all out and being downright terrifying at times.

It's an entertaining effort all around featuring great cinematography and one of my favorite scores (Provided by Elmer Bernstein) to a John Wayne movie.

That’s a really nice summary of a few of Duke’s films. I agree on everything you mentioned, with the exception of Cahill. While I enjoyed the story and very good supporting cast, I really had a problem with Cahill’s youngest son. He really wasn’t an actor by trade, and that’s painfully obvious every time he needs to deliver lines of emotion. Duke really liked this kid from his prior film “The Cowboys”, and that went a long way into hiring him for Cahill. However, he was hired into the cast of The Cowboys as an experienced horseman, not as an actor. I actually think John Wayne’s own son Ethan would have made a better choice for this particular role.

All that said, it’s an enjoyable “lesser” Duke western. He’d go on to finish his career with much more enjoyable films (the two police films, Rooster and finally The Shootist).

[SeanJoyce]

I'm going to even things up and disagree with ltb.20 about Chisum; I think it's pretty damn good.

[ltb2.0]

Originally Posted by Duke_45

That’s a really nice summary of a few of Duke’s films. I agree on everything you mentioned, with the exception of Cahill. While I enjoyed the story and very good supporting cast, I really had a problem with Cahill’s youngest son. He really wasn’t an actor by trade, and that’s painfully obvious every time he needs to deliver lines of emotion. Duke really liked this kid from his prior film “The Cowboys”, and that went a long way into hiring him for Cahill. However, he was hired into the cast of The Cowboys as an experienced horseman, not as an actor. I actually think John Wayne’s own son Ethan would have made a better choice for this particular role.

All that said, it’s an enjoyable “lesser” Duke western. He’d go on to finish his career with much more enjoyable films (the two police films, Rooster and finally The Shootist).

I actually find little Clay O'Brien absolutely charming in the movie, any hesitancy or difficulty in delivering his lines, I find organic to the motivations of his character.

He's torn equally between wanting to help big brother and idolizing his dad J.D. Cahill.

[Show spoiler]Adding to the mix is the fact he clearly sees the gang they've fallen in with are a bad bunch, given a choice he would just back out. But his older brother's rebellious nature and bitterness towards their father has created a blind spot about George Kennedy's true character.

Of the two, only little Clay knows what they're doing is wrong, but he's trying to play it how he thinks his Pa would. In fact he tried repeatedly to try and convince his older brother to back out, which failed and further leads to his hesitant nature in the plot.

Brannigan is also highly ranked on my list, I absolutely adore that movie. It's interesting the contrast between that and McQ.

Brannigan is also the last time we saw the invincible superhero John Wayne. His next two characters would be the drunken, Rooster Cogburn and the gradually weakening J.B. Books.

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

I'm going to even things up and disagree with ltb.20 about Chisum; I think it's pretty damn good.

Get back to me in a few months and I might even disagree with most of my assessment here.

There's honestly not a bad movie in his final 10, they're not all great, but they are all enjoyable.

[Duke_45]

I have to put myself into the group of people who thought Chisum was one of Duke’s worst “later career” films. Cartoon-type villains (with the exception of the wonderful Forest Ticker), actors in secondary roles that were portraying characters they not suited to play, and a quite obvious and depressing “1970s” look and feel to the entire film. And oh boy...that awful song “Sally” in the middle of the film. What the heck were they thinking putting that in a John Wayne western?!?