- Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen
- November 13, 1963
- Loosely based on William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew
A wealthy rancher uses his power and influence in the territory to keep the peace among farmers, ranchers, land-grabbers, Indians and corrupt government officials.
McLintock! is a fun comic Western starring John Wayne as well as staffed with numerous Wayne regulars in front of and behind the camera. The film many Wayne movie regulars like Chill Wills as McLintock’s foreman Drago, Bruce Cabot is a rival rancher Ben Sage Sr., character actor Hank Worden is ‘Curley’ among others. Familiar faces for the time include Jack Kruschen as storekeeper Jake Birnbaum, Strother Martin is Agard the Indian agent, and Michael Pate is Puma the Commanche chief.
Though he had directed lower budgeted movies and a cluster of TV episodes of various shows, this was Andrew V. McLaglen’s first time with Wayne AND the director’s big break. This has several of McLaglen’s signatures like comedic fistfights and generally broad humor which was also in Wayne’s skillset. Perhaps the best one of the film and McLaglen’s career is the muddy fight. It’s just big and sloppy and silly while it gets the whole cast involved. It is the scene most membered and connected to the film.
It begins with a misunderstanding by the hotheaded Jones (Leo Gordon) concerning his daughter Millie (Kari Noven) who has gone off with the young Ben Sage, Jr. (Edward Faulkner). Jones assumes that Millie has been kidnapped by Comanches because he is a bigot. A brawl erupts near one of McLintock’s mines with just about every character involved before reason prevails.
John Wayne is G.W. McLintock-the fatherly authority figure of the film. Not too different from anything else he’s played. Despite the stereotype of the type of characters Wayne played in his career (and Wayne himself), McLintock is the most enlightened or one of the most enlightened characters in the film. Often in the story he stands between the racism of the local whites and the innocent local Comanche who were simply trying to survive if not live in a situation that is decidedly unfair to them. That is putting it mildly.
Wayne used his star power to have the script show his personal disapproval for how the Western genre portrayed Native Americans and his dislike for corruption in politics. McLintock often laments the treatment of the Comanches and finds himself on several occasions defending them. Territorial governor Cuthbert H. Humphrey (Robert Lowery) plans to have the Comanche moved out of the area and into Oklahoma which leads to G.W. speaking for blood brother Chief Puma (Michael Pate) in a kangaroo court after which G.W. organizes a jailbreak to bring the government’s attention to what Humphrey and Agard have been doing.
This has themes of independence and self-worth. McLintock does not hand things out. His aid is designed to help people get on their own feet. Jobs and advice are not meant to be cruel or or a gimme. Not something you see very much if at all today and not in the density that you get here. McLintock! is heavy handed in its delivery.
Watching you realize this is much more of a romcom than it is a Western. We have two main characters that everybody knows are made for each other that can’t see it themselves and a group of people who do their best to get them together. Along the way there are things that occur that cause the two to not see it themselves right away. Your basic romcom!
G.W.’s wife Katherine (Maureen O’Hara) unexpectedly returns having gone off to be a socialite in the East since Western life is not for her. Their daughter Rebecca ‘Becky’ McLintock (Stefanie Powers) is coming home with the strong possibility of marrying ‘Junior’ Douglas (Jerry Van Dyke) who is the son of long term nemesis Matt Douglas and Katharine does not ewant Becky staying out West. Things become complicated when Becky becomes attracted to rustic and surprisingly educated Devlin ‘Dev’ Warren who G.W. takes a liking towards.
John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara’s off-screen friendship translates to an on-screen chemistry of romantic antagonism that lets you believe these two are made for each other, but just don’t wanna see it or can’t accept it. G.W. never avoids poking the bear when it comes to Katharine so much so he plays up the presence of Dev’s mother Louise (Yvonne De Carlo) just to upset Katharine who sees the woman as some kind of competition.
O’Hara is the expected fiery redhead while Wayne has his patented tough man swagger. Wayne in comparison to other actors took his time in every scene. It’s not that the scene lagged but he didn’t feel a need to rush. It was a much more natural performance than many other actors could give. O’Hara’s more energetic performance contrasted with Wayne’s laidback style makes her look much more upset and bothered than she might against another actor of the time.
Louise Warren should’ve been a serious potential romantic rival for Katharine considering what this film truly is. She existed to make Katharine jealous, but in the context of the story, she’s not an actual threat. She’s not even an option that McLintock sees. It’s clear 100% of the time that she is present because she is a convenient replacement for his cook Ching (H.W. Gim) who he wants to reward with a nice retirement after many years of service.
Director Andrew V. McLaglen and writer James Edward Grant take her completely off the table with an abrupt announcement of a romance and marriage proposal from Sheriff Jeff Lord (Chuck Roberson) who is not in enough of the movie to get a sense of. The pair is never seen interacting with each other. It’s just there to give them an offramp so Katharine has no other justifiable reason to be jealous allowing for all outstanding stories to be concluded.
This is just fun and light and entertaining. McLintock! is a good time. It’s a movie that doesn’t try to be ironic or subvert expectations. Never does it make pretenses about being anything other than comfort food and family entertainment. It may not be a riotous comedy, but it’s a comedy that will bring a smile to your face. Perhaps the most controversial aspect of this comedy from a modern perspective is the spanking of Katharine by G.W. You couldn’t do that today. You could not even joke about it. In the context of the film it’s nothing harmful or even necessarily degrading I would say. It is intended as a humorous climax to the romantic divide of the main couple.
Wayne gets in some witty lines as do the others. This gets occasionally somber as it takes on racial politics by never succumbs to being downbeat. This was for the whole family but is not devoid of more adult allusions but nothing that kids might notice.
McLintock! is just one of those great films. It’s entertaining from start to finish. The formula of crossed wires and big misunderstandings, the basics of all good romantic comedies, works well here. Wayne, O’Hara, and the rest of the cast translate a classic play into Western fun. I highly recommend this film!
