Brannigan

By the mid 1970s the western film had really become a thing of the past. The action heroes by that time were police of all different kinds of character. Clint Eastwood had sure proved that with the success of the Dirty Harry Films. In fact by the time Brannigan came out, Eastwood had two of them already done.

I suspect that John Wayne was also looking for modern stories for reasons of health. Those western locations were and are pretty rugged. Wayne was 68 when this was done and playing a man in his fifties. He also had only one working lung in those last dozens years of work after the cancer operation of 1964.

So in Brannigan Wayne makes a more successful transition from his western character to a modern policeman than he did in McQ. He's from the Chicago PD and in London to pick up gangster John Vernon who's skipped bail. An assignment that the San Francisco PD surely would have sent Harry Callahan on.

Vernon is not only not in custody with Scotland Yard, but he's been kidnapped and is being held for ransom. Vernon's lawyer Mel Ferrer arrives from Chicago to pay the ransom.

It's a merry chase from then on and while the ending is no kind of surprise the film is a lot of fun.

Richard Attenborough makes an effective British foil for Wayne's all American hero. And Judy Geeson who first became noticed by movie fans as a student in Sidney Poitier's class in Two Sir With Love, plays Wayne's driver and confidante as a police sergeant. The two of them have a marvelous father/daughter like chemistry.

Wayne films are not complete unless there is a fight scene. In this case a London pub is busted up like a frontier saloon in a scene reminiscent of The War Wagon. It's sort of out of place though in a modern film.

And the climax is a homage to Dirty Harry. Dare I say it, but I'm still wondering why Eastwood's Malpaso Productions didn't sue the Duke's Batjac company for that scene which is ripped off from Magnum Force.

Probably because Clint liked the homage.

After a spate of tired westerns, and unmemorable cop programmers like McQ, John Wayne was in need of something a little fresh. Brannigan doesn't have much in its plot that we haven't seen before, but it is freshened up by its unusual London setting. Nicely directed by Douglas Hickox, and complemented by lots of good supporting performances, it is also entertaining in patches.

Chicago cop, and all-round hard man Jim Brannigan (John Wayne) is ordered to fly out to London, England, to bring back bail-skipping gangster Ben Larkin (John Vernon). But just as Brannigan arrives, Larkin is abducted by a bunch of British crooks who plan to hold him for a hefty ransom. Aided by stiff-lipped Scotland Yard detective Charles Swann (Richard Attenborough), Brannigan attempts to track down the kidnappers so that he can get hold of his man.

Wayne looks pretty old for this kind of energetic action stuff, but he has a certain rugged charisma that allows him to more-or-less get away with it. The supporting cast is generally very good - Attenborough registers well as the Scotland Yard detective; Judy Geeson looks lovely and has a good role as the lady assigned to look after Brannigan during his stay; Vernon adds another unpleasant bad guy to his villains' gallery; and little-known Daniel Pilon has the best scenes in the film as a genuinely evil hit-man assigned to erase Brannigan. The music, scored by Dominic Frontiere, is hilariously '70s and is poured over the action with little consideration. There are also some unnecessary comic moments, such as the needlessly farcical bar-room brawl sequence which is out of tune with the rest of the film (Maltin, preposterously, called the bar-room brawl the high spot of the film but if anything it's the low point). At its worst, Brannigan stoops pretty low, but these low moments are gladly quite sporadic. For most of the way, it's an entertaining - if never truly excellent - star vehicle, and a genuinely "different" role for The Duke.

John Wayne plays the titular character in the 1975 cop film "Brannigan" and this film, unfortunately, is not one of the Duke's best. Now I do not detest "Brannigan". I do not hate it, I just don't think it's very good and it's not worth more than two or three views. John Wayne made a lot of great movies in his epic career--he made a lot of masterpieces and gave some incredible performances--but this movie does not rank with them. And Wayne himself said that he wasn't particularly fond of it either.

Brannigan is an American police officer who is sent overseas to London to bring back a fugitive from justice who fled the country. He arrives to discover that the fugitive, played by John Vernon, has been kidnapped and held for ransom. Brannigan and the London police force, led by Commander Swan (Richard Attenborough) must try to save him and dodge assassination attempts made by the enemy.

This is a fine plot in a film that just doesn't quite work. "Brannigan" has slow pacing, not much in the action category, and it's quite clear that it's trying desperately to top off with the classic action cop movies like "Dirty Harry" (1971) even down to the music score, which resembles Lalo Schifrin's score from the mentioned Clint Eastwood film. It has its moments, but not nearly enough to make it recommendable. It's not a depressing movie, but not an exhilarating one either. Wayne gives his usual good performance, but even an icon like him can't save the movie.

If you are a die-hard John Wayne fan, then you must naturally see "Brannigan" so that you can say you've seen all of your favorite actor's movies. If you're not, then you might as well skip it over, for it's really not that interesting to watch. See other, better Wayne movies such as "The Searchers" (1956), "True Grit" (1969), "El Dorado" (1966)", and "In Harm's Way" (1965).

A year after looking silly starring in the Dirty Harry clone "McQ," John Wayne gave the modern-day cop thriller another try to much better effect in "Brannigan," a fine vehicle for the aging legend.

Wayne plays Lt. James Brannigan, a Chicago police detective hot on the trail of mobster Ben Larkin. When Larkin is located in London, England, Wayne is dispatched to pick him up and extradite him home to face criminal charges (extortion, prostitution, bribery, murder). Upon arrival in London, he meets his pretty young escort Jenny (she's on loan from vice squad.), who takes him to meet Scotland Yard chief Sir Charles Swann ("Gandhi" director Richard Attenborough, in a terrific performance). In the meantime, Larkin, who is under surveillance, is kidnapped, thwarting Brannigan's plans for a quick extradition and embarassing Swann, who has just berated Brannigan for losing Larkin in the first place and assuring him: "It can't happen here." To Swann's obvious displeasure, Brannigan decides to stick around and help Scotland Yard find Larkin, even though he and Swann have a prickly relationship at best and disapprove of each other's police methods--i.e. Brannigan is a conservative who carries a gun and believes in the use of force and Swann a liberal who doesn't believe in either. Brannigan also spends a great deal of the film dodging a hit man whom Larkin hired prior to his kidnapping.

What follows is an amusing, and low-key, caper that is culminated by a well-choreographed chase through the streets of London, a hilarious bar brawl, and several attacks by the hit man, including one in which Jenny is almost killed. Wayne is in fine form here, well-served by the change of locales and by his character who, unlike McQ, is closer to his own age and not as much of a Dirty Harry-clone. The film is also marked by a much lighter tone than his previous outing, and unlike his uncomfortable pairing with "McQ"'s Eddie Albert, he and Attenborough make a memorable team and have several terrific scenes together. A warning, however--compaired with today's myriad of over-the-top action films like "XXX" and every "Lethal Weapon" wannabe of the past fifteen years, "Brannigan" is pretty subdued and the action scenes will seem tame to today's thrill-seeking action audience. Unlike today's action dreck, the name-of-the-game in "Brannigan" is characterization and plot, as it was with most genre films of the '70's.

Also unlike today's action films, "Brannigan" has a memorable supporting cast, all of whom play characters who actually resemble real people. As I said earlier, Attenborough is terrific as Wayne's sparring partner, and Judy Geeson is a worthy partner for Wayne, although as was also standard for the era, she's mostly around to scream "Jim!" every time Brannigan is in danger and to be protected by her new friend. John Vernon (the dean in "Animal House") is a fine villain as Larkin, and Mel Ferrer scores points as Larkin's sleazy (and crooked) lawyer, who obviously knows more than he lets on. Daniel Pilon adds menace as the mostly silent hit man Gorman. And look fast for Lesley-Anne Down as a hoodlum's girlfriend.

John Wayne only made two more films after "Brannigan"--"Rooster Cogburn" and "The Shootist." And while "Brannigan" will probably be regarded as one of the lesser efforts of his legendary career, it was, and remains, an amusing and entertaining two hours, and a rare chance to see Wayne in a contemporary setting. It's a worthy effort. *** (out of *****)

'Brannigan' is a fairly routine thriller which doubles up as an advertising feature for American tourists wishing to visit London. In both cases, it does the job pretty well. What gives it a boost is the strong supporting cast headed by leading British 'luvvie', Richard "Dickie" Attenborough and the good use of London locations including Tower Bridge which is utilised in an above average car chase. Also there is a large-scale brawl in a city pub ( in Leadenhall Market) which is a direct transfer from a saloon of one of the Duke's innumerable westerns.

Tough Chicago cop, Jim Brannigan, is sent to London to extradite notorious American gangster, Ben Larkin, but before he can collect him, Larkin is kidnapped and Brannigan spends the rest of his time chasing around London in search of his quarry. Whilst struggling to adapt to the British way of life and the restrained style of policing, he employs techniques not usually seen outside Chicago. In the meantime, a contract has been put out on Brannigan's life by Larkin to prevent him from being extradited.

Though menouvring his way around London like a big vintage Cadillac, John Wayne lends his unique blend of charm and charisma and inevitably, he is given most of the best lines in what is a lively screenplay. For instance, there is nothing he likes better than to smash down villains' front doors and bellow defiantly: "Knock! Knock!". This is vintage John Wayne and there is no harm in this as he was very good at what he did and as a consequence he has a devoted following of movie fans around the world.

Richard Attenborough gives sterling support as the (on the surface)stuffy, upper-class Metroplitan Police Commander not afraid to get his hands dirty . Though with characters as different as chalk and cheese on and off the screen, there is clearly a good rapport between Wayne and Attenborough. There is continual conflict on screen about Brannigans retention and use of his handgun. One of the best moments is when an increasingly hysterical Attenborough demands: "I've asked you politely, now I'm asking you impolitely, HAND OVER THE GUN!"

Of the rest of the cast, pretty Judy Geeson is good decoration though underused. Her main purpose appears to be to ferry Brannigan around London and to scream "Look out, Jim!" everytime the contract killer draws close. John Vernon as Larkin demonstrates why he was the 'heavy' of choice throughout the 1970's and Mel Ferrer is suitably slimy as his lawyer. James Booth, Brian Glover and Don Henderson are all good as London thugs. Tony Robinson has a small comedic role as an innocent dupe of a dispatch rider thrown into the Thames by Brannigan long before he became Baldric in the long-running British tv series of Blackadder. Look out too for an appearance by Tony Blair's father-in-law, Tony Booth, as a small time con given the 'good cop-bad cop' treatment.

Humorous, though a little bloody, 'Brannigan' is good entertainment and if you are a fan of the Duke, it is well worth adding the DVD to your collection. My only gripe is that the movie was the inpsiration behind the god-awful 1980's tv seires, 'Dempsey and Makepeace'. Forget this and you will enjoy it.