Cahill, o Xerife do Oeste

An American Western. A story about a veteran law officer who realises that his sons have turned to a life of crime while he is away tracking down law breakers. John Wayne musters up some spirit as a hard-nosed old-timer but he is weighed down not least by a tacky, preachy script about the extent to which modern youth corrupts. It all ends predictably as the widower realises he is partly responsible, due his neglect. An unavoidable impression is that this film has a drowsy pace with some pretty stiff acting from the younger cast. Despite George Kennedy's good performance and best effort to create some menace and tension as outlaw and ringleader, he, and Wayne, are let down because the material is not directed with much verve.

As portrayed by John Wayne, United States Marshal J.D. Cahill is a man obsessed with his work as a lawman. I guess you needed super dedication in doing that job right. Trouble is, he's neglected his two sons, Gary Grimes and Clay O'Brien who've fallen in with bad company. In fact that bad company has thought of a pretty good scheme in how to rob the town bank with the help from the Cahill boys. One unforeseen consequence of the scheme is the sheriff and deputy from the town are both killed.

Wayne catches up with some nefarious characters who fit a general description and have a chunk of cash on them. They're not the right guys and he suspects as much. The rest of the story concerns what happens as Grimes and O'Brien are conscience stricken and how that brings about a general righting of wrongs.

My problem with the story is that marshal's kids or not, they've committed a major league felony. In another film Grimes would have hung for it. Two law enforcement officials were killed in the performance of their duty. You do recall in Hang 'Em High those two kids who did not help Bruce Dern overpower Clint Eastwood still hung in the end. Or in True Grit, John Wayne shoots without hesitation some young criminals there.

But this is a John Wayne film involving his family so the Duke is trapped by certain parameters that his fans expect. It makes for some weakly resolved issues in the plot.

But if you're a fan of the Duke, Cahill U.S. Marshal will fill your bill.

Released in 1973 and directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, "Cahill United States Marshal" is a Western starring John Wayne as the titular marshal and Neville Brand as his half-Native tracker in the Southwest. Widower Cahill is so busy with his work that he's neglectful of his two sons, 10 and 17, and thus they veer toward delinquency, hooking up with a group of ne'er-do-wells (led by George Kennedy). After getting away with robbing a bank, the sons must deal with the moral conundrum of a (dubious) group of men being hanged for a crime they didn't commit.

The Duke had some great or near great Westerns in the final two decades of his career (e.g. "The Horse Soldiers," "The Alamo," "The Comancheros," "El Dorado," "True Grit," "The Cowboys," "The Train Robbers" and "Rooster Cogburn"), but "Cahill" isn't one of 'em. While I appreciate that Wayne tried to do something different by having the story focus on the ramifications of his neglected kids, the movie simply isn't very compelling and the boys aren't interesting as characters. It doesn't help that Kennedy is decidedly cartoony as the villain. Disregarding the awesome Western locations, the storytelling smacks of a 60s or 70's TV show Western.

Yet, if you're a Duke fan, "Cahill" is mandatory viewing. The relationship between Cahill and the tracker (Brand) is a highlight, as is the Western scenery. Speaking of the latter, the movie is further hampered by three nighttime sequences obviously shot in the studio, which appear at the beginning, middle and end, but that's a minor cavil.

The film runs 103 minutes and was shot in Sonora, Mexico; Arizona; and Calderon Ranch, California. The screenplay was written by Harry & Rita Fink based on Barney Slater's story.

GRADE: C

While US Marshall Cahill (John Wayne) hunts outlaws, his wayward sons get in way over their heads when the supposedly safe, after-hours bank robbery plan with slimy saddle-tramp George Kennedy turns into a bloodbath. When Cahill returns and ends up arresting innocent men, it sends the two youths scrambling to do the right thing.

Though one of Wayne's later, less acclaimed movies, there's still a whole lot of fun to be had in this well produced, action filled morality tale.

Kennedy is in truly fine form here as a truly vile bad guy, while Neville Brand, who's usually typecast as despicable villains and psychopathic cretins, delivers a standout, heroic performance as Wayne's halfbreed sidekick.

The tense, bloody climax is pretty good.

"Wednesday Morning" was the working title; "Cahill U.S. Marshal" had its world premiere in Seattle, Washington on June 14, 1973 at the 7th Avenue Theatre, where there were pickets by American Indians protesting the film. John Wayne had just arrived in Seattle the week before to start shooting "McQ". Cast and crew members from "Cahill", "McQ" and "The Cowboys" were at the premiere: Mark Rydell, Diana Muldaur, Eddie Albert, Robert Duvall, Clay O'Brien, Michael Wayne, James Caan, Marsha Mason (these two were filming "Cinderella Liberty" in Seattle at the time), Andrew McLaglen, Marie Windsor, Jackie Coogan. The regular run started the next day at the Town Theatre.