Un silencieux au bout du canon

I've always felt that John Wayne did his two police films McQ and Brannigan for a combination of reasons. Some of his last westerns before these like The Train Robbers and Cahill were really not up to standard and didn't get the reception at the box office Wayne films could usually expect. I also think those rugged western locations were becoming a problem healthwise. And of course Wayne was bowing to the public's new taste in heroes.

In McQ Wayne is investigating the death of his partner, the way Humphrey Bogart investigated the shooting death of Jerome Cowan in the Maltese Falcon. He has to go private to do it, he actually resigns from the Seattle PD and gets a private license, courtesy of a friend, David Huddleston. The investigation leads him to some surprising and not welcome conclusions.

John Wayne is always the great symbol of law and order and at first glance you would think this might not be a role for him, investigating crooked cops. But when you think about it in films like Tall in the Saddle and Rio Lobo he dealt with crooked sheriffs in the usual Wayne manner. In fact the whole point of Rio Lobo is Wayne putting his whole life on hold to find a couple of guys who betrayed him and their country during the Civil War. So McQ is definitely in line with both of those films.

In the supporting cast my favorite is Al Lettieri the drug kingpin of Seattle. Lettieri's death a few years after this film was a great loss to cinema. During the first half of the Seventies, ever since playing Virgil Sollozzo in The Godfather, Lettieri created some really outstanding villains and Manny Santiago here is one of them.

The ending will surprise you and its more Maltese Falcon than you would think.

Okay so John Wayne will forever be remembered as "The Duke" in a countless string of westerns, but watching him play an honorable and tough as nails cop named Police Lieutenant Lon McQ, is worth every penny watching him do "his thing". Some of the other IMDb reviewers have compared this film to the Dirty Harry (Clint Eastwood) films but in fact The Duke, is just playing himself and rather than seeing him riding a big horse The Duke is seen cruising and shooting in his extremely rare Brewster Green 1973 Pontiac Trans Am SD-455 (Super Duty). I could not imagine the Hollywood heavyweight John Wayne squeezing into a two (2) door 1974 Ford Pinto so of course if he is playing a cop out to revenge his friends murder and defending himself against a mob and drug cartel, the director has to put The Duke behind a muscle car.

Honestly, I have NEVER seen a bad John Wayne film and this is no exception. In fact I quite enjoyed the storyline, and John Wayne was perfectly cast as the lone detective out seeking justice with a big, big gun and two big fists. You will not be disappointed.

I give McQ a solid 7 out of 10 IMDb rating.

My opinion of John Sturges' McQ has evolved over the years. I saw it thirty years ago on NBC (with only a few bullet holes and mild curse words eliminated) and thought it was a flabby, but relatively decent little cops and robbers flick. It had the additional enjoyment of being filmed, in part, in Seattle, an exotic city some 280 miles from my home, Spokane.

John Wayne was something of a cartoon to me when I was a teenager. I didn't understand or appreciate his body of work and that he was a unique performer--to paraphrase his words, "not an actor, but a re-actor." His screen persona was simple and subtle, very human yet heroic. I didn't see any of this; McQ was just John Wayne putting on a business suit (as the reviewer in Time said, "Seems like putting Cary Grant in bib overalls"), strapping on an exotic weapon, and sliding behind the wheel of a Trans Am to go kick drug-dealer butt. McQ wasn't anything special. Just a cop movie with an old guy playing young.

As I got older--and saw McQ uncut on WTBS or KSTW--I began to appreciate both the film and its star even more. Yet I knew that the conventional wisdom of McQ was that it was a ridiculous attempt to modernize Wayne's image, to cash in on his stardom (which it didn't; McQ flopped at the box office). I declared McQ to be my official "Sinful Pleasure," a really bad movie that is truly lovable.

Think of a dog so ugly it's cute.

I taped a keeper copy of it off Cinemax, watched it every year or so. A DVD came a couple of years ago. I realized I never get tired of this movie. It's got lots to complain about--the looping of the dialogue is atrocious, the geography is laughable, the clichés are stacked like cord-wood, and the thought of all the better things John Sturges did in his career keeps popping into my mind.

Yet . . .

Wayne is at his most comfortable, maybe his best work since In Harm's Way. The crime drama itself plays out nicely, with clues being offered out at just the right pace, Seattle and the Olympic Penninsula are beautifully sun-washed and crisp-looking, and Wayne's costars give real weight to the movie--Colleen Dewhurst, Eddie Albert, Diana Muldaur, and David Huddleston, to name a few. There are a few over-the-top scenes that stretch credulity (his confiscation of a MAC-10 machine pistol from a gun dealer and talking Ebonics to Roger E. Mosley come to mind), but our affection for Wayne, and his professionalism, allow him to tame the gamier moments. You actually can believe his call for help to Seattle patrolmen when his car is demolished by a couple of semis, "Get some foam on this thing. I'm up to my butt in gas!" His embarrassment when asking for money from ex-wife Julie Adams and her moneybags husband is one of the best moments in the movie. And, of course, his being seduced by Dewhurst, at first, is so off-putting that you may want to make a Mystery Science Theater 3000 comment at the screen.

But if you're anywhere near adulthood, realize this: Middle aged people (Wayne's character is in his fifties and so is Dewhurst's) have sex. Wayne is the gentleman, here. He's being approached by Dewhurst and he doesn't want his saying no to be hurtful or condescending. If you watch the scene more than once, I believe you will see it as a sweet and decent moment and not some sort of dirty joke about old folks.

This brings us back to the evolution of my opinion of McQ. First it was an okay shootemup, then a sinful indulgence, and now, a set of good performances that lift up an otherwise pedestrian crime drama. It's easy to brand a movie a "sinful pleasure" because you can trash it while enjoying it. Sort of a cheap shot; cowardice comes to mind. McQ is no longer a sin for me to enjoy. It's a pretty good movie with really good people.

I recommend it, warts, jive, and all.

John Wayne is Lieutenant Lon McQ (yes, that is his actual name) who finds himself in trouble. Several cops are murdered, by another cop who happens to be McQ's partner, who is then himself murdered. Thrown off the case he proceeds to investigate himself and uncovers a plot of corruption and formerly seized narcotics.

The film is quite dated by today's standards as the "lone cop" formula has all but been beaten into the ground. So to enjoy this film one must realize it is in fact from 1974 when cop flicks were as typical as teen comedies are now. Also despite having many similarities to 'Bullitt' and 'Dirty Harry' this is still an enjoyable action movie in its own right. It is not a classic since the story is a lot less inventive as the aforementioned films, but it is pretty cool to see John Wayne as a cop - he is no less tough then when sporting six shooters and riding a horse. Inevitably, the film would have prospered more if Wayne was a bit younger, but he is still good as the lead pretty much as he always has been in previous roles.

Also, there are several car chases - all are very different. From the typical driving down the road, to down alleyways, and even on a beach! Also for you car chase fans, this film supposedly contains the first ever cannon-roll car stunt on film. So, story department aside, the film has an edge that is quite fun and enjoyable. 7/10

Rated PG for violence

By the early seventies the western genre was in severe decline, and with the exception of Clint Eastwood the only other bankable actor within the genre who could return a sure fire hit was John Wayne. However having made a string or westerns in succession John Wayne was eager to broaden his horizons and undertake a new project, the project was to be a contemporary detective drama titled 'McQ'.

McQ is set in Seattle and follows Lon McQ (Duke) in his pursuit of the gangsters whom murdered his friend and colleague Stan Boyle. As the quest intensifies McQ uncovers the motive behind his friends killing and uncovers corruption that stems right to the top of the police hierarchy.

While the movie was slammed by critics and some anti Wayne elements its impossible to deny that John Wayne is well cast in this movie as a tough cop who is something of an outsider in a world of changing values. The Duke gives a fine performance with some good supporting players most notably Eddie Albert, Al Lettieri, Colleen Dewhurst and Diana Muldaur There are some well-staged action scenes including two high-speed car chases and an exciting climatic shootout. One notable if somewhat improbable action scene involves two lorries playing a large-scale version of dodgems with McQ's car that would have been very akin to a scene from a James Bond movie.

The movie delves into several interesting areas including corruption, family breakdowns and the shadowy underworld of drugs, one brilliantly directed and acted scene involves McQ exchanging drugs for vital information about an imminent drugs heist, this scene illustrates just how complex the drug underworld actually is and the chemistry between McQ and Myra is very evident.

The overall tone of the movie is notably grim and gritty and while the movie would have benefited from a larger budget, tighter direction and greater character development, nevertheless McQ was an undeniable hit at the box office and is a worthy entry into John Wayne's impressive portfolio.