Reviews of movies with John Wayne.
Thursday, September 11th 2008
Grade: C
Synopsis: A Chicago police detective (John Wayne) travels to London to extradite a mobster (John Vernon).
Brannigan is a fairly routine, but nonetheless fun, 70’s cop flick notable chiefly as one of the few “modern” films of star John Wayne’s later career.
This film, along with Wayne’s previous outing McQ (1974), were made after Wayne realized his folly in turning down the lead in the wildly successful Dirty Harry (1971), and, as such, both are really Dirty Harry clones featuring Wayne dishing out his brand of justice while dealing with an uptight bureaucracy. It’s a good fit for the Duke and he seems to take the role with just the right amount of salt, delivering most of his lines with a half-grin and a wink toward the audience. MORE »
Posted at 12:50 PM in Movie Reviews and John Wayne.
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Monday, September 8th 2008
Grade: C-
Synopsis: En-route to Hollywood to oversee production of her best-selling novel, an author (Claudette Colbert) meets a Marine (John Wayne) who she believes would be perfect for the lead.
Without Reservations is a light, romantic comedy that marked something of a departure for both director Mervyn LeRoy and star John Wayne, as both were accomplished veterans, but in other genres, LeRoy in melodramas, and Wayne in westerns and war pictures.
Unfortunately, while Wayne adapts to the new genre rather naturally, LeRoy seems much more uncomfortable, and never seems to find a pace that suits the material. The result is a decidedly middle-of-the-road picture that works best when Wayne’s onscreen, but struggles when he’s not. MORE »
Posted at 6:11 PM in Movie Reviews, Cary Grant and John Wayne.
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Saturday, August 30th 2008
Grade: D-
Synopsis: A cowboy (John Wayne) tames a spirited horse and gets mistaken for an outlaw.
Ride Him, Cowboy is an uninspired, slow, B-grade western, notable only as the first appearance of star John Wayne’s frequent sidekick, his horse Duke.
Duke, who actually gets second billing here as “Devil Horse Duke”, is no Lassie. Yet, although he doesn’t really pack much in the way of charisma or stage presence, he nonetheless went on to star with Wayne in five other films.
That aside, there really isn’t much to recommend the film, as it has neither Yakima Canutt’s engaging stunt work, nor Gabby Hayes’ spirited presence; the two brightest points of many of Wayne’s early Westerns. MORE »
Posted at 5:47 PM in Movie Reviews and John Wayne.
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Wednesday, August 13th 2008
Grade: B
Synopsis: A cowboy (John Wayne) arrives in town, only to discover the rancher that hired him has been shot dead under questionable circumstances.
Tall in the Saddle is, essentially, a souped-up version of the westerns that star John Wayne had made for Lone Star Productions during much of the 1930’s. The plot is routine: stranger arrives in town, finds all is not well, runs afoul of the law, and thwarts bad guys with the help of Gabby Hayes. A proven formula that works well, but this time, with the deeper pockets of studio RKO, Wayne finally has a solid supporting cast and good production values backing him up. MORE »
Posted at 12:34 PM in Movie Reviews and John Wayne.
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Thursday, August 7th 2008
Grade: C-
Synopsis: When the US retreat from the Philippines after it falls to the Japanese in World War II, a US Colonel (John Wayne) remains behind to organize guerrilla resistance.
Back to Bataan is a mediocre wartime melodrama marred by an aimless script and an overabundance of propaganda.
With filming going on while actual the war for the Philippines was still being fought, the filmmakers were constantly scrambling to update the script in order to reflect the latest events. While this approach worked in John Ford’s superior They Were Expendable (1945), it fails here since the film is essentially a melodrama that falls apart without solid three act structure. MORE »
Posted at 11:16 AM in Movie Reviews and John Wayne.
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