Runtime: 111 minutes
Directed by: John Sturges
Starring: John Wayne,
Eddie Albert, Diana Muldaur, Colleen Dewhurst, Clu Gulager
From: Warner Bros.
John Wayne has a MAC-10 by the side of his hip!
This past Saturday night I watched Turner Classic Movies as they showed this film; this was despite how last month Wayne trended on Twitter for a few hours because people were appalled to read the most controversial comments he made in a 1971 Playboy interview. Well, I have known of those comments for YEARS now and he wasn't the only actor at the time to feel that way, so even though I for certain disagree with his opinions on minorities and homosexuals, that won't make me suddenly stop watching his films.
Anyhow, Wayne was asked to star in Dirty Harry but he declined because he thought it was far too violent; well, after Harry was a success, he suddenly changed his tune. Thus, we got this film, where The Duke played the improbably named Lon McQ, an old loose cannon cop who is nonetheless a badass who drives an early 70's Trans Am, is a crack shot and becomes quite angry when his fellow officer friend is shot in the back and dies. Turns out, there are some corrupt cops-perhaps not as shocking now as it was back then-and there is also Al Lettieri... is it a spoiler to mention he plays a bad guy?
This is not great like Dirty Harry yet it's a good time. The Duke's star power definitely helps, along with the film being led by an experienced director-John Sturges-the cast being full of familiar faces, from Eddie Albert and David Huddleston to Diana Muldaur to a small role from Julie Adams... RIP to her. This does end up being pretty violent; there are car chases, bloody gunshots, and as I alluded to in the beginning, an elderly Wayne shoots a MAC-10 at a bunch of fools as if he's Eazy-E in a song from N.W.A. I was also tickled pink at Old John starring in a movie which has a funky, jazzy score-from Elmer Bernstein.
If you enjoy the dark, cynical cop movies from this time, then this is worth a shot, nevermind what you may think of John Wayne now. After all, he interacts with a pimp-Roger E. Mosley!-on several occasions, and to me that is incredible.
This past Saturday night I watched Turner Classic Movies as they showed this film; this was despite how last month Wayne trended on Twitter for a few hours because people were appalled to read the most controversial comments he made in a 1971 Playboy interview. Well, I have known of those comments for YEARS now and he wasn't the only actor at the time to feel that way, so even though I for certain disagree with his opinions on minorities and homosexuals, that won't make me suddenly stop watching his films.
Anyhow, Wayne was asked to star in Dirty Harry but he declined because he thought it was far too violent; well, after Harry was a success, he suddenly changed his tune. Thus, we got this film, where The Duke played the improbably named Lon McQ, an old loose cannon cop who is nonetheless a badass who drives an early 70's Trans Am, is a crack shot and becomes quite angry when his fellow officer friend is shot in the back and dies. Turns out, there are some corrupt cops-perhaps not as shocking now as it was back then-and there is also Al Lettieri... is it a spoiler to mention he plays a bad guy?
This is not great like Dirty Harry yet it's a good time. The Duke's star power definitely helps, along with the film being led by an experienced director-John Sturges-the cast being full of familiar faces, from Eddie Albert and David Huddleston to Diana Muldaur to a small role from Julie Adams... RIP to her. This does end up being pretty violent; there are car chases, bloody gunshots, and as I alluded to in the beginning, an elderly Wayne shoots a MAC-10 at a bunch of fools as if he's Eazy-E in a song from N.W.A. I was also tickled pink at Old John starring in a movie which has a funky, jazzy score-from Elmer Bernstein.
If you enjoy the dark, cynical cop movies from this time, then this is worth a shot, nevermind what you may think of John Wayne now. After all, he interacts with a pimp-Roger E. Mosley!-on several occasions, and to me that is incredible.
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