McQ (1974) Reviews

• A refreshing change of pace for the Duke.

  knight_hawk20022007-08-06

  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.

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• "I feel kind of silly, acting like an avenging angel all that time"

  ejgreen772007-08-17

  Whenever I watch McQ, two things always stand out to me. First, John Wayne always gets criticized for copying Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry with both of his "cop" films, McQ and Brannigan. And it's always commonly said that the Duke was "too old" to play a cop. But, I've always disagreed with that line of thinking. Remember, Dean Martin had his Matt Helm series going on at Columbia in the late 60's, and Frank Sinatra had his Tony Rome series over at Fox at the same time. Later on, Robert Mitchum would play Chandler's Philip Marlowe in two films. All those guys were definitely in the Duke's age bracket, and I think they were what Duke had on his mind when he decided to make a detective movie, not Eastwood. The second thing I've always noticed is what no one has mentioned here so far (and I'm a bit surprised nobody has mentioned it), that even if you count films like The Long Voyage Home and The Cowboys, McQ may very well be the most depressing movie John Wayne ever made. Think about it; at the end of the film Lon McQ's best friend and partner (William Bryant) is revealed to be a drug dealer in league with many other crooked city officials, the friend's wife (Diana Muldaur) is revealed to have been in the scheme with him, McQ's wife (Julie Adams) has gone on the "women's lib" movement and divorced him and married another man, his daughter (Kim Sanford) would rather hang out with her friends then spend time with her father, McQ's so-called "friends" Kosterman (Eddie Albert) and J.C. (Jim Watkins) have been using their personal friendship to spy on him with the intent of arresting him for the drug ring's crimes. In other words, everyone and everything in this film is a complete and total S.O.B. - except for Lon McQ. He stands alone against the corruption and moral relevancy in his colleagues and friends all around him. The straight and narrow way is usually hard, and Lon McQ certainly has his share of troubles, both professional and personal, throughout the film. The two scenes in this film that really stand out to me are, first and foremost, the Duke's encounter with druggie lowlife Colleen Dewhurst, who he is trying to get some information from. The Duke is his usual professional self, but Colleen Dewhurst really shines here. Had this been anything but a Batjac film, she would probably have gotten a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance here, she's really great. And once again, Duke proves what a generous actor he was. John Ford taught him on the set of Stagecoach that good supporting performances make the star look even better, and it was a lesson he took to heart. All of his costars throughout his long career always said that he never once "counted minutes" or worried about being upstaged by his co-stars. Maureen O'Hara said in her autobiography that his view was always that if you wanted steal a scene from him, go ahead and try to do it; and if you succeeded, more power to you. Here, he underplays his scenes with Dewhurst magnificently, allowing her to deliver the acting goods. The second scene occurs when Wayne confronts Diana Muldaur in her car as she is about to drive out of town to meet her lover (Clu Gulager) and skip town. Muldaur is driving the car and Wayne is sitting in the passenger's seat. When he confronts her about her and her husband's involvement in the drug ring, and finds the drugs hidden in a suitcase in the back seat of her car, she becomes angry, and goes into a completely post-modern, morally relativistic speech, trying to justify her actions. The Duke's facial expressions during her angry diatribe are worth millions. The hurt, pain, frustration, disappointment, and anguish in that close-up are the stuff aspiring actors would kill to have. Just for comparison (as people seem to love to compare the Duke's cop movies to Eastwood's, though as I said, I don't know why), there is no way in the world Eastwood at that point in his career could have played that scene anywhere nearly as effectively as Duke. Once again, the folks who say the Duke couldn't act are proved wrong by a country mile. As I said before, I think that this is probably the most depressing movie in the Duke's filmography. I remember the first time I watched this, and I don't ever remember feeling so down after watching a Duke movie. Interestingly enough, I mentioned Frank Sinatra earlier in this review, he also ran into a similar problem earlier in his career. In 1967 he made Tony Rome, a lighthearted Rat Pack detective romp that was a hit for him. He followed it up the next year with The Detective, a serious drama dealing with political corruption in the New York City Police Department. Like the Duke's film here, the serious film flopped, so Sinatra went back to playing Tony Rome again in Lady in Cement. Well, the Duke must have taken his cue from Sinatra, because the very next year, he starred in Brannigan, another detective movie with a much more lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek tone. Once again, I have to give credit to the Duke for trying something this different this late in his career, he really hadn't done anything like this since Big Jim McLain in 1952. Unfortunately, I think the story was just too much of a downer for his fans to accept. Thankfully, he learned his lesson here and next year come out with Brannigan, which took itself far less seriously then McQ.

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• under-looked

  darcos-12006-05-25

  Before hand I would apologize if there is grammar errors. English it's not my native language. This movie, fr me it's up there with bullit maybe more enjoyable because Mr Wayne communicate the street lingo well and it's less stiff than Mr. McQueen. I'm actually would like to purchase the music score but it's not commercially available. I don't understand why Elmer Bernstein does not included the music on his repertoire. I thought the cast was superb, A great line, when the snitch said " you're no badge anymore, what ya gonna do, go fist city on me". The car chase it's equal or better than bullit's chase. Hopefully, in a near future it's re-released on HiD and we get to enjoy it again. I lived in Seattle during early 90's and just now I gather the movie was shot there. You darn right it's one of John Wayne's under appreciated, under-looked pieces.

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• GOOD "DUKE" MOVIE...NOT THE BEST, BUT ABOVE AVERAGE

  drk19962004-09-06

  McQ was one of John Wayne's efforts to move into a new era. McQ was not the best of Wayne's movies, but it wasn't the worst (an old friend who is no longer around once said there were no bad John Wayne movies). Just turning 50 myself, I remember the John Wayne movies of my youth, and Wayne was always "tops" on my list. McQ was "Classic Wayne" in a new era. The 70s were a time when men were starting to become different in the movies. Not like the men of my youth. Wayne kept that "macho" image going. In another post, a comment was made the Wayne used "big weapons" to foil the bad guys long before Rambo did. That is exactly right. It is great to sit and watch an action movie with so many great starts of the past (Wayne, Eddie Albert, Diana Muldaur, Colleen Dewhurst, Clu Gulager, and a young Roger E. Mosley). Another thing that is of interest is these so called "movie experts" that watch movies, and don't understand one thing about the movie they comment one. McQ's car was a Trans Am, not an AMC Hornet. It was referred to at a "Green Hornet" in reference to the TV show "The Green Hornet." It was the nickname of his car, not the made or model of the car. His Trans Am was the same color as the Green Hornet's car. This is a good John Wayne movie. Good music, good car chases, good story line. It is a good movie to sit and watch on an rainy afternoon. Enjoy it for what it is. A nice chance to relive some moments from your youth, and see the Duke in action. Enjoy yourself, and have fun. That was the purpose of the movie.

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• Why all the negatives?

  Stu-421999-02-05

  I just saw McQ for the first time in a while and I still don't understand where all the harsh criticism comes from. Was John Wayne such an incredible actor that if he comes out with an ok effort it's looked at as crap? I'll admit this movie was not an academy award winner, but it really was quite enjoyable. I liked seeing Wayne in something different. He actually did a decent job as the tough cop who went up against drugs and corruption. In contrast to reviews I've read I really don't see as much sameness to some other movies of the time e.g. "Dirty Harry." It dealt with its own issues and had a fine supporting cast. As far as actioners go I think this one holds its own and turns out to be a pretty fun "Duker."

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