2015 TCM Summer Under The Stars Blogathon presents: Out of the Saddle: John Wayne in MCQ (Warner Brothers, 1974)

I’m happy to be taking part in the 2015 TCM Summer Under The Stars Blogathon hosted by Journeys in Classic Film, and especially to write about my favorite actor, John Wayne. Cop pictures were in style in the early 70s with the success of THE FRENCH CONNECTION and DIRTY HARRY. The Duke, who was originally offered the part of Dirty Harry Callahan, hadn’t been out of the saddle onscreen since 1969’s HELLFIGHTERS, traded in his horse for a Pontiac Firebird in the action packed MCQ, directed by veteran John Sturges (GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, THE GREAT ESCAPE).

Wayne plays tough cop Lon McQ, who quits the force to investigate the murder of his former partner. He gets tangled up with drug dealers and corrupt officials, car chases and shootouts. Sound formulaic? It is, but the action scenes make up for a lame script. Duke basically plays the same character he always did in his later films, tough but tender, fair but firm. It’s kind of jarring to see Wayne in his hairpiece instead of his usual cowboy hat, and tooling around the streets of Seattle in a muscle car rather than the dusty trail on his horse. He’s surrounded by a supporting cast full of familiar faces (Eddie Albert, Diana Muldaur, Colleen Dewhurst, Al Lettieri, David Huttleston), all of whom do their best with the script. MCQ plays like a TV movie of the week, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and fans of 70s action flicks will dig it.

John Wayne only made three more films after MCQ, including his swan song, 1976’s THE SHOOTIST, before succumbing to cancer in 1979. The Duke made much better movies then MCQ, but for a look at the star without his spurs and six-gun,  it’s definitely worth watching.