As part of Paramount's John Wayne 100th birtday celebration, the studio has released a deluxe collector's edition of his 1963 western comedy McLintock! On the surface, this would seem to be a strange film to get the royal treatment on DVD. It's a modest, unpretentious blockhouse comedy - yet, it remains one of Wayne's most popular films. It was not only a very big box-office hit at the time of its initial release (despite coming out during the week of the JFK assassination) but proved to be a ratings blockbuster that was telecast by the major networks for many years. In the early 1990s, Wayne's production company Batjac made a foolish error by neglecting to file the paperwork extending the copyright. Consequently, the market has been deluged ever since with dime store versions of the film on no-name video labels. Don't be fooled: there is no comparison to these versions and Paramount's gorgeous new transfer. Additionally, the public domain versions usually have soundtrack music substituted because the music retained its proper copyright. If you care about The Duke's films at all, this will remain the McLintock! of record.
The film reunited frequent co-stars John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara and cast them as a western version of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. They constant brawl, argue and insult each other, but the estranged married couple still harbors genuine love for each other. The same could be said for Wayne and O'Hara. There is true affection evident among these life long friends and their chemistry elevates what would have been a routine comedy into a very special and amusing experience. The film was significant in marking the big screen directorial debut of Andrew V. McLaglen, son of legendary actor Victor McLaglen. He acquits himself well here and over the years would preside over some of Wayne's lesser films (Hellfighters, Cahill: U.S. Marshall) as well as a few gems such as Chisum. The film also boasts a terrific supporting cast that includes Duke's son Patrick Wayne, Stefanie Powers, Chill Wills, Jack Kruschen, Edgar Buchanan, Bruce Cabot, Yvonne DeCarlo and Jerry Van Dyke to name but a few. The highlight of the film is the famous mud fight sequence which is amusing despite being predictable.
Paramount, which is often too stingy with their DVD extras, pulls out all the stops here and provides a goldmine of bonus features for Wayne fans. There are commentary tracks by Maureen O'Hara, Stefanie Powers, actor Michael Pate, the late Michael Wayne (Duke's eldest son who produced the film) and Andrew V. McLaglen. The ubiquitous Leonard Maltin provides an introduction to the bonus documentaries. They include:
- A fascinating look at the history of Wayne's Batjac productions - even if it does gloss over the many business mistakes he made that cost him his personal fortune in the early 1960s. The documentary does justice to the late Michael Wayne and gives him full credit for being a competent producer and business manager. It also explains why Michael never launched another Batjac film production after his father's death in 1979.
- Seperate interviews with Maureen O'Hara and Stefanie Powers- both still stunningly beautiful. As expected, O'Hara tells the best tales as only this wonderfully sassy Irish beauty can.
- Two stuntmen who worked with Wayne demonstrate how fight scenes are conducted in a very interesting segment
- A well made documentary on - we're not kidding- the history of the corset. It has nothing to do with the film itself but should make every viewer wince at the trials and tribulations women of the last century had to go through just to set foot outdoors!
- There is also an excellent still photo and poster gallery as well as the original trailer
Sadly lacking are a sit down-interview and other extras that Michael Wayne did for MPI video in the early 1990s for a deluxe VHS of the film that received virtually no fanfare or pubblicity. Still, there's nobody we'd rather spend an afternoon with than John Wayne and friends - and
McLintock! is rip-snortin', unpretentious entertainment. Make sure you add this one to your collection.-
Lee Pfeiffer
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