McLintock! (1963)

Cattle baron George Washington McLintock fights his wife, his daughter, and political land-grabbers.

Another wildly entertaining John Wayne - Maureen O'Hara variation on The Taming of the Shrew. Not suitable for feminists.

On rewatching: Male-bonding festivity looks like they intended to have as much of fun as possible on set and imagined it would reflect onscreen - unfortunately it does.

Halliwell*: "Sub-Ford Western farce borrowed from The Taming of the Shrew, with much fist-fighting and mud-splattering, and rather too much chat in between."

Maltin***: "Rowdy slapstick seldom stops - a giant mud pit free-for-all and a public spanking for O'Hara are just a few of the stops along the way in this Western version of The Taming of the Shrew. Not recommended for feminists."

The Telegraph Trail (1933)

A greedy businessman-turned-renegade foments an Indian uprising against the coming telegraph to perpetuate his economic stranglehold on the territory.

Mediocre Western with some humor and the usual shoot-outs with villains and Indians.

Halliwell (no star): "A lacklustre Western, with action scenes lifted from the silent The Red Raiders made seven years earlier, though Wayne does get to wear a rather fetching fringed jacket."

Maltin**: "Lesser-grade Warner Bros. B Western."

New Stuff: Alamo

Another gift from my pal Ludwig.

The Movies I Watched in December

Bewitched 2005  5
China Moon 1994  6 
Don't Look Back 2009  6
El Dorado 1966  7 

Every Day 2010  6 
Fargo 1996  10

Hawking 2004  6
It's a Wonderful Life 1946  10 

Jamaica Inn 1939  6 
Jupiter Ascending 2015  5 
Midnight in Paris 2011  6
Moon 2009  7

Nightmare Detective 2006  6 
Oblivion 2013  7

Scoop 2006  6 
Skyline 2010  5 
The Jungle Book 1967  8 

The Little Shop of Horrors 1960  8 

The Paradine Case 1947  7 

The Thing 2011  6 
This Man Must Die 1969  8 

World Brain 2015  6 
Wounded 1997  5

El Dorado (1966)

A gunfighter for hire joins forces with an old friend, a sheriff, and together with an old Indian fighter and a gambler, helps a rancher and his family fight a rival rancher that is trying to steal their water.

Sleepy and slow-paced Western which is constantly on the verge of forgetting the plot; nevertheless, the movie is quite entertaining thanks to the director's grip holding it altogether and the casts' easygoing professionalism.

Halliwell*: "Easy-going, semi-somnolent, generally likable but disappointing Western...an old man's movie all round."

Maltin***: "Typically smooth Hawks mix of comedy and action, with zesty Leigh Brackett script and exemplary performances, espacially by Mitchum, Caan as young gambler who can't shoot, and George as ultra-cool hired gun."

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

A senator, who became famous for killing a notorious outlaw, returns for the funeral of an old friend and tells the truth about his deed.

Much-loved classic Western with a dream cast that leisurely spins a tale self-reflecting the genre and its political implications.

Halliwell***: "Clumsy, obvious Western with the director over-indulging himself but providing some good scenes in comedy vein."

Maltin****: "Panned and patronized upon original release, but now regarded as an American classic; one of the great Westerns."

Blue Steel (1934)

A U.S. marshal observes a robbery and the sheriff thinks he may be the culprit, while the town's leading citizen is planning to rob everybody blind.

Mediocre Western with a highly construed plot, even John Wayne's performance is stiff; great landscapes to be seen, though, in the background.

Halliwell (no star): "Lacklustre Western enlivened by a few stunts."

Flying Tigers (1942)

A captain's command of the famed American mercenary fighter group in China is complicated by the recruitment of an old friend who is a reckless hotshot.

War actioner that does entertain with less patriotic overtones than usual, but with the usual redemption through heroism message.

Halliwell (no star): "More mock heroics with noisy but unconvincing action sequences."

Maltin**1/2: "Good war film...Exciting dog-fight scenes."

Flying Leathernecks (1951)

A Major leads The Wildcats squadron into the historic WWII battle of Guadalcanal.

Mediocre, violent and quite chauvinist flag waver which savours the air battle scenes.

Halliwell (no star): "Empty, violent war actioner full of phoney heroics."

Maltin***: "Solid, if not especially otiginal, WW2 actioner, with good aerial scenes and nice turnby Flippen as crafty sergeant."

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

A retiring Captain takes out a last patrol to stop an impending massive Indian attack.

Classic John Ford western with its star bringing in one of his greatest characterizations, still watchable, although some of the gung-ho and the music is quite dated.

On repeated view I still agree with my initial evaluation; fun to watch for simply seeing "John Ford country" again.

Halliwell**: "Fragmentary but very enjoyable Western with all Ford ingredients served piping hot."

Maltin***1/2: "Director Ford's stock company in fine form...Beautifully filmed in color by Oscar-winning Winton C. Hoch, but a bit top-heavy with climaxes."

The War Wagon (1967)

The story of a man who was shot, robbed and imprisoned who returns to steal a large gold shipment from the man who wronged him.

A standard, a bit tongue-in-cheekWestern yarn that basically entertains only, because the two leads (John Wayne and Kirk Douglas) seem to be enjoying the romp.

Halliwell**: "Exhilarating but simply-plotted action Western with strong comedy elements and a cast of old reliables."

Maltin***: "Amiable tongue-in cheek Western..."

Blood Alley (1955)

A merchant marine captain, rescued from the Chinese Communists by local visitors, is "shanghaied" into transporting the whole village to Hong Kong on an ancient paddle steamer.

Fairly entertaining adventure, if you are able to ignore the blatant anti-Communist propaganda.

Halliwell (no stars): "Rudimentary anti-Red heroics with expensive spectacle punctuating a tacky script."

Maltin **1/2: "Enjoyable escapism..."

Rooster Cogburn (1975)

Marshal Rooster Cogburn unwillingly teams up with a pious old lady to track down the killers of her father.

Formulaic sequel to True Grit, enjoyable mostly for the two great central performances.

The Sea Chase (1955)

As World War II begins, a German freighter captain tries to get his ship back to Germany through a gantlet of Allied warships.

Despite the star doing his usual best, the movie lacks suspense and the romance is quite unconvincing.

Jet Pilot (1957)

An Air Force is assigned to escort defecting Soviet pilot and falls in love with her.

Heavy-handed Cold War comedy with all the leads lost with a silly script; one wonders why the director made this one.

The Horse Soldiers (1959)

A Union Cavalry outfit is sent behind confederate lines in strength to destroy a rail/supply centre.

Coarse entertainment with all involved obviously enjoying themselves.

McLintock! (1963)

Cattle baron George Washington McLintock fights his wife, his daughter, and political land-grabbers.

Another wildly entertaining John Wayne - Maureen O'Hara variation on The Taming of the Shrew. Not suitable for feminists.