My late father was, in retrospect, someone who belonged to that last generation that grew up with westerns being ubiquitous, and where darker westerns courtesy of Sergio Leone and others started creeping into the genre and what it meant to culture at large.
In hindsight, I should have asked him more about his watching of John Wayne movies, especially during the 60s and 70s, which even the Duke's die-hard fans will admit was a difficult time for his career.
I, meanwhile, got quite into Clint Eastwood's filmography as a teenager and quickly deemed Dirty Harry as a favorite. Famously, Wayne regretted turning down the role of Harry Callahan, so McQ was a way of "getting with the times" (at least cinematically).
My view of McQ hinges a lot on its quality in comparison to a previous crime drama I had seen, 1973's The Laughing Policeman, so if this essay comes off as a comparative one, I apologize, but given the mediocre reception this film seems to have, imagine my surprise when I instead discovered a pleasant, enjoyable experience that largely holds up today.
John Wayne as Det. Lt. Lon "McQ" McHugh
Eddie Albert as Capt. Edward Kosterman
Diana Muldaur as Lois Boyle
Clu Gulager as Det. Franklin Toms
David Huddleston as P.I. Edward W. "Pinky" Farrow
Colleen Dewhurst as Myra
Julian Christopher (credited as Jim Watkins) as Det. J.C. Davis
Opening with a great credits sequence following Det. Stan Boyle (William Bryant) on the streets of Seattle, McQ's setup pulls the viewer right in as we see Boyle gun down two different officers, only to be later shot and left for dead by his unseen contact.
Imagine this reviewer's surprise when a female cop was shown
guarding Boyle's hospital bed. You don't even see that in movies today.
After being phoned the news of his friend and former partner's shooting, Det. Lt. Lon "McQ" McHugh escapes and manages to take out an ambushing hitman. Quickly, he suspects that local shipping magnate and suspected dealer Manny Santiago is responsible.
Al Lettieri as Manny Santiago
Unlike in The Laughing Policeman, where the villain gets barely
any screentime or character, the first time we see Santiago, he's
talking with his lawyer about the heat now on him for a
crime he genuinely didn't commit.
While Wayne is no one's first choice for this kind of crime drama,
he brings an appropriately world-weary humanity to his character.
A short, but amusing dialogue-free scene where Kosterman sees
Pinky helping McQ obtain his P.I. license.
All the while, McQ deals with his police contacts, informants, and his friendship with Boyle's widow Lois. Best known for L.A. Law and TNG, Muldaur's down-to-earth, subdued presence is a welcome asset to McQ.
Muldaur and Wayne are quite sweet together as their characters
share a refreshing "brother and sister" dynamic.
Viewers expecting the archetypes spoofed to no end in countless movies and shows (i.e. The Simpsons' "McGarnigle" spoofs) will be happily surprised at the characters in McQ, such as Elaine, McQ's ex-wife who, with her husband, is actually happy to lend him the money for his P.I. license.
Julie Adams as McQ's ex-wife Elaine
Best known for Creature from the Black Lagoon,
I personally know her best as Eve Simpson on Murder, She Wrote.
Roger E. Mosley (Magnum, P.I.'s "T.C.") as local pimp and informant Rosey.
But the most endearing of these supporting characters is easily Colleen Dewhurst's Myra, a drug-addicted bartender informant of McQ's. A somewhat-love interest age appropriate for the film's star, Myra, with her raspy voice, lined face, and equally world-worn demeanor, still has great sweetness with McQ, making their relationship all the more interesting.
McQ's script, like its characters, subverts a number of genre cliches, and has some interesting twists even for those well schooled in the Dirty Harry vein.
While Santiago isn't responsible for Boyle's death, McQ's interference
with his operation (not to mention, you know, roughing him up earlier)
ends up seriously biting McQ in the ass.
McQ's status as an anomaly of sorts may be attributed to its place in John Wayne's filmography (between his Oscar-winning turn in True Grit and his last film The Shootist), its box office intake of only $4 million (Blazing Saddles, that year's top earner, took in nearly $120 million), and the admittedly-odd choice of Wayne in the wake of The French Connection and other films. But those expecting a totally cringeworthy experience will thankfully not find it here. Is it perfect? No, McQ's fights and shooting probably come off as a bit ridiculous, and the laundry truck chase might go on for too long. But is it better than its reputation suggests? Most definitely.
McQ wraps up with an awesome car chase on the beaches of
Washington's Quinalt Indian Nation.
THE STUFF OF SEATTLE
McQ's secret weapon is undoubtedly its Seattle locales. Cinematographer Harry Stradling Jr. (Midway, Little Big Man) really outdoes himself, as a city rarely seen in crime dramas gets its time in the sun. (Or, more accurate to the Pacific Northwest, overcast and possible rain?). It led me to wonder, why isn't Seattle a more popular locale in these films? Is the weather prohibitive to film around, or does it not afford the subtext/contrast of either the sun of L.A. or the ice and permafrost of Alaska? Regardless, I immensely enjoyed McQ's scenery, as it's as close to my neck of the woods as a 70s crime drama is ever going to get.
The Seattle Center Arena (formerly the KeyArena),
which is undergoing redevelopment as of this writing
to become the New Arena at Seattle Center.
Entrance I-5 North, with a sign for Vancouver, B.C.
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
Okay, there is one extremely cringeworthy aspect of McQ that I have to get out of the way. When McQ goes to Elaine and her husband's house, we also meet his teenage daughter Ginger (Kim Sanford). Unfortunately, Ginger is saddled with some of the worst dubbing I have ever heard on film. What we hear is so obviously an adult woman trying to do a young boy's voice, that I have to think Sanford's actual voice could never have been unsuitable enough to warrant it.
McQ was written by Lawrence Roman, who also wrote the play (and the later screenplay of) Under the Yum Yum Tree. Talk about whiplash!
Elmer Bernstein's score is exactly what you expect a 70s crime drama starring John Wayne to have, but in a good way, and it's still funky as hell with an irreverent edge. A soundtrack suite is below.
Before the Red Stapler, there was McQ's Red Thermos Cup.
Copyright © Chynna Moore
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