Big Jake




I thought you were dead.

Another Vietnam era Wayne film, this time with a little more gratuitous violence thrown in and Wayne directing a good chunk due to George Sherman's poor health.

The McCandles ranch is on the Mexican border in 1909, a time when the Wild West was in the midst of its death throes. However, it's still far from tame, abundantly demonstrated when John Fain (Richard Boone) and his gang raids the ranch, killing several and kidnapping the McCandles grandson (Ethan Wayne). Desperate for a kind of dependable help that isn't necessarily found in the Texas Rangers, Mrs. McCandles (Marueen O'Hara) calls on her estranged husband Jake (John Wayne).

This is Wayne in full heroic glory, and it's a lot of fun watching this tough as nails, yet world wise and weary man of a fading era saddle up to sock it to a band of bad guys sorely needing it. Not only is he quite funny, full of the kind of hard edged wit that can be seen in Dirty Harry, but he's the man's man of legendary status, complete with the perfect killer dog (simply called Dog) that any respectable man would kill for. But while it's fun, Big Jake isn't really a great western. The premise is rousing, but the execution of it quickly stalls and never quite recovers. The violence also feels and looks like it's trying too hard to keep up with the times. However, while some of the film's humor doesn't work, enough of it does to help float the plot along, especially with running gags like everyone saying they'd heard Jake was dead. Also, Wayne's anti-counterculture sentiments can be seen in Jake's attempts to reaffirm his bungled fatherhood on his wayward sons.

The Duke was hardly ever bigger, and he plays everything to the hilt. He's every bit as cool as the part he's given. Richard Boone gets a lot of credit for playing a "great" villain, but really he, along with the rest of his gang, aren't given enough to do after a certain point. Still, he's a pretty wily bad guy. The rest are okay, considering that this is such a family heavy cast for the Waynes. Christopher Mitchum, however, the son of daddy Robert Mitchum, never quite finds a good groove to settle into.

Not one of the Duke's best westerns, but Big Jake is still enjoyable. The ending is pretty weak though.



-The Gnome