This movie is greatly beloved by John Wayne fans and is said to contain his personal credo of what an all-American man should be. This includes being boorish and crude, having an alcohol problem and being always ready to settle things with your fists. And, of course, being ready to humiliate your wife in front of the townsfolk and end up by beating her publicly with a metal implement. Of course, some of these elements were dormant in the other Wayne / O'Hara vehicle, 'The Quiet Man', but there, due to the genius of John Ford, they were submerged in the general charm of the picture. Here, however, under a director with plenty of Ford's failings but little of his genius, they are rammed home with all the subtlety of a sledge hammer. There is a lot of slapstick humour here but it leaves a very sour taste in the mouth. One ends up feeling it is Wayne not O'Hara who needs the thrashing.
Review of McLintock!
