McLintock! (1963)

85% of users liked it
(16,031 ratings)

George Washington McLintock (John Wayne) has a saddlebag full of trouble. The owner of the largest ranch in the territory, which also includes a mine and a lumber mill that he built up himself, should be a happy, fulfilled man, but he isn't. His wife, Katherine (Maureen O'Hara), walked out on him… More George Washington McLintock (John Wayne) has a saddlebag full of trouble. The owner of the largest ranch in the territory, which also includes a mine and a lumber mill that he built up himself, should be a happy, fulfilled man, but he isn't. His wife, Katherine (Maureen O'Hara), walked out on him two years ago without a word of explanation and has been living back east and running in very fancy circles. He's getting older, a fact of which he's constantly reminded as friends around him decline in health. He's being challenged by their sons, eager to make their mark on the territory, and by the homesteaders who are pouring in with the support of the government, hoping to farm on land that's just barely adequate for cattle to graze on; he's got government officials underfoot, including an inept Indian agent (Strother Martin) and a corrupt land agent (Gordon Jones); the thick-headed, longwinded territorial governor, the honorable Cuthbert H. Humphrey (Robert Lowery), and the government back east are trying to push the Indians -- whose chiefs are some of McLintock's oldest enemies and his best and most honored friends -- by shipping them off to a reservation, where they'll be cared for like old women; and to top it all off, Katherine is coming back to secure a divorce and take custody of their 17-year-old daughter, Rebecca (Stefanie Powers), who's been at school back east and no longer likes anything to do with the West, any more than her mother does. All of that -- plus the presence of a young hired hand (Patrick Wayne) who's interested romantically in McLintock's daughter -- is the setup for a sprawling comedy Western with serious overtones, part battle-of-the-sexes and part political tract. McLintock! was made mostly to keep John Wayne's production company solvent in the wake of the losses incurred from the production of The Alamo. Wayne needed a film that could be made quickly and have mass appeal, and he got more than he bargained for in James Edward Grant's screenplay, which owed a little to both The Taming of the Shrew and The Quiet Man. Shot in the spring of 1963 and premiered in late November of that year, McLintock! proved to be one of the star's most popular and successful films of the '60s. It was a prized possession of the Wayne estate and was held unavailable for all of the '80s and beyond until they missed the copyright renewal in 1991 -- after that, it emerged in numerous substandard videocassette and DVD editions. There was an authorized VHS edition from MPI in the early '90s, and there were legitimate showings on WTBS, but until 2005 there was no decent quality DVD version. Late that year, Paramount Home Video, working under license from the Wayne estate, released a beautiful letterboxed DVD edition loaded up with extras. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 7 min.
Directed By: Andrew V. McLaglen
Written By: James Edward Grant
Genres: Western, Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Nov 13, 1963 Wide
On DVD: Jul 8, 1997
Studio: United Artists

Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
A popular Western comedy that makes explicit allusions to John Wayne's real-life politics
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The legendary star's most popular and successful films of the '60s.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

moon r

Heavily laced through and through with The Duke's brand of jingoistic Americana, this family production is little more than a good ol'boys tailgate party, only it's out west. "You know yer a redneck when ... " The naivete is nonetheless charming.
El Hombre I

John "The Douche" Wayne stars in a western comedy that takes place in a town full of one-dimensional, goofy characters. It's basically one "pie-fight" after another as The Douche tries to...ah who cares. <a… More
John "The Douche" Wayne stars in a western comedy that takes place in a town full of one-dimensional, goofy characters. It's basically one "pie-fight" after another as The Douche tries to...ah who cares. <a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/?action=view&current=johnWayne_DEVO.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/johnWayne_DEVO.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Conner R

Way more of a screwball comedy than a western, but it's great for what it is. The Duke always has a great sense of humor, I really love his over-misogynistic portrayal of G.W. Him and Maureen O'Hara always have great chemistry together and truly feel like a couple. It's… More
Way more of a screwball comedy than a western, but it's great for what it is. The Duke always has a great sense of humor, I really love his over-misogynistic portrayal of G.W. Him and Maureen O'Hara always have great chemistry together and truly feel like a couple. It's got a really interesting message about relationships and gender roles that might appear obvious, but there's multiple ways you can interpret it.
Tim S

A bonafied frontier classic.
Dean M

This is the bestest western-comedy movie of John Wayne - Maureen O'Hara I ever watch - lots of wild, raucous and hilarious. And the biggest mudhole brawl scene is the best that makes me laugh so much.
Henrik S

Despite the Duke and O'Hara starring in McLintock, I did not enjoy the movie that much. I am nota fan of Slapstick and farce Westerns. I do enjoy subtly interwoven lighthearted moments a la John Ford, but leave me be when it comes to ten minutes of people brawling in the mud. It… More
Despite the Duke and O'Hara starring in McLintock, I did not enjoy the movie that much. I am nota fan of Slapstick and farce Westerns. I do enjoy subtly interwoven lighthearted moments a la John Ford, but leave me be when it comes to ten minutes of people brawling in the mud. It might work for Keaton, Laurel, Chaplin, but I am lookimg for big spurs in a Wayne western. There is not much of a story, just the Duke flexing his muscles against the lot. A vehicle fot star. O Hara is a delight, as usual, and her sparring with Wayne reminds of milestone film The Quiet Man. The rest of the cast is mediocre, mostly typecast. Average, if not below average for those not particular about Wayne and/or O' Hara.
Chad R

One of the Dukes best!

Read all 7 featured audience ratings

Cast

            John Wayne as George Washington McLintock

            Maureen O'Hara as Katherine McLintock

            Yvonne De Carlo as Louise Warren

            Patrick Wayne as Devlin Warren

            Stefanie Powers as Becky McLintock

            Jack Kruschen as Jake Birnbaum

            Chill Wills as Drago

            Jerry Van Dyke as Matt Douglas Jr.

            Edgar Buchanan as Bunny Dull

            Bruce Cabot as Ben Sage

            Perry Lopez as Davey Elk

            Michael Pate as Puma

            Strother Martin as Agard

            Gordon Jones as Matt Douglas

            Robert Lowery as Governor Cuthbert H. Humphrey

            H.W. Gim as Ching

            Aissa Wayne as Alice Warren

            Chuck Roberson as Sheriff Lord

            Hal Needham as Carter

            Pedro Gonzales as Carlos

            Hank Worden as Curly Butler

            Leo Gordon as Jones

            Ralph Volkie as Oldtimer in saloon

            Danny Borzage as Loafer

            John Stanley as Running Buffalo

            Mari Blanchard as Camille

            Edward Faulkner as Young Ben Sage

            Big John Hamilton as Fauntleroy

            Bob Steele as Train engineer
See full cast