Tonight on TV: unfairly little known, this western with John Wayne returns to the cast of the quiet man

Between John Wayne and Andrew McLaglen, it's a long and beautiful story. Among the films that have marked their collaboration, there are obviously the fires of hell (1968), the western giants (1969), Chisum (1970), or the gallows (1973) (which John Wayne loves the least of his career).

But it was the great McLintock that marked the start of the collaboration between the two major cinema monuments. Released in the cinema in 1963, this surprising western was embodied on the screen by John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Patrick Wayne, Chill Wills, Stefanie Powers, or Yvonne de Carlo.

George Washington McLintock, owner of the largest ranch in the region, is rich, respected and feared by everyone except by his wife, Katherine, who returns after two years of absence to ask for divorce and get custody of their daughter, Rebecca. Unfortunately, none of the two intends to capitulate in favor of the other.

When the Duke was brilliantly playing comedy

Noted 2.7 out of 5 by the spectators of Allociné, The Grand Mclintock is unfairly unknown to the general public, or at least, underestimated in relation to other iconic westerns of John Wayne. The reason? Unlike most films brought to the screen by the huge actor, it is above all a comedy.

Indeed, The Grand Mclintock features the tumultuous and humor relationship between the character of John WayneGeorge Washington McLintock, and his ex-wife, Katherine, interpreted by Maureen O'Hara.

Large burlesque joke, The Grand Mclintock is a film that does not take itself seriously, chaining the cartoony fights for two hours, the funny situations (we think in particular of the famous spanking scene), or even potache humor, even macho!

This lighter and more parodic approach to the western can therefore surprise certain spectators accustomed to epic dramas of the genre (Rio Bravo, El Dorado, the conquest of the West, the prisoner of the desert, etc.)

But don't get me wrong, this western remains a must in the filmography of John Wayne. Besides, among the most positive criticisms published on Allociné, we can read:

“”It is the most frenzied, the most exuberant and the most burlesque western ever“(Ykarpathakis157)

“”It is well done, it's good child, the comic tempo works well even in the genus western“(Bobmorane63)

“”The Grand Mclintock There remains a fairly entertaining western by its comical and fairly uninhibited treatment of the genre which contrasts both with the more classic western and the more modern and violent forms of the genre to come“(Ricco92)

“”We sometimes laugh with good heart, the whole exudes good humor, the dresses of Maureen O'Hara are superb, and the distribution is of high quality“(Play It Again, Sam)

Tonight on Arte at 9:00 p.m.