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''McQ'' is a 1974 American
Panavision Panavision is an American motion picture equipment company founded in 1953 specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses dur ...
neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...
crime action film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...
directed by
John Sturges John Eliot Sturges (; January 3, 1910 – August 18, 1992) was an American film director. His films include ''Bad Day at Black Rock'' (1955), '' Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'' (1957), '' The Magnificent Seven'' (1960), '' The Great Escape'' (19 ...
and starring
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Go ...
. It costars
Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...
,
Diana Muldaur Diana Muldaur (born August 19, 1938) is an American film and television actress. Muldaur's television roles include Rosalind Shays on '' L.A. Law'' and Dr. Katherine Pulaski in the second season of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. She als ...
, and Al Lettieri, and features
Colleen Dewhurst Colleen Rose Dewhurst (3 June 1924 – 22 August 1991) was a Canadian-American actress mostly known for theatre roles. She was a renowned interpreter of the works of Eugene O'Neill on the stage, and her career also encompassed film, early drama ...
,
Clu Gulager William Martin Gulager (; November 16, 1928 – August 5, 2022), better known as Clu Gulager, was an American television and film actor and director born in Holdenville, Oklahoma. He first became known for his work in television, appearing in ...
,
David Huddleston David William Huddleston (September 17, 1930 – August 2, 2016) was an American actor. An Emmy Award nominee, Huddleston had a prolific television career, and appeared in many films including:'' Rio Lobo'', ''Blazing Saddles'', '' Crime Buste ...
,
Julian Christopher Julian Christopher (born November 7, 1944) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in various films and television series from the 1970s to the present, including '' The Magician'' and the episode ' Code of Honor' from '' Star Trek: T ...
(credited as Jim Watkins),
Roger E. Mosley Roger Earl Mosley (; December 18, 1938 – August 7, 2022) was an American actor, director, and writer best known for his role as the helicopter pilot Theodore "T.C." Calvin in the CBS television series '' Magnum, P.I.'', which originally aired ...
, and William Bryant in supporting roles. The film was shot in the
State of Washington Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
, making extensive use of locations in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...
and with a sequence near the end filmed on the
Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...
at Moclips.


Plot

Just before dawn in Seattle, a man drives into town and shoots a policeman on his beat, and another in a parking lot. The gunman leaves his car at a dealership and enters a luncheonette, where, now seen to be wearing a police badge, he is greeted as "Sarge". A car pulls up, and the gunman goes outside. He gives the driver a satchel containing his gun and begins to walk away, but the driver shoots him in the back with a shotgun. At the marina where he lives on his boat, Detective Lieutenant Lon "McQ" McHugh is awoken by a phone call alerting him to the shooting of his longtime partner, Detective Sergeant Stan Boyle, and the deaths of the two police officers. He scares away a man who is attempting to steal his 1973 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, only to immediately be shot at by someone else. Returning fire, he kills the assailant, who he recognizes as a professional hitman. McQ goes to see Boyle at
Harborview Medical Center Harborview Medical Center is a public hospital located in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is managed by UW Medicine. Overview Harborview Medical Center is the designated Disaster Control Hospital for Seat ...
. Boyle is unconscious and in critical condition, but McQ talks with Boyle's wife, Lois, before going to the police station. Although Captain Edward Kosterman believes the shootings are the work of counterculture militants, McQ is convinced local shipping magnate and suspected narcotics dealer Manny Santiago, who is being investigated by McQ and Boyle, is responsible. Despite a warning from Kosterman to leave the shooting investigation to other detectives, McQ begins tailing Santiago. When he learns Boyle has died, he follows Santiago into a men's room and beats him viciously. Threatened with desk duty, McQ resigns, against the urgings of Franklyn Toms, a field deputy who works as a liaison between the city council and police department. Continuing to investigate the case through a partnership with local private eye "Pinky" Farrell, McQ learns from Rosey and Myra, two of Boyle's
informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informant ...
s, that Santiago has assembled a team to steal the confiscated drugs that are housed in the police department's evidence vault. He follows the drugs when they are taken by representatives from the State Attorney General's Office to be destroyed at a secret location, which, this time, is a hospital. Santiago's team, disguised as employees of the laundry service, steals the drugs, and McQ gives chase, but they get away. Kosterman forces McQ to forfeit his personal revolver, so McQ goes to a gun store and acquires a pistol and a
MAC-10 The Military Armament Corporation Model 10, officially abbreviated as "M10" or "M-10", and more commonly known as the MAC-10, is a compact, blowback operated machine pistol/submachine gun that was developed by Gordon B. Ingram in 1964. It is ...
submachine gun. That night, McQ breaks into Santiago's office, but is caught. Santiago reveals the drugs his team stole turned out to be powdered sugar, the real drugs having been replaced in the evidence vault by corrupt members of the police department, and lets McQ go, though not before paying him back for the earlier beating. Now suspecting Kosterman may have been responsible for Boyle's death, McQ revisits Boyle's informants and learns there were rumors Boyle was dirty. Then, with him inside, McQ's car is crushed between two semi-trucks. He deduces the unusual attack was intended to separate him from his car, rather than kill him, so he leaves the hospital to inspect his car at the impound lot and discovers the missing drugs hidden inside. Kosterman arrives with backup, saying there was an anonymous tip about the location of the drugs, but McQ manages to escape. In the morning, McQ knocks on Lois' door. She says she is leaving to visit her parents, and McQ tags along. When they are near the Pacific Ocean, he tells her that he knows Boyle stashed the drugs in his car, and accuses Lois of helping Boyle's accomplice double-cross him. McQ finds the drugs in Lois' suitcase and, when a car begins to follow them, directs her to take a turnoff to the beach. He kills the other driver in the ensuing shootout and discovers the dead man is Toms. Santiago and his men arrive in two cars, and McQ leads them on a high-speed chase down the beach, followed by a standoff that ends with everyone dead, except for McQ, thanks to his MAC-10, and Lois, who is subsequently locked up. Kosterman gives McQ back his badge and they get a drink at a bar.


Cast

*
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Go ...
as Detective Lieutenant Lon "McQ" McHugh *
Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...
as Captain Edward Kosterman *
Diana Muldaur Diana Muldaur (born August 19, 1938) is an American film and television actress. Muldaur's television roles include Rosalind Shays on '' L.A. Law'' and Dr. Katherine Pulaski in the second season of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. She als ...
as Lois Boyle *
Colleen Dewhurst Colleen Rose Dewhurst (3 June 1924 – 22 August 1991) was a Canadian-American actress mostly known for theatre roles. She was a renowned interpreter of the works of Eugene O'Neill on the stage, and her career also encompassed film, early drama ...
as Myra *
Clu Gulager William Martin Gulager (; November 16, 1928 – August 5, 2022), better known as Clu Gulager, was an American television and film actor and director born in Holdenville, Oklahoma. He first became known for his work in television, appearing in ...
as Frank Toms *
David Huddleston David William Huddleston (September 17, 1930 – August 2, 2016) was an American actor. An Emmy Award nominee, Huddleston had a prolific television career, and appeared in many films including:'' Rio Lobo'', ''Blazing Saddles'', '' Crime Buste ...
as Edward "Pinky" Farrell * Jim Watkins as J. C. * Al Lettieri as Manny Santiago *
Julie Adams Julie Adams (born Betty May Adams; October 17, 1926 – February 3, 2019) was an American actress, billed as Julia Adams toward the beginning of her career, primarily known for her numerous television guest roles. She starred in a number of ...
as Elaine Forrester (formerly McHugh) *
Roger E. Mosley Roger Earl Mosley (; December 18, 1938 – August 7, 2022) was an American actor, director, and writer best known for his role as the helicopter pilot Theodore "T.C." Calvin in the CBS television series '' Magnum, P.I.'', which originally aired ...
as Rosey * William Bryant as Sergeant Stan Boyle * Richard Kelton as Radical * Richard Eastham as Walter Forrester * Larry Buck as Chief Grogan (uncredited) * Kim Sanford as Ginger McHugh (uncredited)


Production

A few years prior to making this film, Wayne had passed on playing the lead in ''
Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American neo-noir action thriller film produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the ''Dirty Harry'' series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department (SFP ...
'' (1971), a decision he later admitted regretting.Dowell, Pat. - "John Wayne, Man and Myth". - (book review of: ''John Wayne, American'' by Randy Roberts and James S. Olson). - ''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...
''. - September 25, 1995. - Retrieved: 2008-08-05
''Dirty Harry'' was set in Seattle in one version of the script, but the setting was changed to
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
when
Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' Do ...
became connected to the project. ''McQ'' was shot in 1973 on location in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...
,
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...
, and the Quinault Indian Reservation in Washington. While filming the beach scenes, the crew stayed at the Polynesian Hotel (The "Poly") in Ocean Shores. The dramatic car chase in which Wayne, in his character's green 1973 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am "Green Hornet", pursues the laundry van was influenced by
Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and ...
's chase scene in ''
Bullitt ''Bullitt'' is a 1968 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Philip D'Antoni. The picture stars Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, and Jacqueline Bisset. The screenplay by Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleine ...
'' (1968).Clark, Mike - "Behind the scenes with John Wayne". - ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
''. - May 22, 2007. - Retrieved: 2008-08-05
When preparing to flip the car during the beach chase without using ramps, stunt driver
Hal Needham Hal Brett Needham (March 6, 1931 – October 25, 2013) was an American stuntman, film director, actor, writer, and NASCAR team owner. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with actor Burt Reynolds, usually in films involving fast c ...
performed the very first car stunt using a black powder cannon charge. On the second practice run down in Los Angeles, the car was unknowingly overcharged, and Needham was nearly killed. Gary McLarty performed the stunt on the beach that is featured in the film. One of Wayne's famous lines from this film is delivered as his character is being rescued from his car after it has been crushed between two semi-trucks with him trapped inside. He says to one of the reporting officers, "I'm up to my butt in gas."


Novelization

A
novelization A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...
of the film, written by Alexander Edwards, was published in 1974 by Warner Books (). The novel was written before production began on the film, and there are subtle differences, such as McQ living in an apartment, rather than on a boat, and using a
Mauser Mauser, originally Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik ("Royal Württemberg Rifle Factory"), was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols has been produced since the 1870s for the German arm ...
in the climax, rather than a (grander)
MAC-10 The Military Armament Corporation Model 10, officially abbreviated as "M10" or "M-10", and more commonly known as the MAC-10, is a compact, blowback operated machine pistol/submachine gun that was developed by Gordon B. Ingram in 1964. It is ...
submachine gun. Some scenes are also deleted or modified, but, on the whole, the book is fairly true to the movie in both dialogue and plot.


Reception

In a contemporary review, Arthur D. Murphy of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' called the film "a good contemporary crime actioner" that was "extremely well cast. Coproducer Lawrence Roman's script has some good twists, turns and ironies, caught well by director John Sturges." Kevin Thomas of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' compared ''McQ'' favorably to the recent Magnum Force (the sequel to ''Dirty Harry''): "The most intriguing aspect of John Wayne's diverting but undistinguished new picture 'McQ' at selected theaters is its similarity to Clint Eastwood's ' Magnum Force' ... The difference—and it may be crucial—is that Wayne, blustering and bombastic as ever, dominates his film whereas it's violence for violence's sake that takes over 'Magnum Force.' Eastwood's film looks lots more chic, but 'McQ' has lots more humanity."
Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the '' Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his ...
of the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote: "Like so many of his recent movies, 'McQ' would be nothing without Wayne. In fact, less than nothing, because tho its story takes a high number of unexpected turns, the pacing is excruciatingly slow, its supporting characters excruciatingly vapid. And yet the film holds together around Wayne."
Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael's opinions oft ...
also criticized the pace, dismissing the film as "prostratingly dull", as did
Nora Sayre Nora Clemens Sayre (September 20, 1932 – August 8, 2001) was an American film critic and essayist. She was a reviewer of films for ''The New York Times'' in the 1970s, and, from 1981, a writing teacher for many years at Columbia University ...
of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', who wrote: "In this wildly undramatic picture, music and gunshots have to provide the gumption that the acting lacks. Surely Mr. Wayne should stick to Westerns: he's simply too slow to play any kind of policeman. Horseless in the streets of Seattle, he looks as though he needs a shot of sand." Gary Arnold of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' wrote: "'McQ' can be recommended if you're in the mood for a commercial movie so stiff and perfunctory that it becomes unintentionally funny ... Wayne really should have enough savvy to realize that he looks ridiculous speeding around town in a green Hornet. This sporty image doesn't do anything for him anymore than his toupee does." Retrospectively, James M. Tate of ''Cult Film Freaks'' said the movie has a
film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...
quality: "Director John Sturges was, like Wayne, best known for making Westerns, a genre ''McQ'' borrows from with the maverick loner versus an eclectic string of feisty (and often sneaky) antagonists, each with their own lethal agenda, sometimes even coming out of the woodwork with guns blazing. But with the cool looking MAC-10 submachine gun and a snaky trail pitting one man against shadowy odds, this is really a modern Noir thriller providing a chance to see the American icon grittier, and often more vulnerable, than ever before: at least in a modern setting." On
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
, the film has an approval rating of 44% based on 9 reviews, with an average score of 5.50/10.


See also

*
John Wayne filmography American actor, director, and producer John Wayne (1907–1979) began working on films as an extra, prop man and stuntman, mainly for the Fox Film Corporation. He frequently worked in minor roles with director John Ford and when Raoul Walsh sug ...
*
List of American films of 1974 A list of American films released in 1974. '' The Godfather Part II'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Highest-grossing films (U.S.) A–Z Documentaries See also * 1974 in the United States References External links 1974 films ...
* '' Brannigan''


Notes


References


External links

* * * * * * {{John Sturges 1974 films 1970s crime action films American crime action films Batjac Productions films Fictional portrayals of the Seattle Police Department Films about the illegal drug trade Films directed by John Sturges Films produced by John Wayne Films scored by Elmer Bernstein Films set in Seattle Films shot in Washington (state) American police detective films Warner Bros. films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films