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McLintock!
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Wikipedia article
:'See also McClintock (disambiguation)'
'McLintock!' is a 1963 American Western comedy film, starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. The film co-stars Wayne's son Patrick Wayne, Stefanie Powers, Jack Kruschen, Chill Wills, and Yvonne DeCarlo (billed as special guest star). Loosely based on William Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew', the project was filmed in Technicolor and Panavision, and produced by Wayne's company, Batjac Productions.
In 1991, the film entered the public domain in the United States because the claimants did not renew its copyright registration in the 28th year after publication.
Plot
Local baron and town namesake George Washington "G.W." McLintock (John Wayne) is living the single life on his ranch. He is estranged from wife Katherine, who left him two years before, suspecting him of adultery. She has been living as a socialite back East, while their daughter Rebecca is completing her college degree. G.W. goes to town to address recently-arrived homesteaders, whom he tells cannot farm on this land, because it is used for his cattle ranching and is at too high an elevation. A desperate boy who needs work to support his widow mother and sister, Devlin Warren, repeatedly asks G.W. for work, and is refused 3 times. When he has to beg, he lashes out at G.W., who admires his strength and hires him. When Devlin goes to camp to pick up his things, G.W. meets his beautiful mother, who cooks him biscuits. Impressed, he hires her, too. Meanwhile, G.W. hears that his wife has returned to town. He meets her in her hotel and discovers she wants a divorce so that she can take Rebecca back east to be raised in society, which G.W. refuses. That night, much to G.W. and his staff's dismay, the bossy and impatient Katherine moves back in to the ranch and takes an immediate disliking to Mrs. Warren, Devlin's mother.
Rebecca "Becky" McLintock returns to town, along with a suitor from college, "Junior" Douglas (Jerry Van Dyke), whom G.W. dislikes but of whom Katherine approves. Also on the train are four recently released Comanche chiefs brought to town for a hearing over relocating their tribe from McLintock to a reservation near Fort Sill, Oklahoma. They ask G.W. to speak for them at the upcoming hearing, which he agrees to do. At the ranch, Devlin assists Rebecca in decorating for her homecoming party, but when he catches her from falling, she accuses him of groping. He admonishes her harshly, which appears to impress her. Later, at the party, Devlin gets involved in a fistfight with another ranch hand, and impresses G.W. and Rebecca (whom he does not see watching) with his boxing. On another night after Junior calls on Rebecca, Devlin offers to drive him home. On the way he drives recklessly, angering Rebecca, and apparently witnesses her and Junior kissing - when they return, Rebecca demands G.W. shoot him for calling her a "trollop." G.W. "shoots" Devlin with a starter's pistol and Devlin spanks Rebecca for causing trouble, which G.W. allows. When Katherine hears Devlin spanked Rebecca, she admonishes G.W., who leaves to get drunk.
Upon returning home, G.W. calls for Katherine, but Mrs. Warren meets him at the door. After forcing her to drink with him, she accidentally falls down the stairs trying to help him to his room, and Katherine sees her on top of him. She accuses G.W. of cheating yet again, but Mrs. Warren reveals she is quitting because she has just been engaged to the Sheriff. Satisfied, Katherine takes her upstairs and leaves G.W. to sleep in the den.
The next morning, July 4, G.W. speaks for the Comanche, who essentially refuse to be removed and accept US government "charity," which they claim is for widows and orphans. They plead with G.W. to give them guns and let them have a "last fight," but he refuses. Later, during the celebration, local bum Bunny secretly accesses an Army train car and gives weapons to the Comanche, who ride through the town, pursued by the cavalry. In the confusion, Katherine is covered in molasses after a barrel is shot up, and falls into a bag of feathers. G.W. laughs at her appearance and she storms off to get cleaned up. He decides to pursue her to her hotel and find out why she left him and wants to take Rebecca away. In the ensuing chase, she loses her dress and falls into a horse trough in just her corset and bloomers. Ultimately, G.W. spanks her at the blacksmith's and rides off.
Somehow or another, Devlin and Rebecca get engaged after hiding from the Comanche in a bale of hay, and Katherine and G.W. reconcile back at the ranch.
Cast
* John Wayne as George Washington "G.W." McLintock
* Maureen O'Hara as Katherine McLintock
* Patrick Wayne as Devlin Warren
* Stefanie Powers as Becky McLintock
* Jack Kruschen as Jake Birnbaum
* Chill Wills as Drago
* Yvonne De Carlo as Louise Warren
* Jerry Van Dyke as Matt Douglas Jr.
* Edgar Buchanan as Bunny Dull
* Perry Lopez as Davey Elk
* Strother Martin as Agard
* Gordon Jones as Matt Douglas
* Robert Lowery as Gov. Cuthbert H. Humphrey
* Hank Worden as Curly Fletcher
* Michael Pate as Puma, Chief of the Comanche Nation
* Bruce Cabot as Ben Sage, Sr.
* Edward Faulkner as Ben Sage, Jr.
* Mari Blanchard as Camille
* Leo Gordon as Jones
* Chuck Roberson as Sheriff Jeff Lord
* Bob Steele as Train Engineer
* Aissa Wayne as Alice Warren
* "Big" John Hamilton as Fauntleroy Sage
* H.W. Gim as Ching
Production
The script was developed by John Wayne as a way for him to express his disapproval for how Westerns negatively represent Native Americans, his opinions on marital abuse, and discontent for political corruption from either party; intentionally contrasting previous films in which Wayne starred but had little creative-control, such as John Ford's 'The Searchers'. Another sharp contrast from previous films of Wayne is the emphasis on comedy, and using the Western setting for slapstick possibilities. He offered the job of directing to Andrew McLaglen, son to Wayne's longtime co-star Victor McLaglen, who had directed a number of low-budget features and had worked widely in television. It was the first movie fully produced by Wayne's son, Michael, although Michael Wayne had worked on a number of other films in various capacities. The male juvenile lead was John Wayne's younger son, Patrick.
The film was shot at Old Tucson Studios, west of Tucson, Arizona, and at San Rafael Ranch House - San Rafael State Natural Area, south of Patagonia, Arizona, and Nogales. Although the name of the territory is never mentioned, and the Mesa Verde region where the film is set is located predominantly in Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, in the court scene, the flag of Arizona is seen alongside the U.S. flag, although the flag of Arizona was not created until 1917.
Many of the cast and crew, notably Andrew McLaglen, William H. Clothier, Bruce Cabot, Chill Wills, Edward Faulkner, Hank Worden, Strother Martin, and Maureen O'Hara, had worked with Wayne on other productions. Wayne insisted a supporting role be given to Yvonne de Carlo, whose husband had been injured making 'How the West Was Won'. Michael Wayne estimated the budget as being $3.5 to $4.0 million.
As in many other John Wayne films, Wayne is wearing his favorite "Red River D" belt buckle. It can be best seen in the scene where G.W. addresses the homesteaders about 10 minutes into the film, and at the end of the scene where the Comanche ride through town on the way to "the last fight of the Comanche," around 10 minutes from the end of the movie.
In the DVD Special Feature "Maureen O'Hara and Stefanie Powers Remember 'McLintock!'", O'Hara reported that when Wayne and she filmed the famous scene in which he spanked her with a coal scuttle shovel, he did not pull his strokes. "He really spanked me! My bottom was black and blue for weeks!"McLintock! Collectors Edition DVD. Released October 11, 2005. ASIN: B000ANVPPQ
Music
and Jerry Van Dyke
*"Love in the Country" sung by The Limeliters
*Music coordinator: "By" Dunham
*"Love in the Country" words and music by "By" Dunham and Frank DeVol
*"Just Right for Me", "Cakewalk", "When We Dance" words and music by "By" Dunham
Reception
The film was a box-office success, and a timely one, since 'The Alamo' had cost Wayne in both financial and "box-office capital" terms. 'McLintock!' grossed $14,500,000 in North America, earning $7.25 million in US theatrical rentals."Top Rental Films of 1963", 'Variety', 8 January 1964 p 37. Please note this figure is film rentals accruing to distributors, not gross takings.
Andrew McLaglen said the film "put me in the big time." He made four more films with Wayne: 'Hellfighters' (1968), 'The Undefeated' (1969), 'Chisum' (1970), and 'Cahill, U.S. Marshal' (1973).
).
According to Bosley Crowther, "the broadly comic Western ... sounded like a promising idea"; "the scenery is opulent and the action out-of-doors, the color lush, and the cast made up almost entirely of recruits from John Ford's long cinematic cycle commemorating the tradition of the American frontier." Since "the direction was entrusted to a relative newcomer, Victor McLaglen's television-trained son, Andrew V. McLaglen ... good intentions, when the task at hand is as difficult as lusty farce, are not enough." Emanuel Levy, in a review years after the film's release, said the film is "significant because it marks the beginning of Wayne's attempt to impose his general views, not just political ones, on his pictures. Most of Wayne's screen work after 'McLintock!' would express his opinions about education, family, economics, and even friendship."
Novelization
Richard Wormser wrote a novelization of the screenplay.
Public domain status
The film was produced by John Wayne's Batjac Productions and released through United Artists. Batjac failed to renew the copyright, which expired in 1991. In 1994, a legal case determined the film was in the public domain in the United States, but the music score remained under copyright."Court Rules for 'Goodtimes' in 'McLintock!' Case", in 'Billboard', May 14, 1994, [https://books.google.com/books?id=SggEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA73 pg. 73 & 82]Fishman, Stephen (2010), pp.337Batjac Productions, Inc. vs. GoodTimes Home Video Corp.1998 Copr.L.Dec. P 27,825, 48 U.S.P.Q.2d 1647, 98 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8208, 98 Daily Journal D.A.R. 11,443. BATJAC
PRODUCTIONS INC., a California Corp., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. GOODTIMES HOME VIDEO CORP., a Delaware Corp.; Marybeth Peters, Register of Copyrights, Defendants-Appellees. No. 97-55947. United States Court of
Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and submitted Aug. 5, 1998. Decided Nov. 5, 1998.Maljack Productions vs. UAV Corp.May 21, 1997. MALJACK PRODUCTIONS, INC., an Illinois corporation, and BATJAC
PRODUCTIONS, INC., a California corporation, Plaintiffs, v. UAV CORPORATION, a North Carolina corporation, and MARY BETH PETERS, Register of Copyrights, Defendants. CONSOLIDATED WITH BATJAC PRODUCTIONS, INC., a
California Corporation, Plaintiff, v. GOODTIMES HOME VIDEO CORP., a Delaware corporation, and MARY BETH PETERS, Register of Copyrights,Defendants.
Batjac Productions, a company now owned by John Wayne's estate, retains distribution rights for "officially restored" versions of the film and holds the original film negatives, as well as rights to the film's musical score.
Video releases
Despite being available in the public domain by various distributors for the past decade (including GoodTimes Home Video and Simitar Entertainment), the first official home video issue of the film was released in the mid-1990s by MPI Home Video. In 2005, Paramount Home Media Distribution struck a distribution deal with Batjac (which owns the original film negatives) and was granted exclusive distribution rights for an official remastered release debuting on DVD in 2005. This "official" DVD release uses a restoration made from the original camera negative, under license from Batjac, with a newly created 5.1 surround mix and the original monoaural. Bonus features include a new extensive documentary, a "2 Minute Fight School" featurette, photo and trailer galleries, and an audio commentary with Leonard Maltin, Frank Thompson, Maureen OHara, Stefanie Powers, Michael Pate, Michael Wayne, and Andrew McLaglen. In spite of this licensed release, numerous versions of the film are still being released by other companies, with most using old TV prints and film elements outside of Batjac's official restoration.
Olive Films released a bare-bones Blu-Ray in March 2013, using a 2012 2K scan of a 35-mm Technicolor element with the original monoaural track. Olive's release had no involvement from Batjac Productions, as the 2K restoration was provided by the Library of Congress and is classified as public domain, whereas the "official" restoration is copyrighted to Batjac with Paramount handling exclusive distribution.
Paramount followed up in May 2014 with their Blu-Ray release, under license from Batjac Productions. This release uses a brand new 4K remaster from the original camera negative with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround and original mono. It also carries over all the bonus features from the previous Paramount DVD, with the only new addition of the original theatrical trailer scanned in 2K from a 35-mm element.
Comic-book adaption
* Gold Key: 'McLintock!' (March 1964)
See also
* List of American films of 1963
* John Wayne filmography
References
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