McLintock!

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.

See also McClintock (disambiguation)
McLintock!
Theatrical film poster
Directed byAndrew V. McLaglen
Produced byMichael Wayne
Written byJames Edward Grant
Starring
Music byDe Vol
CinematographyWilliam H. Clothier
Edited byOtho Lovering
Bill Lewis
Production
company
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • November 13, 1963 (1963-11-13)
Running time
127 min.[1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$4 million[2]
Box office$14.5 million[3]

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.

Synopsis

Cattle, timber, and mining baron George Washington "G.W." McLintock 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 (whom G.W. calls "Becky") is completing her college degree.

Following a meeting with a group of homesteaders whom he cautions against trying to farm on the Mesa Verde:

"God made that land for the buffalo. It serves pretty well for cattle. But it hates the plow! And even the government should know you can't farm six thousand feet above sea level!"

He hires one of them, an attractive widow named Louise Warren, as his cook and housekeeper. G.W. welcomes her two children and her into his home, including grown son Dev, who is handy with his fists, good with cattle, and excellent as a chess player, who had to leave Purdue University on account of his father's death.

Jack Kruschen, John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara,and Chill Wills

Katherine (a.k.a. Katie), returns to the town of McLintock, seeking a divorce from G.W. He declines to give her one, having no idea why she has been so angry with him and why she moved out two years ago.

Following a misunderstanding that leads to a Comanche subchief nearly being lynched by a hotheaded settler father who believes his daughter has been kidnapped, a gigantic brawl erupts at the mud slide by one of McLintock's mines. Surprisingly, Katherine gets involved in the brawl, fighting on her estranged husband's behalf as she takes a hatpin from her hat and sticks it in one of the participant's backside. She attempts the same maneuver on G.W, but this backfired as G.W. inadvertently knocks Katherine down the mudslide, causing her to get muddy in the pool at the bottom. McClintock soon follows, knocking Katherine in the mud again, which she gets up and yells furiously at G.W., “You and your friends.” The fight eventually stops when “Running Buffalo” tells McClintock from the top of the mudslide “Whoooa Maclin, Whoooa, Marlin, good party, but no whiskey, we go home.” as the Indians disperse from the area.

Rebecca "Becky" McLintock returns to town, along with her banjo-playing love interest, "Junior" Douglas. Junior is approved of by Katherine, but not G.W. She soon falls for Dev (of whom G.W. approves wholeheartedly), though,and they become engaged after he takes her across his knee and spanks her with a coal shovel following a sharp exchange between them. Becky had accused him of insulting her honor and asked G.W. to shoot him. In her words, "If you're my father, if you love me, you'll shoot him." To which he replies that he is her father and he does love her. Grabbing a small pistol from a case in the living room, he aims and shoots Dev in the chest. He falls to the floor and Becky is totally shocked that G.W. actually did it. However, Dev is fine - the gun was loaded with a blank and used to start races. Becky races to Dev's side to comfort him, whereupon he becomes angered at her insistence that G.W. shoot him. This leads to the spanking, G.W. handing him a coal shovel and then casually strolling out of the room as the spanking commences. Days later, when the young couple announces the engagement, G.W. and Mrs. Warren both give their blessings.

The same train that brought Becky home from college also brought back Chief Puma of the Comanche tribe, an honored enemy and blood brother of G.W., who has been released from prison by the federal government. The territorial governor is out to force the local Comanche tribe off their lands and onto a reservation near Fort Sill.

At the request of Chief Puma, McLintock acts as the spokesman for the Comanche, translating Puma's speech into English at the kangaroo court hearing organized by Governor Humphrey. The governor announces that the Indians will be moved to Oklahoma, and Chief Puma and his subchiefs are imprisoned again. Disgusted by the mistreatment of Puma and his people, G.W. arranges a break out and an Army train is looted of a cargo of Krag-Jorgenson rifles and ammunition. The Comanche head out on what Puma had called "the last fight of the Comanche," hotly pursued by the local troop of U.S. Cavalry. This has the effect of bringing what Humphrey and Agard, the local Indian agent, have been doing to the attention of Washington. Both are implied to be removed from office soon, and the Comanche will not be slaughtered.

At the Fourth of July celebration during which the Comanche breakout takes place, Katherine gets "tarred and feathered" with molasses and goose feathers in the general store. When she leaves to change clothing in the hotel, McLintock has finally had enough of Katherine's bad behavior. Everyone tells him to beat her, in which he does not believe, but following one too many insults, G.W. pursues Katherine (who is now dressed in nothing but her corset and slip) through the streets and shops of the town like Nemesis. After an epic chase, during which Katherine loses her slip and is down to bloomers and corset, G.W. learns why she left as she believes he was unfaithful. As a compromise for his friend's requests, he finally catches her and decides that he will spank her bottom with a coal scuttle as punishment - the same one Dev used on Becky. He paddles her in front of the entire town, flops her onto the ground before him, and tells her that now she can have her divorce. He then hands the coal scuttle to Dev saying, "Keep it, you may need it.", to which Dev chuckles until he notices Becky glaring at him. Katherine ultimately decides she does not want a divorce, and G.W. and she happily reconcile.

Cast
Yvonne De Carlo as Mrs. Warren

Production

The script was developed by John Wayne as a way for him to express his disapproval for how Westerns represent Native Americans, his opinions on marital abuse, and discontent for political corruption from either party. He offered the job of directing to Andrew 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.[2]

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.[4][2]

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.[5] Michael Wayne estimated the budget as being $3.5 to $4 million.[2]

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, he did not pull his strokes. "He really spanked me! My bottom was black and blue for weeks!"[6]

Music
Stefanie Powers 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.[7] McLintock! grossed $14,500,000 in North America,[3] earning $7.25 million in US theatrical rentals.[8]

Andrew McLaglen said the film "put me in the big time."[9] He made four more films with Wayne: Hellfighters (1968), The Undefeated (1969), Chisum (1970), and Cahill, U.S. Marshal (1973).

John Wayne watches as Patrick Wayne spanks Stefanie Powers.

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."[1] 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."[1] 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."[10]

Novelization

Richard Wormser wrote a novelization of the screenplay.[11]

Public domain status

The film was produced by John Wayne's Batjac Productions and released thru United Artists. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer became owner of the distribution rights after the studio absorbed UA in 1981. MGM 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.[12][13][14][15]

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, and had a DVD release in 2003 by Delta Entertainment. 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 O’Hara, 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

See also

References
  1. Crowther, Bosley (November 14, 1963). "McLintock! (1963)". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  2. Smith, Jack (25 Nov 1963). "John Wayne's Latest Film a Family Affair". Los Angeles Times. p. A3.
  3. Box Office Information for McLintock! The Numbers. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  4. "Locations for McLintock!". IMDb. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  5. Steinberg, Jay. "McLintock". Turner Class Movies.
  6. McLintock! Collectors Edition DVD. Released October 11, 2005. ASIN: B000ANVPPQ
  7. Steinberg, Jay S. "McLintock! Article". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  8. "Top Rental Films of 1963", Variety, 8 January 1964 p 37. Please note this figure is film rentals accruing to distributors, not gross takings.
  9. Dixon, Wheeler Winston (April 2009). "Andrew V. McLaglen: Last of the Hollywood Professionals".
  10. Levy, Emanuel. "McLintock!". EmanuelLevy.com. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  11. Wormser, Richard (1963). McLintock. Gold Metal. Greenwich, Connecticut: Fawcett. OCLC 28658671.
  12. "Court Rules for 'Goodtimes' in McLintock! Case", in Billboard, May 14, 1994, pg. 73 & 82
  13. Fishman, Stephen (2010), pp.337
  14. Batjac 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.
  15. 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.
  16. "Gold Key: McLintock!". Grand Comics Database.
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