Sent to London to bring back an American fugitive, tough Lt. John Wayne constantly runs afoul of municipal sensibilities. Scotland Yard, in the person of Richard Attenborough, takes him to breakfast at a fancy men's club. Wayne: I'll have a couple of strips of fried bacon, two eggs over easy, and a short stack.Sir Dickie: I think what the lieutenant means is that he'll have three rashers of bacon, two eggs fried equally on both sides, and a few pancakes.The narrative is a bit tortuous and I won't go into the difficulty Wayne has in recapuring the now-at-large fugitive except to say that none of the expected action scenes are missing and that, in the course of being executed, they take us on a grand tour -- the changing of the guards, a high speed pursuit across Tower Bridge, a barroom brawl, and a suspenseful episode on Picadilly Circus. Wayne is his cheerful and sarcastic self throughout, even when the goons try to blow him up on the toilet. There's nothing very original about it, but it's an entertaining and diverting flick.

Tough Chicago cop Brannigan (John Wayne) goes to London to extradite an American criminal named Larkin (John Vernon) but the bad guy is seemingly kidnapped before Brannigan can get to him. That's not enough to deter our hero, though. He's determined to get his man, no matter how many British toes he has to step on to do so, including those of a stuffy police commander (Richard Attenborough).A fun 'fish out of water' movie for John Wayne; his second attempt to duplicate Clint Eastwood's success at moving from westerns to police thrillers. It's a better movie than Wayne's previous attempt at a Dirty Harry-style cop flick the year before, the underwhelming McQ. It moves quicker and there are some funny lines here and there. Plus everyone in the cast seems like they want to make this work, unlike McQ where nobody seemed that into it. Duke is clearly having a good time and appears more at ease with this mostly British cast than he did with many of his later films. Vets Attenborough, Vernon, and Mel Ferrer deliver as they usually do. Judy Geeson has a nice chemistry with Duke. Thankfully (given their age difference) the film never goes "there" beyond mild flirting. Lesley Anne Down plays a prostitute and Daniel Pilon is the hit man hired to kill Duke. It's not an exceptional film in any way but it is enjoyable, especially for Wayne fans who might like to see him in different surroundings than the western plateau or the battlefield.

A story of a cop from the USA who is on a case that takes him to London,not just a cop but Brannigan played by John Wayne.The film is tailored to suit the John Wayne image,no one filled the screen like the Duke ,when he's on screen its him you watch.This is 1970s John Wayne where the image is played up to,some good dialogue,the pub fight scene and no love interest.The love interest is replaced by a fatherly attitude towards Judy Geeson a young police woman.Fans of blackadder will spot Tony Robinson getting thrown in the thames.The Duke has a double for the fight scene in the pub which might have gone un noticed at the time but shows on DVD.The film is not classic John Wayne bot passes the time entertainingly.Richard Attenborough,John Vernon and James Booth play their parts well.A film that celebrates the image of John Wayne,he had turned down Dirty Harry,as too violent for him,here the violence is non graphic appealing to the family audiences who flocked to his movies.Please put the kettle on,a few biscuits sit back and enjoy a star in the twilight of his career.Duke we miss you.God bless America.

He's still big,of course,but don't let that obscure the signs of vulnerability.The way he walks to avoid the sudden jarring,the collar of his jacket folding up,the moments of reflection,the slow pacing of his part in the bar fight,his avuncular attitude towards D.S.Thatcher and the fact that he doesn't actually seem to give a damn about whether what he does meets with the approval of his superiors or not because,in the end,what can they do to him that time has not already done? All that and his (or the studio's) stubborn insistence that he persists with that silly wig add up to a portrait of a man who knows he is not what he once was and is only too aware of what he will soon become. It was brave of him to take on the role of Jim Brannigan,an old man in a young man's world.Apart from Lord Attenborough in an annoyingly silly part as a titled senior Met Officer(not many of them to the pound) he is considerably older than the British cops and villains he mixes it with. Attenborough's office at "Scotland Yard" is in fact anywhere but,with views across the river to St Paul's.Presumably the real Yard with its views of Westminster Underground station was not "London" enough. But we do get The Mall,Buckingham Palace,Piccadilly Circus etc,all shot in J.Arthur Rank "Look at Life" colour. The storyline isn't important,it's just the fish - out - of - water thing every moviegoer is familiar with and "Brannigan" is competently enough directed,rather like an episode of "The Sweeney" with a big budget and extra Granadas. The car chase through south London streets and across the half - open Tower Bridge is quite exciting and the way Mr Wayne gets out of his wrecked Capri,clambers out of the builders' skip and dusts himself off ruefully down put me in mind of Buster Keaton. Classic car lovers may find the scene where an E.type f.h.c. gets incinerated too much to bear. By 21st century standards "Brannigan" is a rather gentle reflective portrait of an ageing man succeeding - perhaps for the final time - in defying the inevitable.Mr Wayne is comfortable in that role,and I admire him even more for accepting it.