Sometimes John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara are really cute together, and sometimes the rest of the movie is so terrible there's nothing they can do to save it. John's son, Patrick Wayne costars in McLintock! alongside his dad, but not even his ridiculously handsome, chiseled mug makes this movie worthwhile. I didn't make it all the way through, and for me to actually turn off a movie, that says volumes.In the story, John and Maureen are an estranged married couple who obviously still have feelings for each other. Patrick plays a handsome hired hand-John Wayne is a rancher-and when Stefanie Powers steps into the picture, playing the visiting daughter, sparks fly. This is one of those silly sixties comedies, and the acting was so all-around terrible, I just couldn't keep watching it. I can pick any other Maureen O'Hara movie if I want to see her overact, and I can pick any other John Wayne movie if I want to hear him be wooden and obnoxious.

Released in 1963 and directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, "McLintock" stars John Wayne as as the eponymous big rancher in Arizona who tries to keep the peace with his estranged wife (O'Hara), new settlers, fork-tongued government agents and uprising Natives. Stephanie Powers plays his daughter and Patrick Wayne her romantic interest. The notable cast also includes the stunning Yvonne De Carlo and Strother Martin.My title blurb pretty much tells you everything you need to know, except that this movie is as politically incorrect as you can get. When it comes to Western comedies I'm more into films like 1976's "The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox," but I have to admit that I watched "McLintock!" with a bemused grin for its entire 2 hour and 7 minute runtime.The movie was shot entirely in Arizona, including Old Tucson.GRADE: B-

Dull and irritating.Really just a platform for John Wayne (as GW McLintock) to strut around, showing that he's the boss. The plot and dialogue could not have been tailored more to Wayne's ego than if he had written it himself.Everything else seems secondary, and hammy. There is a sub-plot about the rights and heritage of Native Americans, but it is superficial and patronizing. There is also an initial attempt at, at last, having a strong female character, the equal of John Wayne. This theme, with Maureen O'Hara as Mclinkock's wife, seemed like it had potential but the whole interaction between McLintock and his wife seemed contrived, hammy and implausible. Ultimately, any thoughts that we might see a movie where a woman has equal standing to a John Wayne character is destroyed in the final few scenes.So nothing going for this movie. Even the beautiful and vivacious Maureen O'Hara can't save it.

If John Ford had ever directed a Disney film, it might have looked something like MCLINTOCK!, an amiable comic romp starring John Wayne in the title role & the striking Maureen O'Hara as his wildly unpleasant wife. The movie, at just over 2 hours, is perhaps a bit too long and features one too many subplots, but is still rollicking entertainment, directed with a lot of finesse by Andrew V. McLaglen. Wayne & O'Hara, in the fourth of their five screen pairings, obviously have a lot of chemistry. They're dynamite together. The film focuses on their battles to either divorce or get back together. It moves from one to another with a lot of speed. The exceptionally bright supporting cast includes Stefanie Powers, Edgar Buchanan, Chill Wills, Bruce Cabot, Jack Kruschen and Yvonne DeCarlo. Wayne's son Patrick also has a sizable role and Strother Martin is a scene-stealer as an ineffectual government man. Somehow, the always annoying Jerry Van Dyke is given a fairly prominent role. The high gloss cinematography is by William H. Clothier.