McLintock! (1963)

John Wayne is George Washington McLintock, a cattle king who controls a vast amount of land, has had a town named after him and plans to create a park that will probably be named after him as well.

But all is not well in McLintock. Settlers are pouring in, though he’s convinced they’ll never be able to farm profitably on the land they’re being offered.

The Indians are being pushed off their land, and McLintock sympathizes with them even though he had more than one run in with warriors when he was carving out that cattle empire.

Yet his biggest problem is on the homefront. His daughter Becky is returning home after two years in school. That’s not the problem.

The problem is that her imminent arrival has also brought back home his wife Katherine. They’ve been estranged for two years and about the only thing she likes about McLintock — town or man — is the annual July 4 festivities.

Her reason for returning? She’s decided the ranch she despises is also no place for her daughter; she belongs in a more civilized word, Katherine exclaims.

On that point, McLintock does not agree.

As for Becky, she’s attracting suitors, too. Among those vying for her attention are a dandy named Junior Douglas (Jerry Van Dyke) and one of McLintock’s hired hands, Devlin Warren (Patrick Wayne.)

John Wayne as George Washington McLintock, making a point in McLintock! (1963)

Maureen O’Hara as Katherine McLintock, worrying that her hat is on straight in McLintock! (1963)

Review:

Wow, this film sure comes off as chauvinist today. The moral of the story seems to be: If you want to put a woman in her place, just give her a good spanking. And if you’re hand isn’t hard enough, pick up something harder to knock some sense into her.

That’s how McLintock tames Katherine at the end of this Western reworking of Taming of the Shrew. That’s how Devlin Warren gets Becky to realize he might be the right man for her.

But if you can ignore that, there are plenty of fun moments in this reunion of Wayne and O’Hara, including the long chase that proceeds the final spanking. Western fans will see lots of familiar faces, and the film provides a delightful later role for Yvonne DeCarlo, who hadn’t yet become Lily Munster.

In this film, she’s a pretty widow named Louise Warren who McLintock hires as a cook, unintentionally stirring Katherine’s jealousy in the process. The scene where Louise and McLintock get drunk and struggle to climb a flight of stairs is among the film’s highlights.

The role of McLintock’s daughter is handled by Stefanie Powers. A couple of years later, she’d be among the stars in the remake of John Wayne’s breakthrough film, ‘Stagecoach.”

Stefanie Powers as Becky McLintock, the source of friction between her parents in McLintock! (1963)

Patrick Wayne as Dev Warren, the settler McLintock hires to help out on his ranch in McLintock! (1963)

Directed by:
Andrew McLaglen

Cast:
John Wayne … George Washington McLintock
Maureen O’Hara … Katherine McLintock
Patrick Wayne … Dev Warren
Stefanie Powers … Becky McLintock
Chill Wills … Drago
Jack Kruschen … Jake Birnbaum
Yvonne De Carlo … Louise Warren
Jerry Van Dyke … Matt Douglas Jr.
Edgar Buchanan … Bunny Dull
H.W. Gim … Ching
Bruce Cabot … Ben Sage
Perry Lopez … Davey Elk
Strother Martin … Agard
Gordon Jones … Matt Douglas
Robert Lowery … Gov. Humphrey
Hank Worden … Curly Fletcher

Runtime: 127 min.

Title song:
“Love in the Country”
sung by The Limliters

Yvonne DeCarlo as Louise Warren, the house keeper who arouses Katherine McLintock’s jealousy in McLintock! (1963)

Gordon Jones as Matt Douglas and Strother Martin as Agard, an Indian agent out to cheat them in McLintock! (1963)

Memorable lines:

Curly Fletcher: “Makes seven times this month he’s come home swoggled.”
Drago: “Six.”
Curly: “Seven.”
Drago: “Six. Once was his birthday. That don’t count.”

McLintock: “Douglas, I came close to killing you a couple of times when we were younger. Saddens me I didn’t.”

McLintock to Katherine: “Half the people in the world are women. Why does it have to be you who stirs me?”

McLintock: “The first thing I learned about Indian fighting was to wait for daylight.”
Katherine: “What does our conversation have to do with Indian fighting?”
McLintock: “Indian fighting is good experience for our kind of conversations.”

McLintock, to Katherine: “I am not intoxicated — yet!”

Chill Wills as Drago and John Wayne as George Washington McLintock sampling Louise Warren’s cooking in McLIntock! (1963)

Hank Worden as Curly Fletcher, one of McLintock’s employees in McLintock! (1963)

Mari Blanchard as Camille Reedbottom, the saloon girl who arouses Katherine McLintock’s jealousy in McLintock! (1963)

Michael Pate as Puma, asking George Washington McLintock to represent the Indians in treaty talks with the governor in McLintock! (1963(

Jerry Van Dyke as Matt Douglas Jr., romancing Becky McLintock (Stefanie Powers) with a song in McLintock! (1963)

Jack Kruschen as store owner Jake Birnbaum, a friend of George Washington McLintock in McLintock! (1963)

Chuck Roberson as Sheriff Jeff Lord and John Wayne as George Washington McLintock address two scoundrels in McLintock! (1963)

H.W. Gim as Ching, reacting badly to the news that he’s being replaced as McLintock’s cook in McLintock! (1963)

Maureen O’Hara as Katherine McLintock with Robert Lowery as Gov. Cuthbert H. Humphrey in McLintock! (1963)

Yvonne DeCarlo as a tipsy Louise Warren lands in the lap of George Washington McLintock (John Wayne) in McLintock! (1963)

Edgar Buchanan as Bunny Dull, a down-on-his-luck old-timer who hangs out in the town of McLintock in McLintock! (1963)

Patrick Wayne as Dev Warren, helping Becky McLintock prepare for a party in McLintock! (1963)

Stefanie Powers as Becky McLintock, home from the East and flirting with young men in McLintock! (1963)

Maureen O’Hara as Katherine McLintock catching a glimpse of the bruise on her face after a fight in McLintock! (1963)

John Wayne as George Washington McLintock, discussing the settling of the West with his daughter in McLIntock! (1963)

John Wayne as George Washington McLintock and Maureen O’Hara as estranged wife Katherine, arguing again in McLintock! (1963)