Comedy Western
Starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara
Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen.
Wealthy rancher G. W. McLintock uses his power and influence in the territory to keep the peace between farmers, ranchers, land-grabbers, Indians and corrupt government officials.
Perhaps one of the most famaous films to enter the public domain.
George Washington McLintock, "GW" to friends and foes alike, is a cattle baron and the richest man in the territory. He anxiously awaits the return of his daughter Becky who has been away at school for the last two years. He's also surprised to see that his wife Katherine has also returned. She had left him some years before without really explaining what he had done, but she does make the point of saying that she's returned to take their daughter back to the State Capitol with her. GW is highly respected by everyone around him, including the farmers who are pouring into the territories with free grants of land and the Indians who are under threat of being relocated to another reservation. Between his wife, his headstrong daughter, the crooked land agent and the thieving government Indian agent, GW tries to keep the peace and do what is best for everyone.
The film co-stars Wayne's son Patrick Wayne, Stefanie Powers, Jack Kruschen, Chill Wills, and Yvonne De Carlo (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.
This was the fourth of five movies that paired John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.
Maureen O'Hara wrote in her autobiography that the famous climactic spanking scene was completely authentic and that John Wayne carried it out with such gusto that she had bruises for a week.
Although often seen as simply a knockabout comedy, John Wayne also intended the film to be a statement of his own political views, his disapproval of the negative representation of Native Americans in previous westerns he had no creative-control over, and his disapproval of wife-beating and marital abuse from either spouse.
This film has several flashback references to Hondo (1953), mostly about the Indian chief and John Wayne. Also, the Indian chief in this film is the same actor (Michael Pate) as the one in "Hondo."
Fourth of five movies that paired John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.
The failure of the original copyright holder to renew the film's copyright resulted in it falling into public domain.