Big Jake (1971)

Director:

George Sherman

Writers:

Harry Julian Fink (writer)
Rita M. Fink (writer)

Release Date:

26 May 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Western | Action

Tagline:

They wanted gold. They gave them lead instead!

Plot:

The McCandles ranch is run over by a gang of cutthroats led by the evil John Fain. They kidnap little...

Plot Keywords:

Presumed Dead | Kidnapping | Father Son Relationship | Mexican Border | Mexican

Cast

John Wayne	...	Jacob McCandles
Richard Boone	...	John Fain (gang leader)
Patrick Wayne	...	James McCandles
Christopher Mitchum	...	Michael McCandles
Bruce Cabot	...	Sam Sharpnose
Bobby Vinton	...	Jeff McCandles
Glenn Corbett	...	O'Brien, aka Breed (Fain gang member)
John Doucette	...	Texas Ranger Capt. Buck Duggan
Jim Davis	...	Head of lynching party
John Agar	...	Bert Ryan (McCandles Ranch foreman)
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Pop Dawson (Fain gang member) (as Harry Cary Jr.)
Gregg Palmer	...	John Goodfellow (Fain gang member)
Roy Jenson	...	Gunman at bathhouse in Escondero
Virginia Capers	...	Delilah (McCandles' maid)
Bill Walker	...	Moses Brown (McCandles' cook) (as William Walker)

Also Known As:

The Million Dollar Kidnapping (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for western violence. (re-rating)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:G (original rating) | USA:G (home video version) | Australia:PG (TV rating) | UK:15 (video rating) | West Germany:12 (f) (re-rated) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | West Germany:16 (f) (original rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (re-rating 2001) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Durango, Mexico

Company:

Batjac Productions

Trivia:

70mm blow-up version released in Spain under the title "El Gran Jack".

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jake is getting ready to leave after the boy, he grabs the rope to his pack Mule and wraps it around his saddle horn. When the camera angle changes he grabs the rope again and wraps it around his saddle horn. Apparently the same shot shown from two different angles.

Quotes:

James McCandles: I am moved by your faith in someone you haven't seen since he was sixteen years old, Daddy!
Jacob 'Big Jake' McCandles: Daddy?
James McCandles: Daddy.
Jacob 'Big Jake' McCandles: Well, son; since you don't have any respect for your elders, it's time somebody taught you some respect for your betters!
[grabs James and throws him into a mud puddle]
James McCandles: Why, if you weren't my father...
Jacob 'Big Jake' McCandles: Go ahead. I give you leave.
[James swings and misses, Jake hits him and knocks him back into the puddle]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Golden Saddles, Silver Spurs (2000) (TV)

Love the Duke!!

First I have to say that I am a huge JW fan. In this film JW is his classic Kick A** self. There is some sentimental stuff in here, about the old man's relationship with his grown sons. Basically it is good old John Wayne Action. When the bad guys get the drop on him, all you can think is "Big mistake" This film is set in the early 1900s. There is an interesting parallel between the passing of the baton from one generation to the next (Jake and his grown sons) and the passing of technology. We see new fangled weapons and a motor car. (Naturally Jake rejects these)

Finally: You got to love the idea of Big Jake owning a dog named ..... DOG.