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Big Jake (1971)

GP | | Action, Crime, Drama | 26 May 1971 (USA)
Big Jake Poster
In 1909, when John Fain's gang kidnaps Big Jake McCandles' grandson and hold him for ransom, Big Jake sets out to rescue the boy.

Directors:

, (uncredited)

Writers:

(story and screenplay), (story and screenplay) (as R.M. Fink)

Stars:

, , | See full cast & crew »
Reviews

On Disc

at Amazon

1 nomination. See more awards »

Photos

52 photos | 24 news articles »
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
Martha McCandles
...
...
Michael McCandles (as Chris Mitchum)
...
Jeff McCandles
...
...
O'Brien
...
...
Buck Dugan
...
...
...
Jim Burk ...
Trooper
Robert Warner ...
Will Fain
See full cast »
Edit

Storyline

The McCandles ranch is run over by a gang of cutthroats led by the evil John Fain. They kidnap little Jacob McCandles and hold him for a million dollar ransom. There is only one man who is brave enough and smart enough to bring him back and that man is Big Jake. Written by Christopher D. Ryan <cryan@direct.ca>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

grandfather grandson relationship | ransom | ranch | saddle | mexico | See All (107) »

Taglines:

Big John = Big Jake = Big Western See more »

Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Western

Certificate:

GP | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

|

Language:

|

Release Date:

26 May 1971 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

The Million Dollar Kidnapping  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Budget:

$4,800,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$7,500,000 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

,  »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

(photographs in opening credits)| (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

The automobiles driven by the Texas Rangers were "REO" Motor Car Company cars, the name of an actual automobile manufacturer founded in 1905. REO stood for the initials of its founder, Ransom E. Olds, the same man who founded another company which would become Oldsmobile. REO continued to manufacture motorized vehicles, mostly trucks and buses, as late as 1975 when they filed for bankruptcy, with the remainder of the company now owned by Volvo White trucks. See more »

Goofs

Before the Rangers set out after the kidnappers, Michael tells them that they are 5 hours away. He does not refuel his motorcycle before they leave. Presumably there are no gasoline stations along the way, and no extra fuel is seen being carried. They should have run out of gas a long time before reaching the bad guys. See more »

Quotes

Gunman at bathhouse in Escondero: [Cocking his pistol] No hard feelings, mister.
Jacob 'Big Jake' McCandles: [Shoots him with a shotgun he has hidden in the shower stall] The hell there ain't.
See more »

Connections

Featured in The O'Reilly Factor: Episode dated 18 February 2008 (2008) See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

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User Reviews

Big Jake and Dirty Harry: Same Writers!
20 August 2003 | by – See all my reviews

Some comments here have mentioned how much the Western "Big Jake" reminds them of "Dirty Harry." Actually, both films were written by the same screenwriters -- Harry and Rita Fink -- though additional writers were brought in on "Dirty Harry." Both films were developed and shot around the same time. "Big Jake" came out in summer 1971, and "Dirty Harry" came out at Christmas 1971. John Wayne said he was offered "Dirty Harry" before Eastwood took it (but Dirty Harry was also supposedly offered to Paul Newman, Frank Sinatra, Bill Cosby and Walter Matthau before Eastwood, too!)

The twice-repeated "do you feel lucky?" speech in "Dirty Harry" and the twice-repeated "your fault, my fault, nobody's fault" speech in "Big Jake" prove to me that the same writers worked on both scripts.

Also, Richard Boone must be singled out. This powerful, amusing actor always made a great villain. Wayne had tried to get him as the villain for several films before "Big Jake" (he'd done a cameo in "The Alamo"). Boone finally said "yes" to "Big Jake" and the verbal showdowns between Big John and Big Boone in "Big Jake" are a wonder to behold.

BTW, Boone turned down a lot of movie parts during the 70's (like the Robert Shaw part in "The Sting") but came to help out his old friend Wayne twice in that decade: "Big Jake" and "The Shootist" (1976.)

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