Big Jake (1971)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

George Sherman

Writers:

Harry Julian Fink, Rita M. Fink

Stars:

John Wayne, Richard Boone, Patrick Wayne

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Wayne	...	Jacob McCandles
Richard Boone	...	John Fain
Patrick Wayne	...	James McCandles
Christopher Mitchum	...	Michael McCandles
Bruce Cabot	...	Sam Sharpnose
Bobby Vinton	...	Jeff McCandles
Glenn Corbett	...	O'Brien
John Doucette	...	Buck Duggan
Maureen O'Hara	...	Martha McCandles
Jim Davis	...	Head of Lynching Party
John Agar	...	Bert Ryan
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Pop Dawson
Gregg Palmer	...	John Goodfellow
Roy Jenson	...	Gunman at Bathhouse in Escondero
Virginia Capers	...	Delilah

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.

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Plot Keywords:

ranch | ransom | shower | repeating rifle | horse | 

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Taglines:

John Wayne and Richard Boone star in a thrilling chase across the changing frontier

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for western violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

26 May 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Million Dollar Kidnapping

Filming Locations:

Durango, Mexico

Box Office

Gross:

$7,500,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema Center Films, Batjac Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (photographs in opening credits) Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Also the tenth out of ten John Wayne films co-starring his son, Patrick Wayne.

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Goofs

Toward the beginning of the movie, the Texas Rangers and the McCandles boys are trying to get ahead of the kidnappers. When viewed from behind, the shadows are on the vehicle's right-hand side, when the camera is in front, the shadows are on the left, even though the vehicles are traveling the same direction the entire time.

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Quotes

Martha McCandles: They're very dangerous men. They've already killed ten people, many of them you know... Juan and his family...
Jake: Tina and the little boy?
Martha McCandles: And Moses Brown.
Jake: Old Mose... lousy cook.

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Connections

Referenced in Golden Saddles, Silver Spurs (2000)

User Reviews

Your fault. My fault. I'm gonna blow your head off!

That's one of my favorite lines from this picture and the way it's delivered, both times, is thrilling. Violent and bloody (and Bernstein's music makes one of the machete attacks even worse, his sense of drama is so good!) so don't let pre-teens or the impressionable see it! Boone is an awesome villain and Wayne and his "dog" make an odd hero combo. Big Jake is a big film, depicting the end of the cowboy era, without bemoaning the passing, and deftly incorporating new technology with the old. The tension between Wayne and his three boys is fine and there's some funny scenes, too. Highly recommended. PS: a Big Jake fan wrote into Entertainment Magazine in the 80s that this was one of his favorite Wayne films; the EM staff had never heard of it. I canceled my subscription.