McQ (1974)

Police Lieutenant Lon McQ investigates the killing of his best friend and uncovers corrupt elements of the police department dealing in confiscated drugs.

Director:

John Sturges

Writer:

Lawrence Roman

Stars:

John Wayne, Eddie Albert, Diana Muldaur

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Wayne	...	McQ
Eddie Albert	...	Kosterman
Diana Muldaur	...	Lois
Colleen Dewhurst	...	Myra
Clu Gulager	...	Toms
David Huddleston	...	Pinky
James Watkins	...	J.C. (as Jim Watkins)
Al Lettieri	...	'Santiago'
Julie Adams	...	Elaine
Roger E. Mosley	...	Rosey
William Bryant	...	Stan Boyle
Richard Kelton	...	Radical
Joe Tornatore	...	Freddy LaSalle
Dick Friel	...	Bob Mahoney
Richard Eastham	...	Walter Forrester

Storyline

Police Lieutenant Lon McQ investigates the killing of his best friend and uncovers corrupt elements of the police department dealing in confiscated drugs.

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Plot Keywords:

police | private detective | hitman | drugs | detective | 

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Taglines:

McQ-he's a busted cop, his gun is unlicensed, his methods are unlawful and his story is incredible!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Crime

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 February 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

McQ schlägt zu

Filming Locations:

Aberdeen, Washington, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Batjac Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sneak previewed in Seattle, Washington, where the production was filmed, on 4 January 1974.

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Goofs

At the end of the movie in the beach gun shooting scene, the occupant in the first car wakes up and grabs his gun when McQ is facing towards the second car (and the briefcase in the water). If you were going to try to shoot a guy with an automatic gun, would you stay in your seat and quietly shoot him in the back (with the window to steady your shot), or would you do as he did and make noise by opening the car door?

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Quotes

Det. Lt. Lon McQ: [looking at the body of Toms, whom he has just shot. Sarcastically] Franklin Toms; a Servant of the People.

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Connections

Edited into La classe américaine (1993)

User Reviews

Finally caught this film - glad I did

I was happy I'd had a particularly busy week, and decided to "veg-out" for a while early Friday afternoon. As a result, noticed this being run on AMC at a time I normally wouldn't have watched.

For some reason, this is one of the Duke's film which I'd missed earlier, and had never taped or rented. (It also reminded me of how infrequently one saw him on-screen in contemporary, civilian attire.)

One of his later films, not many years before his illness and death, he seemed surprisingly spry and energetic at age 67. And the story was interesting (from the start to the end) and gripping, and the remaining actors well-cast and excellent.

With John Wayne now gone for more than 30 years, it's particularly nostalgic and enjoyable to watch one of his movies you haven't seen before.

This may not quite be a 10* flick, if one were rating in a contemporary fashion. But for the above reasons, I enjoyed it at this level today.