Tycoon (1947)

In South America, an American engineer is asked by his boss to build a mountain railroad tunnel following a shorter but more dangerous route.

Director:

Richard Wallace

Writers:

Borden Chase (screenplay), John Twist (screenplay)

Stars:

John Wayne, Laraine Day, Cedric Hardwicke

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Wayne	...	Johnny
Laraine Day	...	Maura
Cedric Hardwicke	...	Alexander (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
Judith Anderson	...	Miss Braithwaite
James Gleason	...	Pop
Anthony Quinn	...	Ricky
Grant Withers	...	Fog
Paul Fix	...	Joe
Fernando Alvarado	...	Chico
Harry Woods	...	Holden
Michael Harvey	...	Curly
Charles Trowbridge	...	Señor Tobar
Martin Garralaga	...	Chavez

Storyline

Engineer Johnny Munroe is enlisted to build a railroad tunnel through a mountain to reach mines. His task is complicated, and his ethics are compromised, when he falls in love with his boss's daughter.

---

Plot Keywords:

railroad | ethics | mountain | engineer | south america | 

---

Taglines:

Adventure In The Untamed Andes! (re-release print ad)

---

Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 December 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

In the Darkness of the Sun

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,209,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min 95 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jan Sterling's movie debut.

---

Goofs

In the closing scenes where the engine and the bridge span fall into the torrent below, Johnny (John Wayne) escapes by running along the tops of the wagons. It is obviously a stunt man since his body shape and hair are different from that of John Wayne's.

---

Quotes

Johnny Munroe: I've got a railroad to build.

---

Connections

Referenced in Personal History: Foreign Hitchcock (2004)

User Reviews

Laraine Day's Jealous Hubby

Tycoon will never be listed as one of John Wayne's better post Stagecoach film. It's good in spots, has some fine action sequences in the cave in and also in the flood at the climax. But the plot leaves a lot to be desired.

What we have in Tycoon is two men who thoroughly dislike each other and that dislike prevents them from working as a team. Multimillionaire Cedric Hardwicke has hired John Wayne and James Gleason to build a railroad. But then he refuses to give them the needed funds to do the job right.

Things get really complicated when Wayne falls for Hardwicke's daughter, Laraine Day. After a night when they have to spend time alone in an Inca ruin, by convention in South America, Wayne and Day get a shotgun wedding even though nothing happened.

What should have happened is these two should have been locked in a room for 24 hours together to work out their differences one way or another. Their petty spites cause some fatalities among Wayne's crew.

But what Tycoon is most known for is another piece of pettiness. Laraine Day was married to Leo Durocher the manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers when this was being filmed. He was a constant presence on the set, insanely jealous of John Wayne who he thought might be having an affair with his wife. Nothing to it, but he made his wife's life miserable.

Not one of the Duke's better efforts.