Fine Western packs thrills , family feeling , shoot'em up and results to be pretty entertaining . Set in 1909 , McCandles Ranch is run over by a gang of cutthroats led by the evil John Fain . As John Fain's (Richard Boone) as leader band kidnaps Jacob McCandles' grandson (John Ethan Wayne, John's little child) , previously injuring (his separated wife played by Mauren O'Hara and son Bobby Vinton) and killing ranch people , subsequently holds him for ransom. As they abduct little Jacob McCandles and hold him for one million dollars ransom. There is only one man brave enough , tough enough , and smart enough to bring him back alive , and that man is Big Jake (John Wayne) , he is the toughest cowboy they've got , just the sound of his name makes bad guys stop in their tracks . Accompanied by other sons , Michael McCandles (Christopher Mitchum) riding a speed motorcycle and James McCandles (his real son Patrick Wayne) , all of them set out to rescue him . Break the law and he's the last man you want to see , and the last you ever will . Big John = Big Jake = Big Western .The Most Violent and Unusual Western Ever! They wanted gold. They gave them lead instead! .Big Jake... A legend of a man. A man who fought his way through hell to save a grandson he had never seen!. John Wayne and Richard Boone star in a thrilling chase across the changing frontier.
This exciting film packs Western action , go riding , thrills , emotion , shoot-outs and being quite amusing . It contains an excellent main cast as John Wayne facing off his contender Richard Boone and a top-notch support cast . It's a sympathetic western , with a beautiful cinematography , glamorous scenery and great soundtrack . Besides , it contains good feeling as friendship , faithfulness , companionship , and enjoyable father-sons relationship . Furthermore , an anti-racism subtext was written into the script in response to ongoing criticism of John Wayne . The screenplay is plain and simple, with a conventional plot , but ultimately gets overcome . Gorgeous outdoors with decent art production by Carl Anderson . The picture bears a certain resemblance to ¨Chaill US Marshal¨ (1973) by Andrew V. McLagen replacing the baddie George Kennedy for Richard Boone . Enjoyable acting by always great John Wayne , owing to the hit of this movie , John Wayne was number one at the U.S. box-office for the last time, a bit later on , he sicked by cancer . Most of the scenes showing John Wayne riding from a distance were filmed with Chuck Roberson substituting for Wayne . Bruce Cabot was surprised to be offered the role of Commanche scout , a part he felt he was badly unsuited for, but accepted it just because he liked working . There also appears notorious secondary actors from a great number of Westerns , as well as friends and relatives of the producer/actor John Wayne , such as : Christopher Mitchum, Ethan Wayne , Bobby Vinton , Bruce Cabot , Glenn Corbett , Harry Carey Jr., John Doucette , Hank Worden , Jim Davis, John Agar , Gregg Palmer , Roy Jenson and Patrick Wayne, in fact this one was tenth out of ten John Wayne films co-starring his son, Patrick.
Rousing musical score by Elmer Bernstein in his ordinary style , though he borrows from his own Oscar-nominated score for 'The Magnificent Seven' (1960) for some themes in his score for this film. Colorful and spectacular cinematography in Panavision by William H. Clothier . Rightly produced by Batjac Production , a company presided by John Wayne and his son Michael A. Wayne . This well-paced film was compellingly directed by George Sherman and uncredited John Wayne himself . Sherman does the human touch including lots of nice moments , it is a very good picture that could become another western worthy of any anthology . Sherman made reliable low-budget fares for Columbia between 1945-48, then moved on to do the same at Universal for another eight years . Sherman specialized almost exclusively in "B" westerns there , including the "Three Musketeers" series, which featured a young John Wayne. George directed lots of Westerns as ¨The Last of the Fast Guns¨ , ¨The Lone Hand¨, ¨Santa Fe stampede¨ , ¨Red skin¨ , ¨Chief Crazy Horse¨ ¨Calamity Jane¨, ¨Relentless¨ , ¨Comanche Territory¨ , ¨Dawn at Socorro¨, ¨Border River¨ and many others . He also made occasional forays into action and horror themes, often achieving a sense of style over substance . The only "A"-grade films to his credit were two westerns starring John Wayne: ¨Comancheros¨ (1961) (as producer) and ¨The big Jack¨ (1971) . His last films were realized in Spain as "Find That Girl" , ¨The new Cinderella¨ and ¨Joaquin Murrieta¨. Rating : 7.5/10. Well worth watching.
