McQ (1974)

Seattle cop is caught up in a corrupt police force that he is trying to make right. Mq is a cop with a mission.

Director:

John Sturges

Writer:

Lawrence Roman

Stars:

John Wayne, Eddie Albert, Diana Muldaur

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Wayne	...	Lon McQ
Eddie Albert	...	Ed Kosterman
Diana Muldaur	...	Lois Boyle
Colleen Dewhurst	...	Myra
Clu Gulager	...	Franklin Toms aka Frank
David Huddleston	...	Edward W. Farrow aka Pinky
Julian Christopher	...	J.C. Davis (as Jim Watkins)
Al Lettieri	...	Manny Santiago
Julie Adams	...	Elaine
Roger E. Mosley	...	Rosey
William Bryant	...	Stan Boyle
Richard Kelton	...	Radical
Joe Tornatore	...	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 officer | pontiac trans am | hitman | pacific northwest | silencer | 

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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 | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite being filmed in Seattle, the cities most prominent landmark, The Space Needle, is never actually seen in the film. But during the laundry truck chase, as the truck is exiting the freeway, the Seattle Center Arena is just visible in the background briefly, and to the left can be seen the mid pillars of the needle, but not the top saucer.

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Goofs

As the ambulance is driving up off of the beach, there's a long shot of the crowd gathered around and a police helicopter parked next to the road. No one is near the helicopter except a small child who starts to climb onto the back of it, and his mother, who immediately pulls him off of it. A second later, in the next cutaway shot from the opposite angle, the woman and child are suddenly no longer there, but there is now a pilot who is retrieving something from the seat before closing the door.

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Quotes

[McQ's Pontiac has just been sandwiched and smashed between two semi trucks in an alley. The cops arrive and find McQ in the wreckage]
Police Officer: How bad are you hurt?
McQ: How the hell do I know? Get some foam on this thing! I'm up to my butt in gas!

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Alternate Versions

The 1980s Warner Home Video VHS master was made from a 16mm TV print missing ten seconds of footage including during the car chase involving a laundry truck, an additional punch from Santiago when he confronts McQ in his office, and the introduction of Santiago's henchman before the final chase on the beach. The later video releases and DVD are uncut.

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Connections

References The Green Hornet (1966)

User Reviews

Glad Wayne took the role!

I think it took some guts on John Wayne's part to do these kind of roles late in his career, roles like "McQ" and "Brannigan" instead of playing it safe and giving his long term fans more of what they expected of Wayne(The War film or Western) I felt Wayne pulled off the role quite well even at his advanced age! I thought the basic message of this film was that everybody has a price, not at all unusual a theme for a 70's film. It was nice to see John Wayne in such a contemporary themed film. Of course he would of been great as "Dirty Harry" but I'm glad Wayne met the modern times with films like this and "Brannigan". I LOVED the chases and lingo here!! If I had to choose my favorite film between "McQ" and "Brannigan", I would say "Brannigan" by a very very *slim* margin because I feel it has aged a bit better because there's more humor in "Brannigan" than "McQ". However that doesn't make this film any less worthy of a entertaining view by the fan of John Wayne or the casual film viewer. *** out of a possible **** stars!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 February 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

McQ

Filming Locations:

Olympic Peninsula, Washington, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$9,280,710

Company Credits

Production Co:

Batjac Productions, Levy-Gardner

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1