Brannigan

'Brannigan' is a fairly routine thriller which doubles up as an advertising feature for American tourists wishing to visit London. In both cases, it does the job pretty well. What gives it a boost is the strong supporting cast headed by leading British 'luvvie', Richard "Dickie" Attenborough and the good use of London locations including Tower Bridge which is utilised in an above average car chase. Also there is a large-scale brawl in a city pub ( in Leadenhall Market) which is a direct transfer from a saloon of one of the Duke's innumerable westerns.

Tough Chicago cop, Jim Brannigan, is sent to London to extradite notorious American gangster, Ben Larkin, but before he can collect him, Larkin is kidnapped and Brannigan spends the rest of his time chasing around London in search of his quarry. Whilst struggling to adapt to the British way of life and the restrained style of policing, he employs techniques not usually seen outside Chicago. In the meantime, a contract has been put out on Brannigan's life by Larkin to prevent him from being extradited.

Though menouvring his way around London like a big vintage Cadillac, John Wayne lends his unique blend of charm and charisma and inevitably, he is given most of the best lines in what is a lively screenplay. For instance, there is nothing he likes better than to smash down villains' front doors and bellow defiantly: "Knock! Knock!". This is vintage John Wayne and there is no harm in this as he was very good at what he did and as a consequence he has a devoted following of movie fans around the world.

Richard Attenborough gives sterling support as the (on the surface)stuffy, upper-class Metroplitan Police Commander not afraid to get his hands dirty . Though with characters as different as chalk and cheese on and off the screen, there is clearly a good rapport between Wayne and Attenborough. There is continual conflict on screen about Brannigans retention and use of his handgun. One of the best moments is when an increasingly hysterical Attenborough demands: "I've asked you politely, now I'm asking you impolitely, HAND OVER THE GUN!"

Of the rest of the cast, pretty Judy Geeson is good decoration though underused. Her main purpose appears to be to ferry Brannigan around London and to scream "Look out, Jim!" everytime the contract killer draws close. John Vernon as Larkin demonstrates why he was the 'heavy' of choice throughout the 1970's and Mel Ferrer is suitably slimy as his lawyer. James Booth, Brian Glover and Don Henderson are all good as London thugs. Tony Robinson has a small comedic role as an innocent dupe of a dispatch rider thrown into the Thames by Brannigan long before he became Baldric in the long-running British tv series of Blackadder. Look out too for an appearance by Tony Blair's father-in-law, Tony Booth, as a small time con given the 'good cop-bad cop' treatment.

Humorous, though a little bloody, 'Brannigan' is good entertainment and if you are a fan of the Duke, it is well worth adding the DVD to your collection. My only gripe is that the movie was the inpsiration behind the god-awful 1980's tv seires, 'Dempsey and Makepeace'. Forget this and you will enjoy it.

Lieutenant Jim Brannigan (John Wayne) is sent to London to extradite an extortionist called Ben Larkin. However, things become more complicated when Larkin is abducted by some hoods and at the same time, Gorman (Daniel Pilon), a contract killer is out to kill Brannigan.

Exciting, fast-paced and slickly directed by Douglas Hickox who directed Oliver Reed in "Sitting Target" (1972 - see my review), and in common with that film, his direction has the right feel for tough guy thrillers employing the right actors and staging some fantastic action scenes such as a marvelous pub brawl in a London bar. And also in common with "Sitting Target" the direction papers over a somewhat deficient script. Great performances from John Wayne as Brannigan and Richard Attenbrough as the commander of Scotland Yard frustrated at the former's police methods which seem unorthodox by British standards. Judy Geeson is good as Detective Sgt Thatcher who is assigned to keep Brannigan out of trouble while Daniel Pilon is superb as the contract killer out for Brannigan's blood. The film is an obvious rip off of "Dirty Harry" (1971)which Wayne regretted turning down after he saw that movie.

JOHN WAYNE fans have nothing to complain about. This may not be one of his top films, but it's a piece of slick entertainment with a good script and some clever lines and situations.

He may have been sixty-eight when he did BRANNIGAN, but he was still convincing enough as a "kick butt" cop transplanted rather suddenly to ye olde London and coping with some shrewd and cunning kidnappers demanding a great deal of ransom money. In addition, he has to cope with RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH as the police chief who doesn't like Wayne's Yankee ways.

It's a tale that gets off to a brisk start and never stops feeling like a spin off from a "Dirty Harry" movie starring Clint Eastwood. In fact, given Wayne's age, Clint probably would have been a more suitable, age appropriate choice for the leading role here--but Wayne still had enough energy and spirit to play the part in his usual style.

JOHN VERNON and DANIEL PILON make an interesting pair of villains, as does MEL FERRER as a crooked lawyer who's in on the kidnapping scheme. All of them get their comeuppance in a script that has quite a few surprises and plot twists along the way. JUDY GEESON has a nice rapport with Wayne as the woman assigned to drive him around the city.

Nicely photographed with good shots of the busy London area, it's not one of Wayne's best films but it's a very satisfying one with a good plot and a fair amount of action. The London pub brawl did seem to be a bit overdone but the director obviously played it for laughs.

Summing up: Never a dull moment.

Tough Chicago cop Brannigan (John Wayne) goes to London to extradite an American criminal named Larkin (John Vernon) but the bad guy is seemingly kidnapped before Brannigan can get to him. That's not enough to deter our hero, though. He's determined to get his man, no matter how many British toes he has to step on to do so, including those of a stuffy police commander (Richard Attenborough).

A fun 'fish out of water' movie for John Wayne; his second attempt to duplicate Clint Eastwood's success at moving from westerns to police thrillers. It's a better movie than Wayne's previous attempt at a Dirty Harry-style cop flick the year before, the underwhelming McQ. It moves quicker and there are some funny lines here and there. Plus everyone in the cast seems like they want to make this work, unlike McQ where nobody seemed that into it. Duke is clearly having a good time and appears more at ease with this mostly British cast than he did with many of his later films. Vets Attenborough, Vernon, and Mel Ferrer deliver as they usually do. Judy Geeson has a nice chemistry with Duke. Thankfully (given their age difference) the film never goes "there" beyond mild flirting. Lesley Anne Down plays a prostitute and Daniel Pilon is the hit man hired to kill Duke. It's not an exceptional film in any way but it is enjoyable, especially for Wayne fans who might like to see him in different surroundings than the western plateau or the battlefield.

A year after looking silly starring in the Dirty Harry clone "McQ," John Wayne gave the modern-day cop thriller another try to much better effect in "Brannigan," a fine vehicle for the aging legend.

Wayne plays Lt. James Brannigan, a Chicago police detective hot on the trail of mobster Ben Larkin. When Larkin is located in London, England, Wayne is dispatched to pick him up and extradite him home to face criminal charges (extortion, prostitution, bribery, murder). Upon arrival in London, he meets his pretty young escort Jenny (she's on loan from vice squad.), who takes him to meet Scotland Yard chief Sir Charles Swann ("Gandhi" director Richard Attenborough, in a terrific performance). In the meantime, Larkin, who is under surveillance, is kidnapped, thwarting Brannigan's plans for a quick extradition and embarassing Swann, who has just berated Brannigan for losing Larkin in the first place and assuring him: "It can't happen here." To Swann's obvious displeasure, Brannigan decides to stick around and help Scotland Yard find Larkin, even though he and Swann have a prickly relationship at best and disapprove of each other's police methods--i.e. Brannigan is a conservative who carries a gun and believes in the use of force and Swann a liberal who doesn't believe in either. Brannigan also spends a great deal of the film dodging a hit man whom Larkin hired prior to his kidnapping.

What follows is an amusing, and low-key, caper that is culminated by a well-choreographed chase through the streets of London, a hilarious bar brawl, and several attacks by the hit man, including one in which Jenny is almost killed. Wayne is in fine form here, well-served by the change of locales and by his character who, unlike McQ, is closer to his own age and not as much of a Dirty Harry-clone. The film is also marked by a much lighter tone than his previous outing, and unlike his uncomfortable pairing with "McQ"'s Eddie Albert, he and Attenborough make a memorable team and have several terrific scenes together. A warning, however--compaired with today's myriad of over-the-top action films like "XXX" and every "Lethal Weapon" wannabe of the past fifteen years, "Brannigan" is pretty subdued and the action scenes will seem tame to today's thrill-seeking action audience. Unlike today's action dreck, the name-of-the-game in "Brannigan" is characterization and plot, as it was with most genre films of the '70's.

Also unlike today's action films, "Brannigan" has a memorable supporting cast, all of whom play characters who actually resemble real people. As I said earlier, Attenborough is terrific as Wayne's sparring partner, and Judy Geeson is a worthy partner for Wayne, although as was also standard for the era, she's mostly around to scream "Jim!" every time Brannigan is in danger and to be protected by her new friend. John Vernon (the dean in "Animal House") is a fine villain as Larkin, and Mel Ferrer scores points as Larkin's sleazy (and crooked) lawyer, who obviously knows more than he lets on. Daniel Pilon adds menace as the mostly silent hit man Gorman. And look fast for Lesley-Anne Down as a hoodlum's girlfriend.

John Wayne only made two more films after "Brannigan"--"Rooster Cogburn" and "The Shootist." And while "Brannigan" will probably be regarded as one of the lesser efforts of his legendary career, it was, and remains, an amusing and entertaining two hours, and a rare chance to see Wayne in a contemporary setting. It's a worthy effort. *** (out of *****)