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Lately, society lacks the ability to enjoy the absurdities of life without guilt or discomfort. As a result, people have grown devoid of an appreciation of true humor, deeming the phrase “in good humor” suspicion-worthy. Such is the case for many films, novels, and other forms of art that shed light on indelicate matters they have painstakingly earned the label of being “insensitive,” and are banned from the public eye, with no regard to the messages they have tried to convey.
Such is the situation regarding McLintock!, a classic 1963 comedy-western film, starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. This is one of my favorite John Wayne movies leaning towards the more enjoyable strands of his work. Somewhere along with The Searchers in terms of why it is so entertaining. However, a film like this would never see the light of today due to the overt stereotypes and humor, as it would garner an uproar and condemnation stemming from defunded academics, politicians, and what I like to call the professional complainer industry.
In the John Wayne classic, McLintock!, which is set in the late 1800s, G.W. McLintock is a man who seems to have everything. G.W. McLintock is a cattle baron who singlehandedly brings in cattle worth millions to the United States. However, he’s a jealous man hated deeply by all men both young and old. His life is turned upside down when his estranged wife, Katie O’Hara, comes back after a two-year absence. When his wife returns, G.W. seems to have it all under control, but in reality, he chooses to hide his pain by masking his feelings. What unfolds later is an intriguing story of back-and-forth manipulation and a battle of egos between the two characters.
McLintock is not your average John Wayne Western. This film is very light-hearted and does not have a very serious tone thanks to the generous use of slapstick comedy and over-the-top gags. I absolutely love the wholesome and charming side of the film that pays immense amounts of respect to American culture.
The cast is incredible. The way they complement each other indicates that they truly enjoyed the process of filmmaking together. Many of the performers were members of Wayne’s stock company of friends (like Chill Wills and Hank Worden), and that made a difference because they knew each other so well that their relationships surfaced in the characters.
Wayne is exceptional in the movie he effortlessly shifts from his beloved swagger to a stubborn pompous buffoon. Those who deem Wayne as unskilled or a bad actor should watch this film and witness his transition from deadpan to ludicrous with ease. Sometimes this change happens in one scene!
The film is overflowing with farcical nonsense, not just in McLintock, but throughout. Just like Mel Brooks’s Blazing Saddles, this movie also mocks elements of Western culture, including Wayne. It is as if Wayne was undercutting his rugged demeanor, comically exposing the downside of the hyper-masculine bravado that often transforms men into senseless apes. While there is stereotyping, it is not hostile and is reasonable in context. During one of the film’s many amusing scenes where a mud-smeared free-for-all occurs, the Native Americans watch the ridiculous spectacle of the white settlers fighting each other.
In a way, McLintock! and The Searchers share a few pieces of the same tone and put across a half-similar message. They are both beautifully subversive works of the American West and its subproduct. But where The Searchers was more somber in its presentation, McLintock! widens the aperture to comedy in its delivery. Not in the broad in-your-face farce of Brooks’ 1974 masterpiece, but in a screwball comedy masquerading as a western.
The movie deals with the transition of the West from an uncivilized country to one controlled firmly by the government and the benefits and flaws that tag along. The characters frequently reminisce about how much has changed while talking to one another, thinking about the good moments of their youth when they were free to conquer the frontiers. While there may be peace with the Indians later, G.W. is cautious of what the “kind” government will do to the wildland bureaucracy, red tape, and a lot of “nincompoops” in charge.
While G.W. McLintock has made a fortune as a cattle baron, he is not the one who gets derided by modern-day social critiques. The stereotype of the self-centered bigoted white male doesn’t apply to him. He pays his men what they deserve while showing understanding and compassion (which wasn’t forced upon him by the government, I may add). He is also sympathetic towards Native Americans, having no qualms in providing them with food and shelter. He also protected them from the crazed settler mobs and defended them at government hearings with the utmost respect. He wishes to transfer a majority of his land to the country as a form of charity, to preserve the natural beauty undisturbed by human development.
John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara were the couple. No other pair has worked on so many films together, and their chemistry felt so genuine. O’Hara differed from other actresses because she had unparalleled confidence and could easily match the dominating Duke’s persona. Wayne and O’Hara made five films together, each one elevated by their stunning chemistry. While I’d say McLintock! is my favorite of their films, The Quiet Man hardly ranks second. The way the two fight and communicate carries so much emotional weight and intention.
Katie and G.W. not only have a romantic history together, but they are also both each other’s biggest rivals and competition in this rather ‘messy’ romance filled with ostentation, ego, and muddled feelings. Irrespective of the battle they choose to fight now, it shows that both G. W and Katie at some point cared for each other. Both have serious personal flaws that allow them to take accountability for the mess they have created. G.W. drowns his frustrations in alcoholic beverages and chooses to live in a pre-declared bachelor mode. At the peak of serious discussion with a wife, G.W. refuses to talk just to avoid confronting those feelings. On the other hand, Katie is reluctant to forgive G.W. for cheating on her, whether he actually did or did not. She would rather argue and make life miserable for those surrounding her.
Even with everything going on between him and Katie, G.W. still has a soft spot for marriage and does not seem ready to entertain Katie’s plea for a divorce. This comes out even more in G.W.’s affectionate conversation with his daughter, Becky, who is portrayed with sass by Stefanie Powers. He says that the most important reason for allocating most of his land to the state is more for the sake of his daughter than the nation, which to him is more important. Along with telling Becky that she is not going to receive all of his wealth, he reveals that he intends for Becky and her future husband to support one another in the same way he did with Katie at the start.
G.W. recognizes the importance of the male-female dynamic in a marriage. He draws the attention to Becky, saying “All the gold in the United States Treasury and all the harp music in heaven cannot equal what happens between a man and a woman with all that growin’ together.’”
Men and women can make each other better. A woman and her family enable a man to settle down and learn to be a responsible husband, father, provider, and protector. A man gives a woman a safe environment where she can put down roots and becomes her husband’s encourager and source of strength. Parenting requires the combined effort of the two and each parent has something different to contribute to the upbringing of the child. In this process, both become more selfless and sacrificial, which makes them more Christ-like in temperament.
Women and men were created to stay together and help each other, and the Book of Genesis, says that God made women to be the companion of men, not the other way around. Si Welsh theologian Matthew Henry puts it, it is very poetic that for Adam, God created Eve out of his rib.
“The woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.”
This is why a man must leave his father and mother, be united to his wife, and become one flesh Genesis 2:24. Throughout the running of the film, Katie and G.W. Tatsachlich are a wonderful team as long as they think about each other. In fact, without a second thought, Katie jumped into the mud fight to defend her husband.
McLintock! is a movie that shouldn’t be disregarded as an old John Wayne Western in today’s overly sensitive and politically correct world. Wayne’s career is also filled with other movies that are entirely different from this. Instead, the movie is a hilarious, tongue-in-cheek romp through Western stereotypes. John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara bring electrifying entertainment in each scene they are in, capturing the audience’s attention.
What most people seem to ignore in their arrogant ‘woke’ ignorance towards this classic film is, behind its laughable moments a thoughtful commentary about men and women. The truth is men and women were designed to be different because it was meant to be that way from the one who created us. Every human being’s purpose is interrelated. Everybody seems to deny it, but in a marriage, husbands, and wives are nothing but a faint reflection of the love God has for all of us. People talk about love in the context of God often but never consider the fact that in return for this never-ending love, we have a responsibility to love our partner in the same manner.
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