Thanks for the memories!

Crappy film

As Good As It Gets

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

. . . John Wayne's title character confesses in CAHILL: UN!TED STATES MARSHAL. In the context of this story, that's a gross understatement. He's raised his 11- and 17-year-old sons to be arsonists, armed bank robbers, and first-degree murderers, by any version of The Law which has ever been enforced anywhere in America. The older boy also is a racist bigot. But instead of apprehending these Bad Seeds (as required of him by his oath of office), Marshal Cahill assassinates the only three witnesses to the perfidy of his Crime Family, and connives to show his sons the sort of "family law" favoritism once enjoyed by Saddam Hussein's boys. When he's not rewriting the Law Books for the benefit of the Cahill Clan, J.D. leads his Native American best friend to his doom, and enjoys shackling (in irons) the only Black character in this tawdry tale. Throw in the lame Five and Dime Store owl "special" effect in the cemetery scene, and the continuous product placement for Big Tobacco, and CAHILL becomes a poster child for the Un-American Activities Committee. Worse of all is Wayne's futile effort to besmirch our memory of a far better flick, THE OXBOW INCIDENT. Texas always has executed a half-dozen innocent poor folks annually, right into the 21st Century. Why is "The Duke" going soft here? He'll never be Edward G. Robinson in ALL MY SONS. If Hitler and Mussolini were two of his boys, John would have found some loophole to get them off, too.

Western U.S. Marshal and widower John Wayne (as J.D. Cahill) is frequently away from home. His two neglected sons, 17-year-old Gary Grimes (as Daniel "Danny" Cahill) and 11-year-old Clay O'Brien (as Billy Joe "Budger" Cahill), are often left without their father. Consequently, the boys have fallen under the influence of mean George Kennedy (as Abe Fraser). One day, while Mr. Wayne is out shooting outlaws, young Grimes gets tossed in jail. This turns out to be part of a plot to rob the local bank, with both of Wayne's sons participating. To build an alibi, the crooks get thrown in jail on minor charges, sneak out to rob the bank, and then return to jail. Little of this is actually shown, but it helps to know...Wayne and director Andrew V. McLaglen should have ended their collaborations with the far superior "Chisum" (1970)...This one gets off to a confusing start. It's not an intricate story that develops; it's artificial and lacks cohesion. Seeing the "drunk and disorderly" Grimes with Kennedy might have helped, if the young actor was given the task. There are too many instances where Mr. McLaglen leaves Grimes with widened eyes and flared nostrils. And, let's try not to highlight "half breed" Comanche colored Neville Brand's florescent teeth. Grimes and young O'Brien act like Disney boys adopted by the older, violent Wayne (the script notes he became a father late in life). Considering Marshal Wayne's sense of justice, the boys are lucky to be his sons. If not, Wayne might have plugged them with multiple, spasm-inducting bullets.*** Cahill, United States Marshal (1973-07-11) Andrew V. McLaglen ~ John Wayne, Gary Grimes, Clay O'Brien, George Kennedy

This exciting film packs action Western , go riding , thrills , emotion , shoot-outs and is quite amusing . It contains a magnificent main cast as John Wayne facing off his contender George Kennedy and a top-notch support cast . it's a sympathetic western , with a beautiful cinematography , glamorous scenery and great soundtrack . It deals with J.D. Cahill (John Wayne) is the toughest U.S. Marshal they've got, just the sound of his name makes bad guys stop in their tracks . Break the law and he's the last man you want to see , and the last you ever will . When his two children (Gary Grimes , Clay O'Brian) want to get his attention they decide to help some cutthroats (George Kennedy) to rob a bank . As five killers robbed a bank , the lucky ones get caught and the events go awry . Nice Western packs thrills , family feeling , shoot'em up and results to be pretty entertaining . 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 production design by Walter Simonds , though the opening and finale scenes were filmed entirely in the studio . Enjoyable acting by always great John Wayne . Most of the scenes showing John Wayne riding from a distance were filmed with Chuck Roberson substituting for Wayne . His son is well played by Gary Grimes (Summer of 42, Class of 44) , he performed in similar role as a naive cowboy other films (The spikes gang , CulpepperCattle) , though he virtually disappeared without much trace and nowadays is retreated . Neville Brand was surprised to be offered the role of half-Commanche scout Lightfoot, a part he felt he was badly unsuited for, but accepted it just because he liked working . There also appears notorious secondary actors from numerous Westerns such as Denver Pyle , Paul Fix , Harry Carey Jr , Hank Worden , Marie Windsor , Dan Vadis , Walter Barnes , Royal Dano , among others.Rousing musical score by Elmer Bernstein in his ordinary style , including some marvelous songs with lyrics by Don Black . Colorful and spectacular cinematography in Panavision by Joseph Biroc , being filmed on location in Durango , Mexico . 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 Andrew V. McLagen , son of great actor Victor McLagen . The pic contains McLagen's usual themes as familiar feeling , a little bit of charming humor , friendship and and sense of comradeship among people . Andrew does the human touch and full of insight that accompanied him during most of his films and the story develops pleasantly in a large frame with an interesting plot and fully adjusted to the requirements of the action . Andrew McLagen is a known Ford's disciple introducing similar themes in his films . Andrew holds the distinction of directing the most episodes of "Gunsmoke" . Furthermore , he holds the honor of filmmaking the most episodes of ¨Have gun , Will travel" . And is one of the few directors to have directed both Clint Eastwood and John Wayne . He's a Western expert (McLintock , Shenandoah , Bandolero , Chisum , Cahill , Way West) and warlike specialist , such as proved in several films (Return to Kwai, Wild Geese , Dirty dozen: the next mission, Sea wolves, Breakthrough) . Rating ¨Cahill¨ : Agreeable , and above average Western 6'5 . The picture will appeal to John Wayne fans . Worthwhile watching .

"CAHILL - UNITED STATES MARSHAL" is one of those movies that is somewhat frustrating. It succeeds on a few levels, but fails on so many others that makes it nowhere near one of the best films of John Wayne. The script is a horror to behold (such a pity too, because the writer for this was also the writer for "BIG JAKE", one of the Duke's better outings), the action is near perfect, the performances are great. The main plot is of U.S. Marshal J.D. Cahill (John Wayne) trying to get his sons out of a gang of outlaws alive. His oldest son Daniel (Gary Grimes) being in an outlaw gang is believable, because he is very rebellious. But not his youngest son Billy Joe (Clay O'Brien). Billy Joe is basically a good kid who loves his pa. The audience assumes that Billy Joe threw in with the outlaws because he followed his brother, but the film never shows or says that. Not to mention that the sight of little O'Brien holding that shotgun that is bigger than he is not at all convincing. However, films that have the "unbelievability factor" are usually appealing to me. But those films know they are unbelievable and just move along with an amazing pace - that's why they are so enjoyable. Not this movie. It is unbelievable, but it never decides if it knows that or not. It just seems to stay in the same gear the whole time and as a result, is bogged down in mediocrity the entire film. There is no bad acting, just bad acting choices. The film casts several veterans of movies and television, such as Jackie Coogan, Harry Carey Jr., Marie Windsor, Royal Dano, Denver Pyle, and Paul Fix, but the script unfortunately only gives them unimportant roles. Their acting is not at all bad, but the characters are unnecessary. It looks like the director cast these roles based on their talent, not on their significance to the script. On the positive side, the other actors are great in their roles, like George Kennedy as Fraser. Also, the action scenes are almost perfect, and the script seems to pick up the slightest bit in the last half hour. Overall, a fair movie, but if it was not for The Duke, it would have been a complete disaster.Also Recommmended: "STAGECOACH" (1939), "RIO GRANDE" (1950), "TRUE GRIT" (1969), "CHISUM" (1970), "THE SHOOTIST" (1976)THIS REVIEW IS DEDICATED TO ANYONE, LIVING OR DEAD, INVOLVED IN THE MAKING OF "CAHILL - UNITED STATES MARSHAL".