Big Jake (DVD)

...I will be reviewing. Big Jake, the film.

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The Film: Big Jake Summary
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A great deal of creativity and depth is not involved in this particular story. It is actually quite simple and straightforward.

An outlaw gang lead by John Fain attacks the McCandles Ranch. They kill quite a few members of the hired help, shoot Jake McCandles youngest ...
...the kid and that’s where Big Jake comes in! While he and his wife Martha haven’t seen each other for 18 years (apparently they’re not on speaking terms) she knows he’s the man for the job, and the only one that can save their 8 year old grandson. Accompanying him are his other two sons James, who doesn’t much care for Big Jake, and Michael, as well as his old friend Sam Sharpnose and his ever faithful Dog. Everyone that Big Jake meets keeps saying ... more

As I was growing up I’m pretty sure I saw almost every John Wayne film ever made. My mother is a huge fan, and there was always some sort of Western playing in the background, so I remember them fondly. When I saw this on DVD the other day I had to rent it. Unfortunately the particular DVD I rented had no special features and was simply the film, so that is all I will be reviewing. Big Jake, the film.

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The Film: Big Jake Summary
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A great deal of creativity and depth is not involved in this particular story. It is actually quite simple and straightforward.

An outlaw gang lead by John Fain attacks the McCandles Ranch. They kill quite a few members of the hired help, shoot Jake McCandles youngest son Jeff, and kidnap his grandson Little Jake who they are holding for a million dollar ransom.

Of course there’s only one man who can save the kid and that’s where Big Jake comes in! While he and his wife Martha haven’t seen each other for 18 years (apparently they’re not on speaking terms) she knows he’s the man for the job, and the only one that can save their 8 year old grandson. Accompanying him are his other two sons James, who doesn’t much care for Big Jake, and Michael, as well as his old friend Sam Sharpnose and his ever faithful Dog. Everyone that Big Jake meets keeps saying “I thought you were dead.” Obviously he proves them wrong…

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Big Jake Review
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Like all other John Wayne Westerns ever made, The Duke plays the rough and tumble, take no nonsense from anyone cowboy, in this one his name is Jacob “Big Jake” McCandles. He’s cranky, short tempered and ready to put up a fight. The only friend he regularly hangs out with is his faithful Dog. While he does a good job with the character, in all honesty it isn’t anything we haven’t seen before. (There are three Waynes in this film. John Wayne and his sons Patrick Wayne, and youngest son Ethan Wayne as Little Jake.)

As always, Maureen O’Hara does a fantastic job as John Wayne’s wife, Martha. I always like the way that she and The Duke interact, even if it isn’t entirely PC the way he treats her. I mean she is definitely not a liberated woman, and sometimes it’s bothersome but sometimes she gives him a hard time right back.

Patrick Wayne, playing James McCandle does a fairly decent job, though he is rather annoying at times. (I have never been a big fan of his acting style to be quite honest, and the fact that he was a tacky game show host for Tick Tack Dough in 1990 doesn’t help.) Thank goodness he eventually settles down into the role and does quite a bit better. By the end I didn’t mind the way he was acting and James as a character redeems himself.

Michael is much easier to like. He’s more of a “new fangled” person than his brother or father. He’s gotten into the whole new technology thing with a cool new gun that fires more rounds faster than a traditional six shooter would be able to, and he rides a motorcycle instead of a horse. While Christopher Mitchum doesn’t necessarily seem like he could be John Wayne’s son he does a pretty good job with the part. His character brings a lighter side to the film that is otherwise very serious. I actually liked Michael.

The last two main good guys are Sam Sharpnose, who is an Indian guide/tracker/hunter and friend of Big Jake. Bruce Cabot does a great job in this role. He is as convincing in his acting as any of the actors and he seems quite comfortable with the part. He manages to connect with the audience and interacts well with the other characters.

While this is a typical John Wayne Western in many respects it does have one big difference. This film has bad guys who are quite a bit more violent and played much darker than most of his other films.

The names of the men who kidnap Little Jake are John Fain (Richard Boone) the leader, O’Brien, a.k.a. Breed (Glenn Corbett), Pop Dawson (Harry Carey Jr.), John Goodfellow (Gregg Palmer), Trooper (Jim Burk), James William ‘Kid” Duffy (Dean Smith), Billy Devries (Jeff Wingfield) and Walt Devries (Everett Creach). The actors do a very good job in their parts and are very convincing. They manage to make the watcher despise them. They “look” like they ARE those horrible outlaws, and they do really well with the evil personality. While it’s obviously a movie, it’s still easy to dislike the characters and really pull for the good guys. I can honestly say that there is one particular gang member who gives me the absolute creeps. He’s a machete wielding madman who specializes in up close and personal. More than any other character I’ve ever seen in any John Wayne film or indeed in any Western, I find this man disturbing and want him to meet a painful end.

All in all Big Jake is a very watch-able John Wayne film. Of course it will have some bits that, by today’s standards, are not politically correct and the special effects are definitely no where near the quality we’re used to today. It’s to be expected in all these old Western films of that era, but it’s not so bad that it makes the film unbearable. This is definitely one of my Top 5 John Wayne films.

Big Jake runs about 110 minutes. As far as time, it’s fairly short and won’t waste tons of time if you don’t like it, and it won’t cost as much to rent (not a new release) so if you’re bored it’s worth a watch just to be able to make the decision for yourself.

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Who Should and Who Shouldn’t Watch Big Jake
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This film is for the Western Genre fan or classic movie fan.

It is not for you if you have seen other John Wayne movies and disliked them, as it is fairly similar. If you are really anti-violence it’s not for you either.

I’d say if you’re curious to see if you’d like it give it a chance. This is a good John Wayne movie to watch if you’ve never been that keen on Westerns. It’s got a good cast that works well together.

Four stars from me for the film (in the right context: Western Classic John Wayne)
 

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