Cathardincu
Surprisingly incoherent and boring
Salubfoto
It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.
Quiet Muffin
This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
Wuchak
Released in 1973 and directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, "Cahill United States Marshal" is a Western starring John Wayne as the titular marshal and Neville Brand as his half-Native tracker in the Southwest. Widower Cahill is so busy with his work that he's neglectful of his two sons, 10 and 17, and thus they veer toward delinquency, hooking up with a group of ne'er-do-wells (led by George Kennedy). After getting away with robbing a bank, the sons must deal with the moral conundrum of a (dubious) group of men being hanged for a crime they didn't commit.The Duke had some great or near great Westerns in the final two decades of his career (e.g. "The Horse Soldiers," "The Alamo," "The Comancheros," "El Dorado," "True Grit," "The Cowboys," "The Train Robbers" and "Rooster Cogburn"), but "Cahill" isn't one of 'em. While I appreciate that Wayne tried to do something different by having the story focus on the ramifications of his neglected kids, the movie simply isn't very compelling and the boys aren't interesting as characters. It doesn't help that Kennedy is decidedly cartoony as the villain. Disregarding the awesome Western locations, the storytelling smacks of a 60s or 70's TV show Western.Yet, if you're a Duke fan, "Cahill" is mandatory viewing. The relationship between Cahill and the tracker (Brand) is a highlight, as is the Western scenery. Speaking of the latter, the movie is further hampered by three nighttime sequences obviously shot in the studio, which appear at the beginning, middle and end, but that's a minor cavil.The film runs 103 minutes and was shot in Sonora, Mexico; Arizona; and Calderon Ranch, California. The screenplay was written by Harry & Rita Fink based on Barney Slater's story.GRADE: C
classicsoncall
Upon reflection, there aren't that many Westerns I can call to mind that explore the divide between the film's hero and his sons. Both versions of "3:10 to Yuma" did a decent job of it, and once this story gets under way, it becomes apparent that J.D. Cahill (John Wayne) has some work to do to build up his parental bona fides with sons Daniel (Gary Grimes) and Billie Joe (Clay O'Brien). Just for the heck of it, I'm going to take a stab at Cahill's initials, there was one scene in which a sign indicated the 'Jefferson Davis County Jail', so I'm betting J.D. was named after Jefferson Davis. If anyone knows otherwise, I'll stand corrected.I just watched the Clint Eastwood film "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" so I had to do a double take when Neville Brand's character was introduced as the half breed Lightfoot. I was all set for him to smack Danny around after J.D. warned his son not to use the derogatory term, you would think Danny would have learned his lesson earlier in the story when introduced to the Mrs. Sometimes you just need to get knocked off your high horse to see things more clearly.That scene actually had me reflecting on how times have changed since the Sixties and Seventies, and how a character like Cahill today would be considered a bully and an unfit parent. And maybe more to the point, how impressionable college students viewing the film today might need a safe room to watch it in. In the real world there are enough characters like Abe Fraser (George Kennedy) in charge in enough places to make things uncomfortable when it comes to entering the modern day work force, and I don't know if graduates today are being properly prepared for it. Just my little digression there.Say, here' something I've been waiting for a long time to see in a Western. Denver Pyle portrays a character named Denver, I wonder why it took so long. And what exactly was that animal that Royal Dano's character sold to Cahill? It looked like a mangy horse but brayed like a donkey and acted like a mule.Best line of story came early when J.D. hired Lightfoot to be his tracker - "I'll track, any killin', you do it. Might be friends of mine". Sort of puts old time Western relationships in perspective, doesn't it?
wes-connors
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
Spikeopath
"If you don't like the treatment, then don't rob banks" J.D. Cahill is a fearsome Marshal, his reputation goes before him where ever he roams, but when his two sibling boys decide to get his attention by way of joining a gang and then robbing a bank, he is perhaps faced with his toughest challenge.This is not a great John Wayne film, in fact it's distinctly average, but at its heart, the tale of a single father trying to balance his work and bring up his children properly, is interestingly watchable. Unfortunately after a brisk and entertaining opening the film ambles along without any wish to up the ante. John Wayne, and chief bad guy George Kennedy appear to merely be going through the motions, and some of the technical work here only compounds the cheap feel that cloaks the story. It's ultimately mostly unforgettable stuff, but it deserves a watch because it does at least say a bit more than at first thought, it's just real sad that it's not put together very well. 5/10
