Brannigan

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.

This movie has less depth than Paris Hilton. It's basically a very old John Wayne going to Britain and kicking butt just the same way he's done it in dozens of previous films. BUT, on that level, it is a very good and enjoyable film. In particular, the film had wonderful "Dirty Harry-like" lines and a dark sense of humor. In fact, I half expected him to say "make my day"--it was so much like an Eastwood film. And, the film was much better than Wayne's previous attempt to knock off Dirty Harry in MCQ. So, provided you can also turn off all sense of disbelief (after all, Wayne was WAY TOO OLD FOR THE PART), you can enjoy it much the same way you'd enjoy one of his older flicks such as THE FLYING TIGERS or THE FIGHTING SEA BEES. In other words, this is a 70s version of an old Republic Pictures action film--with a few updates to reflect the times (such as Wayne being saddled with a "dame" for a partner). Overall, if you hate John Wayne films then I'm sure you'll hate this one and if you like him, this film won't disappoint. It's just good old-fashioned fun!

By the way, according to Robert Osborne on Turner Classic Movies, John Wayne was offered the role of Dirty Harry BEFORE it was given to Eastwood! You could tell Wayne wished he had taken the part since he soon went on to make his own variations on the genre.

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.

In Brannigan, Wayne plays the role of Jim Brannigan, an American cop who goes to London to capture a runaway fugitive played by John Vernon. Wayne soon finds out that London cops are not at all alike American cops. Most of the English cops don't carry a gun and Richard Attenbourough made sure that Wayne didn't use it unless absolutely necessary. Brannigan's partner well played by Judy Geeson is more like a shaparone then a partner because she drives him everywhere and works along side of him to make sure he behaves himself. Wayne also get's in a wild car chase in the busy London streets. With a farly good screenplay and a good 70's score by Dominic Frontiere, this film is worth three stars.

John Wayne plays the titular character in the 1975 cop film "Brannigan" and this film, unfortunately, is not one of the Duke's best. Now I do not detest "Brannigan". I do not hate it, I just don't think it's very good and it's not worth more than two or three views. John Wayne made a lot of great movies in his epic career--he made a lot of masterpieces and gave some incredible performances--but this movie does not rank with them. And Wayne himself said that he wasn't particularly fond of it either.

Brannigan is an American police officer who is sent overseas to London to bring back a fugitive from justice who fled the country. He arrives to discover that the fugitive, played by John Vernon, has been kidnapped and held for ransom. Brannigan and the London police force, led by Commander Swan (Richard Attenborough) must try to save him and dodge assassination attempts made by the enemy.

This is a fine plot in a film that just doesn't quite work. "Brannigan" has slow pacing, not much in the action category, and it's quite clear that it's trying desperately to top off with the classic action cop movies like "Dirty Harry" (1971) even down to the music score, which resembles Lalo Schifrin's score from the mentioned Clint Eastwood film. It has its moments, but not nearly enough to make it recommendable. It's not a depressing movie, but not an exhilarating one either. Wayne gives his usual good performance, but even an icon like him can't save the movie.

If you are a die-hard John Wayne fan, then you must naturally see "Brannigan" so that you can say you've seen all of your favorite actor's movies. If you're not, then you might as well skip it over, for it's really not that interesting to watch. See other, better Wayne movies such as "The Searchers" (1956), "True Grit" (1969), "El Dorado" (1966)", and "In Harm's Way" (1965).