Movies News Talk
John Wayne fronted 80 Westerns during his career and was still cranking them out at a steady pace during the 1970s. Even though the genre was in decline, most of his films from this era, like The Cowboys and Rooster Cogburn, were successful. Unfortunately, most of his final films, like Rio Lobo, were underwhelming. John Wayne was starting to show his age.
Even so, his actual last performance in 1976's The Shootist, was one of his best. John Wayne's films were rarely bloody. They were produced during a period when movies were intended for the whole family to enjoy. So if John Wayne's character shot anyone, they would typically clutch a bloodless wound and fall over dead. Moving into the 1960s and 1970s, the restrictions on screen Violence eased off, paving the way for movies like Bonnie and Clyde and The Wild Bunch.
Director George Sherman was in ill health during the filming of Big Jake, so John Wayne took over many of the action and exterior scenes as director. John Wayne wasn't a fan of screen Violence, but even he followed the trend with 1971's Big Jake. This movie cast John Wayne in the titular role, a famed gunfighter who returns to his estranged family when his grandson is kidnapped. The gang who took the boy demands $1 million in ransom. "Big" Jacob forms an uneasy truce with his adult sons to get the boy back. Big Jake is John Wayne's most violent film, right from the opening ranch massacre through to the finale. This features numerous men being gunned down, with Wild Bunch-style blood squibs completing the effect.
John Wayne only directed a handful of films during his career, including The Alamo. Given his star power, John Wayne almost certainly had a lot of creative say on the majority of his sets. Still, the Big Jake situation is unique. John Wayne probably could have pushed for a directing credit, but he allowed George Sherman to take sole billing. The Western also proved to be George Sherman's last, as he moved into TV for the rest of his career.
The bloodshed in Big Jake would be considered tame now, but it's positively startling for a vintage John Wayne Western. John Wayne made it clear in his now-infamous 1971 Playboy interview that he was no fan of the "vulgar" state of the movie industry at that time. He derided films like Easy Rider and Midnight Cowboy and found the graphic bloodshed on display in movies like The Wild Bunch particularly distasteful. John Wayne wasn't thrilled with increased violence in Big Jake either, and insisted it was balanced out with humor, regardless of how well it fit. This was a mistake in hindsight, since the comedy often jars with the movie's darker tone.
Big Jake is also notable for being the final movie where John Wayne co-stars with Maureen O'Hara. John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara were close friends in real life and worked together on five movies, including The Quiet Man. Maureen O'Hara claims to have only signed on for Big Jake to work with John Wayne again. Not only was it their last screen collaboration, but Maureen O'Hara essentially retired from acting after the film.
Big Jake was also a Wayne family production, with his sons Patrick Wayne and Ethan Wayne playing his son and grandson respectively. Big Jake would be the last of 10 projects John Wayne worked on with Patrick Wayne too, though it was the only time they actually played father and son.