Cahill: United States Marshall (1973)

Sick Product of a Sick System

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

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

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

John Wayne stars as tough-as-nails U.S. Marshal J.D. Cahill. When Cahill finds out a bank is robbed and an old friend killed, he grabs an Indian friend (Neville Brand) and heads out looking for them. Little does he know that mixed up with the bank robbers are his own two sons.Starts out well but gradually bogs down in feelings of sameness. I felt like I had seen this movie before with John Wayne. Still, it's watchable and avid fans of the Duke will enjoy it most. Lots of recognizable faces in minor roles. George Kennedy makes for a good villain. The kids are annoying. It's the kind of movie you don't seek out but if it's on TV and you have time to kill, you watch it.

As Wayne aged, either he or someone working for him began pairing him with a series of young actors, which was a pretty good idea. In CAHILL, a routine western from the early 1970s, that youthful role was filled by Gary (SUMMER OF '42) Grimes as U.S. Marshal Cahill's rebellious teenage son Danny. The kid has gotten involved with some pretty nasty bank robbers, led by squinty eyed, mustachioed George Kennedy. Cahill doesn't know this, and goes off in search of the robbers while Danny and his little brother decide to defy and deal with the robbers, who killed the town sheriff during the robbery. Several old-time actors are in the cast, including Marie Windsor and Denver Pyle, but most notable is Neville Brand as Cahill's favorite tracker, a wisecracking, self-proclaimed Indian chief who is actually half white. While CAHILL was shot in Mexico, it is painfully apparent that some scenes were shot on soundstages, which hurts the story's believability factor. Also, while director Andrew McLaughlin was well known for his action movies, some of the fights and gun battles here are clumsily staged at best. Wayne was getting on in years and appears tired a lot of the time, but he plays the role this way, so we buy into it. He would do this again in THE SHOOTIST, to similar effect. The highlight of the movie is clearly George Kennedy, playing one of the meanest, low-down, no-good villains to be found in a Wayne western. There is a whole generation that only knows Kennedy as the buffoonish sergeant in the NAKED GUN movies, but an older generation remembers his amazing performance in COOL HAND Luke and several other movies of that period. His piercing stare and sneer here are priceless, and he goes out in high fashion.