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  • McQ


    DIRECTED BY JOHN STURGES
    EXECUTIVE PRODUCER- MICHAEL WAYNE
    MUSIC BY ELMER BERNSTEIN
    BATJAC/LEVY-GARDNER PRODUCTION
    WARNER BROS


    Photo with the courtesy of lasbugas


    INFORMATION FROM IMDb


    Plot Summary
    Police Lieutenant Lon McQ investigates the killing of his best friend
    and uncovers corrupt elements of the police department dealing in confiscated drugs.
    In Seattle, two uniformed police officers and plainclothesman Stan Boyle are found shot,
    to death, early one morning.
    Boyle's partner, Lt. Lon McQ, is certain local hood Manuel Santiago is behind these killings,
    especially after a known hitman employed by Santiago tries to kill McQ.
    Defying the orders of his superior, Captain Ed Kosterman, McQ tails Santiago
    . After confrontations with both Santiago and Kosterman and despite the sympathy
    of city councilman Franklin Toms, McQ enlists the help of private detective "Pinky" Farrell,
    and soon becomes involved in a major narcotics deal - one
    that blows up in the face of both McQ and Santiago
    and which leads to the discovery of a stunning secret for McQ.
    Summary written by Jim Beaver


    Full Cast
    John Wayne .... Det. Lt. Lon McQ
    Eddie Albert .... Capt. Ed Kosterman
    Diana Muldaur .... Lois Boyle
    Colleen Dewhurst .... Myra
    Clu Gulager .... Franklin Toms
    David Huddleston .... Edward M. 'Pinky' Farrow
    Jim Watkins .... J.C. Davis
    Al Lettieri .... Manny Santiago
    Julie Adams .... Elaine Forrester
    Roger E. Mosley .... Rosey
    William Bryant .... Sgt. Stan Boyle
    Richard Kelton .... Radical
    Richard Eastham .... Walter Forrester
    Dick Friel .... Bob Mahoney
    Joe Tornatore .... LaSalle
    Fred M. Waugh .... Bodyguard (as Fred Waugh)
    Chuck Roberson .... Bodyguard (uncredited)
    Kim Sanford .... Ginger (uncredited)


    Writing Credits
    Lawrence Roman


    Produced
    Arthur Gardner .... producer
    Jules V. Levy .... producer (as Jules Levy)
    Lawrence Roman .... co-producer
    Michael Wayne .... executive producer


    Original Music
    Elmer Bernstein


    Cinematography
    Harry Stradling Jr.


    Stunts
    Gary McLarty .... stunt driver
    Hal Needham .... stunt driver
    Denny Arnold .... stunts (uncredited)
    Chuck Roberson .... stunts (uncredited)
    Fred M. Waugh .... stunts (uncredited)
    Glenn R. Wilder .... stunts (uncredited)


    Trivia
    Don Siegel said, "Wayne couldn't have played Dirty Harry (1971). He was too old. He was too old to play McQ, which was just a poor rip-off of Bullitt (1968)."


    John Wayne was 66 when he played a cop for the first time.


    John Sturges was opposed to the casting of John Wayne in the title role, due to the actor's age.


    Although he had occasionally played sheriffs and law-men in his many westerns, this was 1 of only 2 movies of John Wayne's career in which he played a cop.


    Originally intended as a vehicle for Steve McQueen. It was heavily rewritten for John Wayne.


    John Wayne was ill during filming.


    Hal Needham performed the very first car stunt utilizing a black powder cannon charge to help flip the car without ramps in this film. The climatic car chase seen on the beach, near the end of the movie, was first practised on the back lots of LA, and on the 2nd practice run, that was unknowingly overcharged, Needham was nearly killed. Gary McLarty then performed the dynamic stunt flawlessly (and injury free) for the film.


    When the film was released one critic suggested Lon McQ looked like he should be celebrating his Diamond Jubilee on the police force.


    The movie was heavily influenced by Bullitt (1968).


    This movie was previewed at the Harvard Square Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts following a Harvard Lampoon roast for John Wayne at the event. He was presented with a replica of pawn balls called The Brass Balls Award.


    McQ's car was an extremely rare Brewster Green 1973 Pontiac Trans Am SD-455 (Super Duty).


    When the film was previewed in January 1974 John Wayne was being treated for pneumonia in London.


    Myra (Colleen Dewhurst) asks McQ whether he brought her coke or skag, because she does not do skag. Skag was a common 70s slang word for heroin, a reference not so commonly heard in later years, and especially uncommon in the twenty-first century.


    This is the only movie westerns director John Sturges and westerns film actor John Wayne made together.


    The "hospital" where the drug heist takes place, was on Beacon Hill in Seattle. It was built in 1932 by the U.S. government as a Marine hospital, and became a Public Health Service Hospital until recently, when Amazon.com took it over and revamped it for it's Seattle headquarters until 2010. The building is called the Pac-Med Building and it's listed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks.


    Kim Sanford's entire dialogue is dubbed, either by Sanford, or by another actress.


    John Wayne formally separated from his third wife during filming, although they had not lived together since 1967.


    The boat that McQ lives on actually belonged to John Wayne.


    John Wayne's favorite director, John Ford died of cancer soon after filming ended.


    The film is noted for introducing the infamous MAC-10 submachine gun to the general public and creating a demand for it.


    Although this is the first movie where John Wayne played a cop, he had previously played a Federal Agent in the movie Big Jim McLain (1952).


    A novelization of the film, written by Alexander Edwards, was published in 1974 by Warner Books. The novel was written before the filming of the movie and consequent script changes. There are subtle differences, such as McQ living in an apartment rather than a boat, and the gun used by McQ in the climax is a Mauser in the book instead of the grander Mac 10 used in the movie. Some scenes are deleted or modified, but on the whole the book is true to the movie in both dialogue and plot.


    The car chase finale was filmed on the Olympic Peninsula; there were filming delays when the beach was foggy.


    John Wayne starred in this film, along with Brannigan (1975), because he missed out on starring in Dirty Harry (1971).


    Sneak previewed in Seattle, Washington, where the production was filmed, on January 4, 1974.


    The Seattle Fire Department Mobile Intensive Coronary Care Unit known as "Medic One" can be seen in the parking lot of Harborview Hospital. It is the large red and white camper-type van with Seattle Fire Department markings. This unit was the first unit of the Medic One program and one of the first Fire Department Paramedic units in the country.


    The cars, including the bullet hole ridden Trans Am, were returned (shipped via car carrier) to Warner Brothers Studio in Burbank, California.


    Despite being filmed in Seattle, the cities most prominent landmark, The Space Needle, is never actually seen in the film. But if you look very closely during the laundry truck chase, as the truck is exiting the freeway, the Seattle Center Arena is just visible in the background briefly, an

    Sneak previewed in Seattle, Washington, where the production was filmed, on 4 January 1974.


    This is the only movie that western-director John Sturges and cowboy-actor John Wayne made together.


    Although John Wayne claimed he made this movie because he regretted turning down Dirty Harry (1971), it has been suggested that he was never actually offered the earlier movie due to his age.


    The film is noted for introducing the infamous MAC-10 submachine gun to the general public and creating a demand for it.


    Kim Sanford is dubbed.


    The movie was heavily influenced by Bullitt (1968) and Dirty Harry (1971).


    The hospital where the drug heist takes place is now the Seattle headquarters of Amazon.com.


    Stuntman (and later director) Hal Needham designed the car chase at the end of this film. It featured the first staged rollover of a car in film history.


    The car chase finale was filmed on the Olympic Peninsula; there were filming delays when the beach was foggy.


    Although he had occasionally played sheriffs and lawmen in his many Westerns, this was the only one of two movies of John Wayne's career in which he played a cop.


    Goofs
    Audio/visual unsynchronised
    None of McQ's daughter Ginger's spoken dialogue match what her lips are doing. It appears that her entire dialog was overdubbed, either by herself after the fact, or by another actress.


    After McQ finishes his visit with his ex-wife Elaine, her husband Walter, and his daughter Ginger, he turns around and begins to walk away. He doesn't stay on the sidewalk but cuts across the grass. Special Effect walking sounds are edited in here, of someone walking on a hard surface (such as cement), which would not be made by someone walking on grass.


    Character error
    When Stan Boyle (William Bryant) parks the car he used to kill the cops from in the used car lot, he reaches out the window to open the car door while wearing gloves, and then takes the gloves off, puts them in the leather pouch with the gun, and puts his hand on the steering wheel to steady himself while getting out of the car. Since he was wearing gloves, it would not matter whether he used the inside door handle, so there was no reason to reach through the window to use the outside handle. Also, since he had taken the gloves off, he should not have touched the steering wheel with his hand and fingers. A veteran cop would have known these things, and more than likely would have kept the gloves on until after he passed the car lot's chain link fence, which he also touches with his bare hand/fingertips on the way out.


    At the end of the movie in the beach gun shooting scene, the occupant in the first car wakes up and grabs his gun when McQ is facing towards the second car (and the briefcase in the water). If you were going to try to shoot a guy with an automatic gun, would you stay in your seat and quietly shoot him in the back (with the window to steady your shot), or would you do as he did and make noise by opening the car door?


    When McQ leaves the state building after the drug heist to follow the laundry truck, he runs to his Trans Am, opens the door, and is seen getting in head first before the cut away. Since John Wayne was 6'4" tall, it would have been impossible for him to get into a Trans Am that way, he would have to go right leg first, and then slide into the seat, tilting his body to the left as he does it, and twisting his neck out of the way until his butt hit, and slid across the seat, which is the way he is seen to do it when he comes out of Pinky's office into the alley.


    Continuity
    At one point, the part in Eddie Albert's hair changes from one side to the other and back again.


    In the end-of-film chase scene, Santiago's blue car skids to a halt in the surf with the front facing the ocean. In all remaining scenes, the car has turned around 180 degrees, with the trunk nearest the ocean.


    After McQ shows Myra the balloons of cocaine in his handkerchief, and gets up from the chair, the balloons roll off the handkerchief and onto the floor. When he is rebuffed by Myra, and returns to the chair, the cocaine is back on the handkerchief and not on the floor.


    At the concession stand, McQ shows Rosey "five bills" in the newspaper then folds the paper closed. Cut to a different angle and the paper is slightly open and the bills are visible. Cut back to the first angle and the paper is closed again.


    When following the laundry van, McQ's car takes a short cut over very dusty, uneven ground, and then re-enters the highway covered in dust. Just before entering the tunnel there is an overhead shot of the car where it is very clean, once out of the tunnel the car is dusty again.


    At the end of the movie in the beach gun shooting scene, all three of the cars and occupants are at the edge of the surf, with waves coming up past the cars. As one of the bad guys walks up, he is walking up through the surf to get the briefcase when McQ fires at the briefcase, which can be seen partially in the water. As the guy jumps back, he is clearly up on dry sand, way up from the surf.


    At the end of the film, as the ambulance is driving up off of the beach, there's a long shot of the crowd gathered around and a police helicopter parked next to the road. No one is near the helicopter except a small child who starts to climb onto the back of it, and his mother, who immediately pulls him off of it. A second later, in the next cutaway shot from the opposite angle, the woman and child are suddenly no longer there, but there is now a pilot who is retrieving something from the seat before closing the door.


    Crew or equipment visible
    At around the 1h 35 minute mark, McQ gets out of the police car he stole from the police lot, and leaves it to roll down the hill and crash. When the camera angle is inside the car, black gloves can be barely seen on the steering wheel, and when the camera angle switches to outside the car, the silhouette of the stunt driver can be made out occupying the driver's seat, dressed in black. The director uses the shadows and camera angles to obscure it as much as possible, but the stunt driver is barely visible.


    When McQ goes to visit Pinky (David Huddleston) for the first time in Pinky's office, when they get up to leave, the microphone wire can be seen taped under Pinky's dress shirt.


    Factual errors
    When Myra is murdered, the hit man uses a revolver with a suppressor. A suppressor is effective only when all the gases expelled from the cartridge are channeled through it. Semi-automatics and automatics do this by design, because the chamber holding the cartridge is continuous with the barrel. Revolvers, however, have a small gap between the cylinder and the forcing cone of the barrel (the cylinder gap) as a necessity of their design (because the cylinder has to turn). Some gas expelled from the fired round escapes at this point, and this discharge of gas is enough to render the suppressor useless. (A possible exception to this would be a gas-seal revolver, but the hit man is clearly using a traditional revolver that shows a flash of gas escaping the cylinder gap with his first pull of the trigger.)


    When McQ (John Wayne) breaks into warehouse and isolates the alarm he clips the bypass cable to the wrong side of the circuit (door).


    Revealing mistakes
    McQ uses an Ingram MAC-10 9mm machine pistol, which fires approximately 20 rounds per second. When firing the MAC-10 in the car, on the beach, no empty cartridges are ejected from the gun. Emptying a full 30 round magazine would have sprayed casings all over the car.


    In the beach chase scene, when McQ veers right behind the big rock, when he comes out, the stunt driver can be clearly seen, and it is not John Wayne.


    Near the end of the film, when two cars full of bad guys shows up after the shootout next to the train bridge, Mcq and Lois jump in their car and speed off onto the beach. When the tires start to spin on the soft, wet sand, they squeal as if the car was on pavement.

    * Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers):
    At the end of the movie in the beach gun shooting scene, the occupant in the first car wakes up and grabs his gun when McQ is facing towards the second car (and the briefcase in the water). If you were guying to try to shoot a guy with an automatic gun, would you stay in your seat and quietly shoot him in the back (with the window to steady your shot), or would you do as he did and make noise by opening the car door?


    * Factual errors
    When McQ (John Wayne) breaks into warehouse and isolates the alarm he clips the bypass cable to the wrong side of the circuit (door).


    Memorable Quotes


    Filming Location
    Aberdeen, Washington, USA
    Quinault Indian Reservation, Washington, USA
    Seattle, Washington, USA
    Ocean Shores, Washington, USA


    Watch the Clip


    [extendedmedia]

    [/extendedmedia]


    Previous discussion:-
    McQ


    ..

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

    Edited 11 times, last by ethanedwards ().

  • McQ is a 1974 crime drama film directed by John Sturges,
    starring John Wayne, Eddie Albert, Diana Muldaur, and Colleen Dewhurst.
    The film made extensive use of actual Seattle locations.
    The beach scenes were filmed on the Pacific coast at Moclips.


    The film features a young Roger E. Mosley as a police informer,
    Clu Gulager as a corrupt police detective, Colleen Dewhurst as a cocaine addict
    and Al Lettieri as the most visible villain of the film,
    the drug king Santiago, in one of Lettieri's final roles.


    Wayne had rejected the lead in Dirty Harry a few years prior to this film.
    The producers of that film chose Seattle as its location in an earlier version of the script;
    it was later changed to San Francisco when Clint Eastwood became connected with the project.
    The film has a dramatic car chase, with Wayne in a green 1973 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am 'Green Hornet',
    influenced by Steve McQueen in Bullitt.


    One of Wayne's more famous lines from this movie
    was after the character of Lon McQ was trapped inside of his car
    after it was crushed between two large trucks, he states to one of the reporting officers:
    "I'm up to my butt in gas."


    As the title suggests, it is widely believed that
    this film was originally made for Steve McQueen!
    but as Duke, had turned down the chance to play Dirty Harry


    Duke quoted at the time,

    Quote

    I felt like a change, but I had to stick to action movies,of course,
    and the tough cop thriller is where all the action is, these days


    However he wasn't happy about making the film,
    and thought the story hackneyed, and the script stilted.


    Filmed in and around Seattle, I thought this film was well acted, well paced,
    and I actually thought it had a good storyline and script.
    It also featured, a beach car chase and shoot-out, that was second to none.
    However, the film was panned by critics, and slammed as mediocre.
    claiming that it was a series of action shots, rather than a movie
    Both McQ and Brannigan failed, to ignite audiences, who
    thought the idea of a paunchy 67 year old Duke charging around,as a policeman
    all a bit preposterous!
    In other words, he'd missed the boat!!


    However, after all what was said, I thoroughly
    enjoyed both these films


    Ocean Shores Guide published this

    Quote

    1973 "McQ," a John Wayne movie, with a 75-member crew of Batjac Productions
    which was stationed in Ocean Shores motels for 28 days, beginning July 2 with producer Michael Wayne.
    The leading lady was Coleen Dewherst, and other stars - Diana Muldaur and Eddie Albert.
    While casting on the north beaches, many Ocean Shores residents were included in the filming.
    Bobby Widmer, Ocean Shores fireman, was the ambulance driver. "JOHN WAVE"
    was designated to be hereafter the big seventh ocean wave, in dedication to "Big John" Wayne and his crew.


    User Review

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

    Edited 11 times, last by ethanedwards ().

  • Hi,
    As this film was reviewed in the wrong forum,
    I have now moved it, and it's replies, across to this, the correct forum.
    There is also a link, to previous older threads, relating to the movie.



    Quote

    InHarmsWay
    post Jan 10 2006, 06:04 AM


    Ahh steve mcqueen would have been equally great in this, I can see they had a fast,sexy car for Mcqueen as look what duke is riding. Im in love with that car alone and duke's performance is mediocre, better than Brannigan IMO.


    -IHW


    Quote

    DukePilgrim
    post Jan 20 2006, 12:52 PM


    Whilst accepting Duke was too old for the role it was an acceptable attempt at the detective genre.


    Link to the previous thread;-


    McQ (1974)

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

  • I think this is quite a decent John Wayne movie with plenty happening in it and a good plot to hold the entire movie together. The Duke is on fine form playing out a few scenes he would usually not be associated with, the actions well directed and its good to see that there are plenty of villains for the Duke to deal with which makes a nice change.


    I would rank it 6.5/10


    Keith


    For your records there are several deleted scenes from this movie such as Boyles funeral, interestingly there are pictures available of the deleted scenes on a photograpic website called Bonanza. I cant remember the link but Chester provided it some years ago maybe he could refresh our memories.


    :agent:

    Regards
    Robbie

  • Quote

    Originally posted by Robbie@Feb 8 2006, 03:19 PM
    For your records there are several deleted scenes from this movie such as Boyles funeral, interestingly there are pictures available of the deleted scenes on a photograpic website called Bonanza. I cant remember the link but Chester provided it some years ago maybe he could refresh our memories.

    [snapback]26804[/snapback]


    Robbie,


    Ask, and it shall be given -


    Photo Bonanza and other pertinent information :D .


    Chester :newyear:

  • Thanks Chester, its an excellent web site.


    Below is a link to a deleted scene which is presumably Stan Boyles funeral.


    http://www.netropolisusa.biz/mptv/cgi-bin/...ll&tt=&bool=and


    Below is another from that same scene:


    http://www.netropolisusa.biz/mptv/cgi-bin/...ll&tt=&bool=and


    Below are some more deleted scenes but I am unsure as to what part of the plot they are from.


    http://www.netropolisusa.biz/mptv/cgi-bin/...ll&tt=&bool=and


    http://www.netropolisusa.biz/mptv/cgi-bin/...ll&tt=&bool=and


    http://www.netropolisusa.biz/mptv/cgi-bin/...ll&tt=&bool=and


    http://www.netropolisusa.biz/mptv/cgi-bin/...ll&tt=&bool=and


    And I don't know whats going on here, maybe someone else can explain.


    http://www.netropolisusa.biz/mptv/cgi-bin/...ll&tt=&bool=and


    For me personally I find it fascinating to view these pictures from deleted scenes. These are the first pictures of any deleted scene from a John Wayne movie that I have ever come across and from McQ of all movies. I would be very interested to hear where this web site got them from as pictures of McQ are generally not that well circualted on the web as a whole.


    :agent:

    Regards
    Robbie

  • I first saw McQ on Dutch television as a late night movie on a saturday night back in 1984. I thought it was nice to see John Wayne as a cop for a change. The action scenes were well done and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I bought the Region 1 Warner DVD release last year and it was nice to see the behind the scenes documentary included. Of course it would have been better if they had given it the "Batjac" treatment (like The High and the Mighty release on DVD) and included the information about deleted scenes, production photos, film posters etcetera, but the movie looked very fresh in the digital format!

  • On the Cutting Room Floor


    Apparently, this scene is missing!!


    McQ meets a woman, at the hospital reception desk,
    Diana Muldar, looks over the womans shoulder.
    Duke is obviously trying to find out where is partner is,
    after being shot.


    However, in the final cut, Duke and Muldar, are already in the hospital room

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

  • Danny Wilde


    Does the High and the mightly DVD include delteted scenes?


    Keith


    Do you know where the scenes with Duke in the raincoat (on the links above) relate to in accordance with the final movie?


    :agent:

    Regards
    Robbie


  • Hi Robbie,
    The scenes in the raincoat, are apparently just before he visits,
    his partner, in his hospital room, just after he had been shot.
    However, these scenes, in the hospital reception, as he and his Mulder,
    are trying to assertain his partners room, were cut,
    so we only see them in his room.

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

  • Hi Keith


    I recently watched this movie and prior to entering the hospital Duke was involved in a shootout during which he wore a nifty purple jacket. In the next scene he is in the hospital and still has this jacket on. The setting is of a warm and dry day so it makes no sense that he would put his raincoat on entering the hospital only for it to disappear once he met louis, are there any other explanations?


    :agent:

    Regards
    Robbie

  • Hi Robbie,
    I'll scan the film later, and see if I can slot this in!!
    If you have THE JOHN WAYNE REFERENCE BOOK
    there is actually a still, in there, from this scene.
    Anyway, I'll post later,

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

  • Watched this movie last night, and quite liked it, I also enjoyed seeing the Duke as a cop, I thought he played McQ really well.

    The youngest member of the JWMB! And proud Cowgirl!
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]


  • Hi Robbie,
    There seems to be no explanation to this one!!
    You're right, he's wearing this short purple jacket, in and out of the
    hospital, and is wearing this, for most of the first half.


    The raincoat doesn't appear, untill after he comes out of hospital,
    after being squashed by the trucks.
    The time he has it on, with Diana, is when he picks up her, and the loot,
    and drive to the beach, and the end of the film.
    So where, where they, when this scene was shot, it's a mystery????

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

  • It is interesting, I am sure it is not a behind the scenes photo. Could it have been Duke and Louis in the policestation after McQ realises her true colours?


    Its interesting to see that only McQ thus far from the Bonanza website has pictures in relation to deleted scenes.


    :agent:

    Regards
    Robbie

  • I have finally got Mc Q on Region 2.


    Bought a copy from Europe. Great little promo for Mc Q and the trailers are nice touch.


    1 less sale in UK because they were TOO TOO slow to release it :angry::angry:



    Mike

  • This was the third or fourth John Wayne movie that I ever saw and I think it's pretty good. I don't care if he turned down Dirty Harry or not, because this seventies cop movie is great. The music is a guilty pleasure of mine. I love it. It's pretty well acted and fairly well written.



    My favourite line is when he's in the hospital after his car gets crushed.


    Doctor (looking at x ray): There's no fracture... I don't see any other apparent injuries.


    Duke: Well it may not be apparent, but you oughtta feel it from my side.

    [SIZE=3]That'll Be The Day[/SIZE]