Cahill: United States Marshal (1973)

not a great movie..far too slow.

I thought it was a bit silly.Fake blood and George Kennedy overacting.Why it was so studio bound I dont know.When I saw it in the cinema I heard people complain how bad it was..I love all John Waynes work but this was not up to standard,just my opinion..Also I have 2 treasured letters from him..

Dear Patrick, I think we all would be mighty interested to know more about these letters!

As for the movie - I myself found it enjoyable and these problems with the children understandable.

Saw this movie for the first time last week. It was very good! Some elements were a bit "meh" but I LOVED the relationship of JD Cahill and his two sons. It was a very touching, and gritty story. It was so easy for the boys to get swayed in to excitement in the absence of their father, but luckily he was able to return and save them. There were quite a few adorable scenes between him and the boys. I always love the movies where Duke interacts with little kids (maybe as I'm a teen myself and I find it more endearing..). For instance, I adored the scenes with him and "His" daughters in The Wings of Eagles. SO CUTE.
I digress, this movie was good, I think. It had enough angst and violence to be a good, even classic, western, and enough sentimentality and character development to also be a good, well-rounded movie.

For me Cahill illustrates how well John Wayne can hold up material that is otherwise western fare best intended for television. That's what much of this film felt like for me. Between the many scenes that look like they are shot artificially on stage (even outside environments) the overall feel of the movie almost takes on a kind of Bonanza quality to it. The treatment on the kids and villains are so tame, it's hard to fathom either party being involved in the events that got them there (Or for that matter how any of them are elusive to get away from the law much less Cahill). I also think the injection of 70's style songs are awkward in places because, to me, they don't really fit the material, much less that moment. Again, a quality one might see for a made-for-TV special during that period, but not a major motion picture with the Duke. That said, I love Wayne's performance. He ALWAYS delivered the depth of character that makes this material more interesting than it really would have been otherwise. The outfits are well tailored here and the Blu-ray picture on my disc is nicely cleaned up with sharpness and a crispness that compliments the look measurably. But I give this three stars on the sole weight of the Duke. He carried this film entirely by himself.

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