Webblog

McLintock, starring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, and Patrick Wayne is a hilarious comedy. John Wayne is George Washington McLintock, a cattle baron, who has to spend most of the movie defending his land. Katie (Katherine as she would have it) used to be a rugged wife of McLintock's and they reminisce about the old tough times and Indian fighting throughout the movie. She was brainwashed by the East and the city life, which has partially affected their daughter as well. McLintock basically has a steak in everything in the town life and is depicted as the white man’s only real means of communication with the Indians. The Indians are depicted in a very derogatory way as only wanting to go on the war path, get guns, and they are lead by one drunken Indian that is in eternal whiskey party mode. During a town festival, they are given guns and ride through the town shooting up the place with the cavalry hot on their tail. McLintock has to go and settle a dispute between new settlers who want their steak and McLintock does not want to give up his acres of cattle land. In the end, the unruly women are spanked and taught a lesson and they live happily ever after.

This movie told of the ruggedness of the plains and the changing times, which resulted as more settlers came to towns and were looking for land. Also, it demonstrated a sense of how the Indians felt after being chased off their lands by the white man. This depiction of the Indians was very stereotypical for westerns at the time.
All around, it was a funny movie with good clean Great Plains humor. Only one question arises… why didn’t they have more Wild West gunfights?