Brannigan is one of those movies that really serves as an actor's personal vehicle rather than a film as a whole. What do I mean by that? There are a few actors that transcend actor status to genuine star status, and then there is that incredibly elusive, exclusive club of actors that go on to the next level of mega-stardom - of which John Wayne sits with really very little company. John Wayne is considerably past his prime here in as he is well into his late 60s. For Wayne, late sixties would be 70s to others. He is grizzled, tired-looking at times, and certainly not in the physical shape he once was....but he is really very good with dialog and humor which he somehow manages to inject in everything he does. I found this film most enjoyable because of Wayne, which is good because he is the catalyst for all the action in the film. He plays a Chicago policeman out to catch a notorious badman who he is and has been after for some time. He learns that he must go to London to extradite this criminal and then the mayhem begins. The criminal is played with wit and that typical autocratic snobbery so well used by John Vernon. Vernon has one of the evil lawyers, Mel Ferrer, who has hired a hitman to kill Brannigan. Brannigan is picked up at the airport by perky Judy Geeson(a long way from To Sir With Love) working for Scotland Yard and is his escort/babysitter for Sir Charles the head of Scotland Yard, played with a great deal of humor by Richard Attenborough. Well, from here we get Vernon kidnapped, we have the hitman after Brannigan, and we have Brannigan mixing American rugged individualism with British sense of decorum, etc... All of it makes for what I would just say is a FUN film. I found myself laughing out loud a few times with the Duke having some great one liners and sticking out like a real sore thumb often. He is never rude or being what I would call the Ugly American, but simple yet honorable. There are some far out scenes, particularly the car chase across the Tower Bridge, but it was still fun nonetheless. The city of London is wonderfully used throughout and makes this film a travelogue a bit here and there as well. There is a lot of action too, and the end of the film had a bit of a twist I had not expected fully. Wayne is Wayne, and what I really like about his later roles for the most part is that there is no romantic angle at this point in his career. Refreshing really! Attenborough looks like he is having the time of his life as is Vernon and Ferrer. As I said before Brannigan is a fun movie. I wish Wayne had been able to do more films like this.
Review of Brannigan
