Big Jake

"They wanted gold. They gave them lead instead!"

1971 1h 50m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

🍅

75%

FRESH

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

7.1

IMDB

★6.8TMDB · 255🍅75%Rotten Tomatoes●57Metacritic★7.1IMDB · 15,251

Western

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An aging Texas cattle man who has outlived his time swings into action when outlaws kidnap his grandson.

“They wanted gold. They gave them lead instead!”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

John Wayne
Jacob McCandles
Richard Boone
John Fain
Maureen O'Hara
Martha McCandles
Patrick Wayne
James McCandles
Christopher Mitchum
Michael McCandles
Bobby Vinton
Jeff McCandles
Bruce Cabot
Sam Sharpnose
Glenn Corbett
O'Brien

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: George Sherman
Writers: Harry Julian Fink, Rita M. Fink
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $4.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

55 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by George Sherman, shot by William H. Clothier. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Elmer Bernstein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Harry Gerstad shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

John Wayne and Richard Boone and Maureen O'Hara carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "They wanted gold. They gave them lead instead!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

George Sherman directs. William H. Clothier behind the camera. Elmer Bernstein scores. Harry Gerstad cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $4.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
255 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
4Directed by George Sherman, shot by William H. Clothier. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Elmer Bernstein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Harry Gerstad shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7John Wayne and Richard Boone and Maureen O'Hara carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "They wanted gold. They gave them lead instead!".
9IMDB entry: tt0066831 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: William H. Clothier
Original score: Elmer Bernstein
Editing: Harry Gerstad
Makeup / hair: Kay Shea
Runtime: 110 min · 1h 50m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $4,800,000
Box office: $7,500,000
Return: 156% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Big Jake (1971)
Rotten Tomatoes: 75% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 57/100
IMDB rating: 7.1/10 · 15,251 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

1 nomination total

Also by

George Sherman

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2017-02-10
★ 7/10
You follow him and I'll hunt you down and kill yah. Big Jake is directed by George Sherman and written by Harry and Rita Fink. It stars John Wayne, Richard Boone, Patrick Wayne, Christopher Mitchum and Maureen O'Hara. Elmer Berstein scores the music and William H. Clothier is the cinematographer. It's shot in Panavision and Technicolor with the principal location for the shoot being Durango in Mexico. Plot finds Duke Wayne as tough old rancher/gunfighter Jake McCandles, who is estranged from his family and spends his days roaming the west with his trusty dog. However, when the McCandles family ranch is raided by a gang of outlaws led by John Fain (Boone), and Jake's grandson Little Jake is kidnapped for ransom, Big Jake gets the call from his separated wife Martha (O'Hara) to go find the boy. Which he sets off to do, with two of his sons in tow. There were many critics who felt John Wayne should have stopped making movies before the 1970's arrived. Which is a bit ignorant considering he would bow out with the heartfelt and poignant The Shootist in 1976. It's undeniable that of the ten 1970's film's he made before his death, half of them are disposable at best, Big Jake isn't one of them. Yes, the formula is hardly new, only here the blood quota is considerably higher than previous Duke Wayne outings, and yes, tonally the film is a bit too up and down for its own good. But it's a film that finds old hands Wayne and Boone turning in good shows and the action and thematic camaraderie on show more than compensates for the looming cloud of same old same old. Of worth, too, is the time setting of the story, coming as it does towards the back end of the Old West, we get to see many examples of the Wild West being tamed. Be it the railroad, or motor driven vehicle's, our protagonist and antagonist are old school characters framed by a changing West. This is where it pays to have Wayne and Boone in the main roles, turning it in in an old school, knowing, style. The names Clothier and Bernstein are synonymous with the Western genre, and they don't disappoint here, both the photography and score treat the eyes and the ears. And although not in it for very long, O'Hara adds a touch of class in what was the last of the five times she appeared on film with her friend Duke Wayne. In amongst the violence there's also plenty of fun, some intended courtesy of banter between Duke and his estranged sons, some not intended; such as watching the dog out act the siblings of Duke and Robert Mitchum! But all told, if you don't expect The Searchers or Hondo et all, then this holds up as a good way to spend an afternoon. 7/10 Footnote: I wonder if John Carpenter watched and enjoyed this film so much he cribbed a reoccurring joke from it for Escape from New York? Big Jake keeps coming up against people who say that they thought he was dead, same thing happens to Snake Plissken in Carpenter's picture. A homage I'm sure.
CinemaSerf2023-01-24
★ 7/10
This is probably the most violent of Wayne's westerns depicting a tale of an estranged husband who returns home after his grandson is taken hostage by a ruthless gang of kidnappers. This well paced thoughtful drama takes us on the journey as he - with his two sons and an almost unrecognisable Bruce Cabot set off to rescue the boy. Richard Boone is outstanding as the evil leader of the kidnappers; he really does exude a sense of threat. The production does let this down a bit, though - the music is intrusive and the look and feel makes me wonder if it was shot on tape, rather than film and the colours and light don't look so hot. It's still a good, exciting watch with some touches of humour and a very much on-form star.