Brannigan (MGM)

After John Wayne turned down the role of Dirty Harry and saw that movie become a huge hit, he apparently decided to cash in on the '70s cop movie craze himself--first with McQ, then with this. Unfortunately, at age 67, Wayne was really too old for this kind of role. The movie is only okay, a routine police drama in which Wayne is tracking down a kidnapped gangster. One thing it does have going for it is its location. It's shot mostly in London. The always entertaining Richard Attenborough plays a Scotland Yard inspector who fulfills the obligatory role of "angry captain." Mel Ferrer turns in a nicely slimy performance as the gangster's lawyer, and Judy Geeson plays a Scotland Yard detective who serves as Wayne's chaperone in England, but unfortunately isn't given much to do, as this is very much a man's movie. To his credit, Wayne is never obnoxiously sexist or condescending toward her. I guess he'd accepted that times had changed. And because this is a John Wayne movie, there has to be a bar fight.The biggest problem with this movie is it's just not very interesting. Wayne is his usual "tough guy" self, but the plot about trying to rescue a kidnapped gangster doesn't engage us because we know the guy is a slime ball so we don't really care if they succeed. Meanwhile, a hitman keeps trying and failing to kill Wayne, and the hitman's car--a beautiful black Jaguar XKE with red trim--is pretty much the best thing in the movie. Of course, it doesn't make any sense for a hitman to drive such a distinctive, easily identifiable car, especially after his target has seen it, but whatever. Likewise, it makes zero sense that Wayne would commandeer a civilian's car to chase after someone and bring the owner along for the ride, needlessly endangering an innocent person's life. I also found the musical score excessive and intrusive. There were several scenes where silence or a more subdued score would have been more effective at generating suspense. So, yeah, kind of a meh movie.

What more is there to say, this is truly a hidden gem of a movie and I believe I've lost count of how many times I've watched this movie. It's just a shame we couldn't have had more of John Wayne in more modern roles and honestly with all the bad movies and sequels out there it's a shame someone never had the idea to make a tribute film to Brannigan with say his Grandson (I'd vote for Chris Pratt to take the role) having to "fight crime" and if possible bringing some of the original cast back to reprise their roles or paying tribute to them also if it's not.

Brannigan and McQ were John Wayne's attempt to make up turning down Dirty Harry. One might say this is Dirty Harry goes to London. The plot is generally well constructed except for a silly bar fight.

of mine in westerns. He's always the same character. However this modern day detective story works for me.

Love John wayne movies he was such a good actor this was one of 2 movies was not a western and i think it was a great movie he was offered the part of dirty harry but turned it down i'm glad he did or he might not have made this on i may watch it again sometime .

I love these old movies, with their old cars and the way it looked back when I was much younger.

I don't care what anyone says about John Wayne.. he was a "Man's-man" ! He was a very good actor and yes a ....ladies man. Some people do not agree with his politic's nor his view's.. The first movie of his that I saw was "The Quiet Man" that was shot on location in Ireland ..from then I was hooked like a fish ! This movie isn't one of his classic western's that he is known for. Just a modern era of the 1970's cop movie ..I had seen part's of this back some years ago. This movie was put together pretty well and the ending was a surprise ,,seeing that the assassin always at least tries to get his man. London in the 1970's was nice to re-visit ..the clothe's,the men's club's and the cars ..! You should check this movie out of your a fan of this great western star..before he neared retirement due to lung Cancer ..

Brannigan was John Wayne’s second venture into the modern cop genre after he made McQ the year before. Both of these were inspired by earlier films like Bullit and the Dirty Harry series which portrayed the police in a much different light from previous ones that tended to show them as naturally good and pure. The new cops had a loose interpretation of the law such as the opening scene where Brannigan breaks down a man’s door and later knocks him out with an iron bar both of which would be illegal in real life. It appeared that in response to the social unrest in America in the 1960s-70s some in Hollywood responded by providing tough cops that were willing to use all means to restore law and order.In this release Wayne plays Chicago police Lieutenant Jim Brannigan who is sent to London to retrieve an American mafioso Ben Larkin (John Vernon). Just as Branning arrives in England however Larkin is kidnapped. The movie then turns into an action-thriller with Brannigan and Scotland Yard trying to find Larkin and his abductors. The police tail people, they get faked out by the crooks, things get blown up, there’s a car chase, while Brannigan maintains his tough guy persona. For example, when he meets Scotland Yard’s Commander Sir Charles Swann (Richard Attenborough) he’s told that having guns is illegal in England to which Brannigan replies he doesn’t follow British law because he’s an American.Overall this is an enjoyable police drama. There’s enough action and intrigue to keep the viewer interested.C

London May Never Be The Same Again In 1974 Top Hollywood Cowboy John Wayne visited The Capitol To Make his latest movie Brannigan. starring as Tough Chicago cop Jim Brannigan The Movie Brannigan plays on The old Theme of Taken The Hero out of is familiar environment and replacing him in another location as The fish out of water scenario. Clint Eastwood had done it successfully a Decade earlier in Coogan's Bluff here big John Wayne grapples with police Tactics and methods at The centre of London's capitol. sent over by his Chicago superiors To extradite a notorious American Gangster. Wayne is aided by our very own Judy Geeson assigned To The Chicago cop while as reliable as ever our very own Richard Attenborough is The no nonsense Scotland yard police chief. Brannigan is The movie you would expect it To be plenty of laconic banter between Wayne and Attenborough This isn't Chicago you know. yeah you can't get a Decent Hamburger here as expected plenty of action climaxing in a spectacular car chase with Wayne over Tower bridge. it would not be a John Wayne movie without The big man getting into a fist fight here Wayne Takes his Traditional saloon western brawl seen in many of his movies and Transports it To The back drop of a London pub. An Excellent movie That we just Don't see The likes of anymore all aided by The enduring appeal of one of Hollywood's most famous sons John Wayne. Brannigan comes To you as a single Disc in superb High Definition Movie Historians offer a full audio commentary for The movie and The original film Trailer is included along with a Trailer for one of Wayne's earlier movies. Not a bad package if you are a fan of This movie and it's star and lets be Honest There will be many a gun packing five stars.

Essentially a sequel to John Wayne's McQ but with a different character name. Wayne stars as Brannigan, a tough American cop who is sent to London to escort back a wanted man who is being tailed by Scotland Yard. Before Brannigan can take custody his prisoner Larkin (John Vernon) is kidnapped under the pretence of ransom and revenge. Assigned to work alongside a Scotland Yard detective named Jennifer (Jen) (Judy Geeson) by Commander Swann (Richard Attenborough), Brannigan and Jen must race to find Larkin before he is killed while contending with a contract killer who is out for Brannigan's blood.Good action yarn for Wayne outside of his normal cowboy image. Picture and audio are good but could benefit from the Blu Ray treatment outside of the limited edition Twilight Time offering.Also look out for Tony Robinson (Baldrick from Blackadder) in an early roleI hope this review helped you. If so, I would appreciate it if you clicked on the Yes button for a helpful review. If you have any questions, please ask. I am pretty responsive to comments

This is a very honest albeit slightly aged (so 70's!) crime thriller, which will be especially appreciated by John Wayne's fans, but is also still quite watchable for all publics. Below, more of my impressions, with some limited SPOILERS.This is the second and last crime thriller John Wayne turned in the 70s during the short-lived attempt to diversify his roles and try to follow in the steps of a much younger Clint Eastwood, after the enormous cultural shock of the first "Dirty Harry" in 1971. The Duke was actually supposed to play Inspector Callaghan, but he refused the role... The first of those films, "McQ" from 1974, was quite serious, but didn't perform as well as it was expected. Therefore for his next thriller John Wayne opted for a somehow lighter tone and also for a more "westernized" character, to re-connect with his usual fans when in the same trying to conquer a new public."Brannigan" is therefore a serious thriller with some tongue in cheek humour and some bravado elements usually seen in John Wayne's westerns. The story is about a Lieutenant of Chicago Police, James Brannigan (John Wayne) who travels to England to bring back an American gangster named Ben Larkin (John Vernon), arrested by Scotland Yard and awaiting extradition. This seemingly easy mission will be complicated by local English thugs, by Larkin's British lawyer Mel Fields (Mel Ferrer, fabulous as always), by the uneasy working relation between Brannigan and Scotland Yard's Commander Sir Charles Swann (Richard Attenborough) and last but not least by the professional hitman from New Orleans hired by Larkin to kill Brannigan (there is considerable bad blood between those two). A lovely young Scotland Yard Sergeant Detective Jennifer Thatcher (Judy Geeson) will serve as Brannigan's driver and assistant during his visit - however Brannigan being obviously a very senior man, with grown-up children, their relation during the film will be of quasi teacher/apprentice nature, with just some very gentle but charming verbal flirting.Without being a very good film "Brannigan" is a nice watch, with some rather gentle humour provided by the mutual cultural shock between the Yankee "barbarian" and the supposedly more cultured "Limeys". Brannigan's memories of war-time England (he served in European war theatre during WWII) provide also some nice conversation topics. Richard Attenborough gives a GREAT show in this film as the highly civilized, aristocratic Scotland Yard Commander and he clearly had the TIME OF HIS LIFE playing in this film. The difference in size between the two actors only added to the charm of their working relation (Attenborough is 170cm when Wayne was 193cm tall...).The elements of action borrowed from the western genre are particularly amusing and the main car chase is really hilarious. There is also one scene in this film involving the persistent hitman following Brannigan around London, that actually made me stand up in front of my TV, contrasting with the much lighter general tone of the rest of the movie...I think that this film was probably a distant inspiration for the classical "Dempsey and Makepeace" TV show in the 80s, although of course here the American character is too old to get involved with his British partner (and also Commander Swann is much more endearing than his equivalent in the series...).Bottom line, this is a honest, good film, not really "Dirty Harry"-like, but lighter and merrier and showing that Merry Old England certainly never was the same after Lieutenant Brannigan was done with her...))) Very watchable, even if you are not Duke's fan. Enjoy!

An entertaining Police thriller in which John Wayne plays Chicago policeman Brannigan, sent to London to extradite a mob boss. Things go wrong when the villain is kidnapped, forcing Brannigan and his Scotland Yard colleagues to go searching through London. Added to which is a hitman hired to bump Brannigan off.This has no great pretensions to being a classic or thought provoking film. It provides an interesting plot and keeps it ticking over nicely with regular well paced action sequences and a decent sprinkling of humour. John Wayne ambles his way through with his usual easy going charm, and Richard Attenborough has fun as the very British Police Commander Brannigan has to work with in London. The humour comes largely from the American in England angle, with some misunderstandings and clashes over the English and American way of doing things. It's a background thing though, and doesn't interfere with the main story.With a host of well known British faces (James Booth as an effective villain, Tony Robinson and Brian Glover in typically humorous roles, Brian Dennen and Del Henney) filling out supporting roles, imaginative use of seventies London and some nice Jaguars this sometimes feels a little like the Sweeney with John Wayne as a guest star. Which is no bad thing!In short an entertaining film that will help while away a few hours.This 2004 release from MGM has the original widescreen format and a mono soundtrack. There are some blips and scratches on the film, but in the main it is a decent transfer. The soundtrack is in similarly good condition. A decent budget release.

It's been a few years since I've watched "Brannigan" so thought I'd get the DVD - especially at this price.I wasn't disappointed. ItAs a fan of this genre and this era in TV & Film, this was the perfect addition to my collection. A bit of Sweeney, a bit of Dirty Harry, a bit of Villain. Some very entertaining scenes - especially with the brilliant Sir Richard Attenborough. The fight scene in the pub was hilarious - followed soon after by the well known car chase scene, ending on the iconic Tower Bridge. There are some wonderful scenes of 70s London throughout the film. Some locations are totally changed now, but some are still exactly the same.It might not be everyone's idea of a classic, but the world would be boring if everyone thought the same wouldn't it ? I love it !No extras on this offering, which is a shame, but in the absence of an alternative, I'll stay happy with this release for now.