Another of the Duke’s very best. This was the first effort by BatJac, the production company owned by John Wayne and his sons, Patrick and Michael. Wayne made the decision to take his persona in a wildly different direction with the new production company, and that effort was shown in this movie with an exclamation point. This is as much as a light comedy as it is a Western, and Wayne plays himself more as a cartoon than a live person. My favorite movie quote from this terrific film is from the man himself.

I got a touch of hangover this morning bureaucrat, don’t push me.

The story line of this movie serves pretty good as a metaphor for the political discourse of today. Washington bureaucrats parcel out non arable land to a selected group of people with no farming experience, in order that they may farm the land. The wealthy rancher, G.W. McLintock, is vilified for the wealth he created but is supposedly loath to have redistributed. McClintock, who shows his generosity at every opportunity is not loath to spread his wealth, but loath to have land that is not suitable for farming distributed for that purpose. Experience has told him that it will end in heartache for the Sooners.

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