Product Details

• Actors: John Wayne, Richard Attenborough, Judy Geeson, Mel Ferrer, John Vernon
• Directors: Douglas Hickox
• Writers: Christopher Trumbo, Michael Butler, William P. McGivern, William W. Norton
• Producers: Arthur Gardner, Jules V. Levy, Michael Wayne
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• VHS Release Date: April 1, 1992
• Run Time: 111 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301967488
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,778 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Fortunately, John Wayne had two vastly more interesting feature films (Rooster Cogburn and The Shootist) left in him following this disposable, leaden 1975 fish-out-of-water story. Wayne phones in his performance as a Chicago cop, Jim Brannigan, whose hunt for a fugitive in London is mostly an excuse for cross-cultural conflicts and comedy. Richard Attenborough adds local color as a Scotland Yard detective who partners with the Duke, and Judy Geeson plays a lovely, liberated constable who won't brook Brannigan's ingrained sexism. The by-the-numbers script is more pacifying for diehard Wayne fans than exciting to everyone, and the film looks embarrassingly ornamental with its naked display of touristy backdrops. Still, Brannigan is a slick tribute to the staying power of an American icon. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wayne is game as a cop on the case in London, January 29, 2000

By 

Dan Trachtenberg (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brannigan [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Good movie overall. There something to be said about these gritty '70's cop films, with the grainy look, dated scores, and often hard to follow dialogue and story lines. John Wayne jumped into this "dirty harry" genre with this and McQ, with marginal success. Wayne is nearing 70 by this time, and in many ways looks it. He brings charm and style to any role he graces, but looks surpirsingly tired and worn out here. Perhaps his declining health had something to do with it, promting questions as to why he kept on working when so many others of his era had retired. He should have retired with True Grit, although his brave performance in The Shootist was a fitting swan song to the career of the finest actor America ever produced. There will never be another John Wayne.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars John Wayne Goes British, March 10, 2006

By 

John A Lee III "jal3" (San Antonio, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Brannigan (DVD)

Like McQ, John Wayne plays a police detective in this film. He is his trademark, tough as nails, no nonsense, "I'll do it my way" kind of character but there is a difference. This one is more enjoyable.

He plays a cop from Chicago. His arch nemesis is a mobster and is just about to be brought down when he flees the country to London. Wayne is sent there to bring him back under an extradition treaty. Problems arise when Wayne is just about to get his prisoner from Scotland Yard and the prisoner is kidnapped. That leaves the Chicago PD and Scotland Yard both with egg on their face. Both want the prisoner back but they have very different styles of getting the job done.

Scotland Yard tends to be very civil about such things. They don't even like having John Wayne around let alone his revolver. Wayne prefers the direct approach. Find a bad guy and MAKE him talk. Eventually, it is a blend of both styles that brings the perp to justice but there are plenty of twists and turns along the way. The kidnapper lead the police on several wild goose chases and they are not who they appear to be.

The only one who can be taken at face value is John Wayne's character. He says what he means and backs it up with bullets or a swift punch. Judy Geeson makes for a sweet sidekick for him along the way.

The Wayne character is a constant. Thankfully, it is constantly enjoyable.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure entertainment, March 26, 2007

By 

viewer (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brannigan (DVD)

From the time I saw Brannigan in the theaters as a kid, through a number of chances to watch it again over the years, it has been one of my favorite movies. I grew up with the crime dramas of the 1970s, had little patience for Westerns, and am sorry John Wayne had so little time left to make detective movies. His other police drama, McQ, was trying so hard to imitate other "gritty" characters and films, was so formulaic, artificial, confusing, dreary, stiff, heavy-handed, and cliché, that these elements crowded out Wayne. Not so Brannigan.

Wayne shined. He was natural and utterly comfortable and convincing in the role. He was likable, frank, good-natured, decent, down-to-earth, and tough -- "so damn solid," as Geeson's character put it (to which he replied, "Fat, you mean") in a nice, genuine scene where Brannigan talked about wanting to catch the hood responsible for killing his rookie partner because it was his duty to protect the kid even though, no matter how "nice a story" it would make if the kid had been like a son to him, he had not even liked the "smart-aleck" kid. Wayne had terrific, commanding screen presence. He looked as fit and acted as vigorous as called for by the role. Suggestions in other reviews that he was "too old" or "too fat" are nonsense. The mature cast is a pleasant contrast to today's rampant superficiality.

All of the supporting actors -- Attenborough, Geeson, Ferrer, Vernon, Pilon -- were real professionals who similarly brought substance to their roles and played them smoothly and effectively. The characters were nicely sketched. For example, Attenborough's titled Scotland Yard official was not a caricatured fop or dandy; he was polished but also appreciated rough, direct action to get the job done, which created a nice grudging rapport between him and Brannigan. Both the policeman and the hit-man were portrayed effectively in this movie, with the policeman actually outsmarting and outmaneuvering the hit-man in believable ways. The story had action, energy, purpose, and humor. The dialogue was smart, and the plot interesting, with some clever touches. The photography and music made it all the more enjoyable.

This is a fun, smart, well-paced, well-produced detective story with a good plot, well-drawn and well-cast characters, and good locations. The movie is excellent entertainment. As such, I could not recommend it more highly. Reviewers who apparently failed to watch the film on its own merits and have nothing to offer but pseudo-sophisticated, overly general, cheap-shot criticisms do not do it justice.