Product Details

• Actors: John Wayne, Eddie Albert, Diana Muldaur, Colleen Dewhurst, Clu Gulager
• Directors: John Sturges
• Writers: Lawrence Roman
• Producers: Arthur Gardner, Jules V. Levy, Lawrence Roman, Michael Wayne
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: May 26, 1994
• Run Time: 111 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300269175
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,444 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #25 in	Video > Mystery & Suspense > Crime > Cops
  #28 in	Video > Action & Adventure > Action Stars > John Wayne
  #100 in	Video > Action & Adventure > Crime

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

After turning down the role of Dirty Harry, John Wayne made up for lost time by starring in this pretty-good 1974 police drama. Shot on location in a gritty pre-Microsoft Seattle, McQ finds John Wayne butting heads with fellow cops and local crime elements as he investigates the murder of a fellow cop and friend. Wayne is obviously a bit long-in-tooth to be taking on this kind of role, but the script allows for some decent character development, including Colleen Dewhurst in a brief but memorable role as a washed-up barmaid, and the action sequences by veteran director John Sturges still hold up well. For anyone who cares, a key drug-heist sequence was shot in the hospital that now houses Amazon.com's Seattle headquarters. --Kristian St. Clair

Product Description

Police lieutenant resigns from the force to track down some big dope dealers involved in killing a couple of police officers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars McQ. John Wayne, September 10, 2001

By	Norman Macleod (Long Sault, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

Loved the movie, It's a little different to see the Duke in civilian atire as a investigator on the hunt for the people who took out not only cops but a good freind as well . One of the highlights for me was seeing the early 70's Trans Am that the Duke was driving ripping up the streets of Seattle, great looking car for the era. Another thing that I noticed was no profane language in the movie, quite refreshing and enjoyable for anyone to watch who likes action movies and the Duke.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THE DUKE MEETS DIRTY HARRY, April 21, 2005

By	Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This review is from: McQ (DVD)

I saw this picture at the theater with my brother when it first came out. I'll admit that on the surface John Wayne playing a tough, renegade, "Dirty Harry" style cop may be a bit far-fetched, but hey, it's John Wayne...few could ever match his screen presence so you just accept it as a pretty entertaining cop action film. There's certainly some "Bullitt" influence as well with the car chases and Wayne driving a Trans Am.

Wayne is Lon McQ whose partner turns out was involved in some dirty doings and is killed because of it. Wayne finds out a drug kingpin (Al Lettieri) was responsible for the murder and goes after him. When McQ's superior Captain Kosterman (Eddie Albert) suspends him, he quits the force and joins the PI firm of his friend "Pinky" (David Huddleston). Duke now can go after Santiago and his men and garners help from an aged junkie informer played by Colleen Dewhurst in a short but strong role. The supporting cast is rounded out with Diana Muldauer and Clu Gulager.

The film is punctuated by what is actually a number of good (for the era) action sequences climaxed by an auto chase and shootout with Duke wielding an automatic weapon on a beach in what really is an exciting scene. One can certainly argue that all of the main actors including Wayne, Albert, and Dewhurst were a bit too long in the tooth for the roles they are playing but so what. It's still an enjoyable film with Wayne, even at 67 years old displaying the macho toughness that had made in a huge star for over 40 years. Dated but fun!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Duke tries to attone for a lost opportunity., February 8, 2000

By A Customer

John Wayne wasn't just considered for the role of Dirty Harry, he was the top choice. The role was his for the taking. He looked at the script and was intrigued, but he felt it was a little too hard edged for his fans to accept so he passed. Of course, Clint Eastwood took the role and the movie became a huge hit and a classic. When the Duke saw "Dirty Harry" he realized he had made a big mistake passing on it. It was too late to change the past so he did the next best thing which was to have his own Dirty Harry-like movie and call it "McQ."

Unfortunately, "McQ" lacks the taunt script of "Dirty Harry" and it meanders along very slowly. The performances are good. The Duke, Eddie Albert, and Al Leiteri are all fine. Colleen Dewhurst is fantastic in her short amount of screen time. Yet they cannot cover up the weak script. The end result was "Dirty Harry Lite" and a rather forgettable film. An ok movie; but no "Dirty Harry."