Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Scott LeBrun John Wayne is fine as always in the title role of J.D. Cahill, a man who's very good at his job. However, it's required him to always be on call, and as a result he hasn't had much of a part in the lives of his two sons. Now his teenage kid, Danny (Gary Grimes of "Summer of '42") is being rebellious and hooking up with very bad types played by the likes of George Kennedy (as Fraser), Morgan Paull (as Struther), and Dan Vadis (as Brownie). Danny and his younger brother Billy Joe (Clay O'Brien) become implicated in a bank robbery masterminded by the older men in which the sheriff and one of his deputies are killed."Cahill United States Marshal" is a good, diverting Western. It's not exceptional in any way, but it tells a decent story (scripted by Harry Julian Fink and Rita M. Fink of "Dirty Harry" fame) told in capable enough fashion. The Duke is good as a single father who realizes that his experience as a parent hasn't been the best for his children. But the best moments tend to belong to the supporting players. Kennedy gives the tale a real shot in the arm with his villainous performance, as does Neville Brand as Lightfoot, the half breed Comanche hired for his services as a tracker. Brand didn't feel that he was right for his role, but it's one of the better ones that he had. It's a treat to spot the continuous lineup of familiar faces in supporting and bit parts: Marie Windsor, Royal Dano, Scott Walker, Denver Pyle, Jackie Coogan, Harry Carey Jr., Walter Barnes, Paul Fix, Pepper Martin, Hank Worden, and Hunter von Leer.Production design (by Walter M. Simonds), cinematography (by Joseph F. Biroc), and editing (by Robert L. Simpson), are generally well done, and Elmer Bernsteins' score is catchy and rousing. Things get fairly intense - Billy Joe does get a knife held to his neck - and the violence is definitely of the post-"The Wild Bunch" variety.It's not a great Western, but it held this viewers' attention for 103 minutes.Seven out of 10.

kenobi7 "CAHILL - UNITED STATES MARSHAL" is one of those movies that is somewhat frustrating. It succeeds on a few levels, but fails on so many others that makes it nowhere near one of the best films of John Wayne. The script is a horror to behold (such a pity too, because the writer for this was also the writer for "BIG JAKE", one of the Duke's better outings), the action is near perfect, the performances are great. The main plot is of U.S. Marshal J.D. Cahill (John Wayne) trying to get his sons out of a gang of outlaws alive. His oldest son Daniel (Gary Grimes) being in an outlaw gang is believable, because he is very rebellious. But not his youngest son Billy Joe (Clay O'Brien). Billy Joe is basically a good kid who loves his pa. The audience assumes that Billy Joe threw in with the outlaws because he followed his brother, but the film never shows or says that. Not to mention that the sight of little O'Brien holding that shotgun that is bigger than he is not at all convincing. However, films that have the "unbelievability factor" are usually appealing to me. But those films know they are unbelievable and just move along with an amazing pace - that's why they are so enjoyable. Not this movie. It is unbelievable, but it never decides if it knows that or not. It just seems to stay in the same gear the whole time and as a result, is bogged down in mediocrity the entire film. There is no bad acting, just bad acting choices. The film casts several veterans of movies and television, such as Jackie Coogan, Harry Carey Jr., Marie Windsor, Royal Dano, Denver Pyle, and Paul Fix, but the script unfortunately only gives them unimportant roles. Their acting is not at all bad, but the characters are unnecessary. It looks like the director cast these roles based on their talent, not on their significance to the script. On the positive side, the other actors are great in their roles, like George Kennedy as Fraser. Also, the action scenes are almost perfect, and the script seems to pick up the slightest bit in the last half hour. Overall, a fair movie, but if it was not for The Duke, it would have been a complete disaster.Also Recommmended: "STAGECOACH" (1939), "RIO GRANDE" (1950), "TRUE GRIT" (1969), "CHISUM" (1970), "THE SHOOTIST" (1976)THIS REVIEW IS DEDICATED TO ANYONE, LIVING OR DEAD, INVOLVED IN THE MAKING OF "CAHILL - UNITED STATES MARSHAL".

jldmp1 There are few actors who define national attitudes. Wayne is one of them. He matured in a simpler time, when white hat vs. black hat was expected, not just acceptable. He didn't need to be anything more than an archetype, his presence was cartoonish...the hapless bad guys were equally cartoonish. His triumphs affirmed who we were as Americans.He was displaced by flinty Clint, the iconoclast. But Clint, for the most part, also faced cartoon bad guys.The current postmodern hero archetype is Willis in the "Die Hard" narrative -- the ironic hero now has to face off with fully dimensional villains. Most studios now invest in getting the perceived 'best villain', and all other considerations form a line behind that.So it's shocking to see this today...the mind has to jump back not one, but two generations and adjust.This is a failure on many levels. The visual storytelling is distinctly uncinematic -- it would pass for a "Little House on the Prairie" TV show. The acting and props are horrible. Wayne tries to stay aloof, brushing aside everyone in his path with smoking barrels and one-liners. He tries to validate for us that "a man can't ignore his duty".By 1973, this no longer worked. Whatever Wayne had built up for us in "True Grit" or even the "Green Berets" was lost forever...like sand against a tsunami caused by Vietnam and all of its flotsam and jetsam that rushed at us(My Lai, Kent State, the bombing of Cambodia, etc.) We were rapidly becoming a nation of quiche-eaters.

MartinHafer This is not one of John Wayne's better flicks from his later years. It really isn't because it's a bad film, but the energy level is so low due to the fact he was so gosh-darn old! Unlike the energy that he somehow mustered for MC Q and BRANNIGAN, this movie just seems to crawl along and offers very little more than what you might see in an episode of BONANZA or GUN SMOKE. I really wish Wayne had held out for a more worthy film, but considering he spent most of his life just churning out films, it isn't too surprising that he did the movie. The 5 rating is for the average viewer. If you are a Wayne fan, a score of 6 or 7 would probably suffice, as it is still enjoyable because it's still pure John Wayne.