Cahill U.S. Marshal
Tags: suspenseful, humor

Plot synopsis:
While J.D. Cahill (John Wayne), a widower and U.S. Marshal, is away from home, his two sons Danny (Gary Grimes) and Billy (Clay O'Brien) aid Abe Fraser (George Kennedy) and his gang to escape from jail and to rob a bank. The town's sheriff is shot and killed during the robbery. Billy hides the stolen money while his brother and the rest of the gang return to locked jail cells as an alibi. When Cahill returns, he and Danny look for the perpetrators with the help of half-Comanche tracker Lightfoot (Neville Brand). Cahill arrests four suspects and although they are innocent, they are found guilty and scheduled to be hanged. While on the tracks of the kids, Cahill and Lightfoot are ambushed by Brownie (Dan Vadis). Lightfoot hurts him but is eventually killed. Cahill's sons try to return the gang's share of the money to Fraser, resulting in a showdown between Cahill and his boys on one side and Fraser's gang on the other.

Review: As portrayed by John Wayne, United States Marshal J.D. Cahill is a man obsessed with his work as a lawman.
In fact that bad company has thought of a pretty good scheme in how to rob the town bank with the help from the Cahill boys.
But this is a John Wayne film involving his family so the Duke is trapped by certain parameters that his fans expect.
I must confess, it would be hard for me to say anything bad about a John Wayne movie, it certainly is not "The Searchers", but no where near "The Geisha and the Barbarian".
Cahill was a milder Wayne as a family man, with a good lesson of being there when your needed as a father.
A strong point that stands out in the movie, with the other elements (bank robbers, bad guys, boys in trouble) well incorporated around the basic theme.
In a world of high budgets, overpaid actors and grand special effects, "Cahill, U.S. Marshall" gives what any viewer would want from such a film: A good story..
McLaglen, "Cahill United States Marshal" is a Western starring John Wayne as the titular marshal and Neville Brand as his half-Native tracker in the Southwest.
Widower Cahill is so busy with his work that he's neglectful of his two sons, 10 and 17, and thus they veer toward delinquency, hooking up with a group of ne'er-do-wells (led by George Kennedy).
After getting away with robbing a bank, the sons must deal with the moral conundrum of a (dubious) group of men being hanged for a crime they didn't commit.The Duke had some great or near great Westerns in the final two decades of his career (e.g.
While I appreciate that Wayne tried to do something different by having the story focus on the ramifications of his neglected kids, the movie simply isn't very compelling and the boys aren't interesting as characters.
Good and enjoyable western with a great casting and a sensational John Wayne against his nemesis magnificently played by George Kennedy.
It contains a magnificent main cast as John Wayne facing off his contender George Kennedy and a top-notch support cast .
It deals with J.D. Cahill (John Wayne) is the toughest U.S. Marshal they've got, just the sound of his name makes bad guys stop in their tracks .
When his two children (Gary Grimes , Clay O'Brian) want to get his attention they decide to help some cutthroats (George Kennedy) to rob a bank .
His son is well played by Gary Grimes (Summer of 42, Class of 44) , he performed in similar role as a naive cowboy other films (The spikes gang , CulpepperCattle) , though he virtually disappeared without much trace and nowadays is retreated .
There also appears notorious secondary actors from numerous Westerns such as Denver Pyle , Paul Fix , Harry Carey Jr , Hank Worden , Marie Windsor , Dan Vadis , Walter Barnes , Royal Dano , among others.Rousing musical score by Elmer Bernstein in his ordinary style , including some marvelous songs with lyrics by Don Black .
He's a Western expert (McLintock , Shenandoah , Bandolero , Chisum , Cahill , Way West) and warlike specialist , such as proved in several films (Return to Kwai, Wild Geese , Dirty dozen: the next mission, Sea wolves, Breakthrough) .
While US Marshall Cahill (John Wayne) hunts outlaws, his wayward sons get in way over their heads when the supposedly safe, after-hours bank robbery plan with slimy saddle-tramp George Kennedy turns into a bloodbath.
When Cahill returns and ends up arresting innocent men, it sends the two youths scrambling to do the right thing.Though one of Wayne's later, less acclaimed movies, there's still a whole lot of fun to be had in this well produced, action filled morality tale.Kennedy is in truly fine form here as a truly vile bad guy, while Neville Brand, who's usually typecast as despicable villains and psychopathic cretins, delivers a standout, heroic performance as Wayne's halfbreed sidekick.The tense, bloody climax is pretty good..
"Wednesday Morning" was the working title; "Cahill U.S. Marshal" had its world premiere in Seattle, Washington on June 14, 1973 at the 7th Avenue Theatre, where there were pickets by American Indians protesting the film.
Cast and crew members from "Cahill", "McQ" and "The Cowboys" were at the premiere: Mark Rydell, Diana Muldaur, Eddie Albert, Robert Duvall, Clay O'Brien, Michael Wayne, James Caan, Marsha Mason (these two were filming "Cinderella Liberty" in Seattle at the time), Andrew McLaglen, Marie Windsor, Jackie Coogan.
"If you don't like the treatment, then don't rob banks" J.D. Cahill is a fearsome Marshal, his reputation goes before him where ever he roams, but when his two sibling boys decide to get his attention by way of joining a gang and then robbing a bank, he is perhaps faced with his toughest challenge.This is not a great John Wayne film, in fact it's distinctly average, but at its heart, the tale of a single father trying to balance his work and bring up his children properly, is interestingly watchable.
John Wayne, and chief bad guy George Kennedy appear to merely be going through the motions, and some of the technical work here only compounds the cheap feel that cloaks the story.
I see no difference in disrespect to a left-winger or a right-winger so the hypocritical stance of these liberal ''film fans'' doesn't do their ideology any favours.The film 'Cahill U.S. Marshal' whilst not being the greatest of westerns, is an enjoyable western with a good message - which isn't as Republican or right-wing as some other voters claimed.
The wonderful acting from John Wayne and George Kennedy is on par with their best work, the plot is original and the opening of the film is fantastic and rousing.One of the features that other voters have not commented on is the music by Elmar Bernstein.
The score for 'Cahill' is amongst the great composer's finest work and the song 'A Man Gets To Thinking'' sung by Charlie Rich is a good theme on par with the 'True Grit' by Glen Campbell and I am sure that a lot of Country and Western fans - I am only mildly enamoured with this genre - will enjoy it..
J.D. Cahill (John Wayne) is the toughest U.S. Marshal but an often-absent father to his sons angry Danny (Gary Grimes) and little Billy Joe (Clay O'Brien).
Abe Fraser (George Kennedy) convinces the boys to let his gang escape to rob a bank and then return back to their cells.
Abe pressures Billy Joe to give him the money but he doesn't really remember where he left it.I like the story of the boys and the conflict with their absent father.
John Wayne stars as tough-as-nails U.S. Marshal J.D. Cahill.
I felt like I had seen this movie before with John Wayne.
Western U.S. Marshal and widower John Wayne (as J.D. Cahill) is frequently away from home.
His two neglected sons, 17-year-old Gary Grimes (as Daniel "Danny" Cahill) and 11-year-old Clay O'Brien (as Billy Joe "Budger" Cahill), are often left without their father.
Grimes and young O'Brien act like Disney boys adopted by the older, violent Wayne (the script notes he became a father late in life).
McLaglen ~ John Wayne, Gary Grimes, Clay O'Brien, George Kennedy.
There may be a lot of people that will dismiss this movie as just another example of John Wayne's typical western persona.
He played a lot of different characters and showed variation in each one, even if it was just another western.In Cahill, he shows the struggle many fathers have gone through to raise their children and fulfill their responsibilities at the same time.
It is not done in a preachy way - it is just a natural part of the story.Sure, it's just another John Wayne western, but it is so much more if you take the time to really watch it.
It's nothing special, he's a Marshall, his kids are falling in with baddies lead by George Kennedy, Duke goes after'em with the help of some familiar faces ala Neville Brand, with regular Duke stock company guys like Denver Pyle, Royal Dano and Paul Fix along for the ride.Gets a little preachy, but it's watchable.
This is a typically glossy late John Wayne western.
Wayne plays Cahill a US Marshall whose job has meant that he has somewhat neglected his kids.
(6/10) Not a great film, but is underrated simply for the fact that this is labeled by many as one of Wayne's weaker westerns in the latter stages of his career.
Duke has a great supporting cast around him highlighted by Neville Brand as Indian tracker Ben Lightfoot, and villain George Kennedy.
The Fink couple and writing team famous for penning Dirty Harry lacked originality for bringing up the same plot devices used in the Duke western Big Jake they wrote two years prior (Wayne choosing a gun slinging career over his children and Wayne teaming up with an Indian tracker).
Probably considered a "lesser John Wayne," this movie shows once again that John Wayne was a great actor.He is given more opportunity to show emotional facets of a character, and grabs that opportunity.Yes, he is the prototypical tough lawman he played often, but with additional and different pressures: His character's sons are being ignored, being raised by a family retainer while Marshal Cahill is trying to make the West a better place, a safer place.Wayne is backed by a superlative cast, including the always mesmerizing George Kennedy, whose character slides from vicious to fake-gentle in such terrifying fashion.In a much softer role than she was often given is the fascinating and beautiful Marie Windsor, still looking lovely after such a long career -- in fact looking even more lovely than often.
In CAHILL, a routine western from the early 1970s, that youthful role was filled by Gary (SUMMER OF '42) Grimes as U.S. Marshal Cahill's rebellious teenage son Danny.
Several old-time actors are in the cast, including Marie Windsor and Denver Pyle, but most notable is Neville Brand as Cahill's favorite tracker, a wisecracking, self-proclaimed Indian chief who is actually half white.
Wayne was getting on in years and appears tired a lot of the time, but he plays the role this way, so we buy into it.
The highlight of the movie is clearly George Kennedy, playing one of the meanest, low-down, no-good villains to be found in a Wayne western.
John Wayne is fine as always in the title role of J.D. Cahill, a man who's very good at his job.
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.
A decent late John Wayne western.
JD Cahill is a tough US Marshal working in Texas; he is also the widowed father of two boys; Danny and Billy.
Will he be able to clear these men, arrest Fraser and his gang without condemning his boys?This isn't up there with Wayne's best westerns but it is still pretty good.
John Wayne is convincing as a tough marshal even though he was in his sixties by the time this was made.
The cast is solid enough; as well as Wayne we get notable performances from Neville Brand as Lightfoot, even if the idea of having a white actor playing a half-Indian is awkward for modern viewers; and George Kennedy is suitably menacing as Fraser.
Overall I'd recommend this to fans of the genre, especially if you like John Wayne; not a classic but still a decent enough film..
As with all John Wayne movies, you can watch them with your kids without the worries of naked bodies or four letter words filling the air or the floor.
One of the many Stereotypical Westerns that John Wayne made in His Waning Years.
The Exceptions being True Grit (1969) and the Curtain Call, an Excellent Film, The Shootist (1976), Directed by the Great Don Siegel.In this one Wayne tries Half-Heartedly to Soften His Racist Image and the Conservative Persona by Inserting a Native-American as His Tracking Buddy and ONE SCENE where He swats His Son for dissing a "Squaw".Of course, none of this Contrived Apology would do anything to curry favor from His Detractors who were on the "Warpath" in 1970's America.The Film looks good with an Overrated and Pedestrian Score from Elmer Bernstein and a number of Familiar Faces.
The teenagers are often played by actors in their mid-twenties (and sometimes even older).Let's do Andrew McLagen justice:Gary Grimes was about eighteen ,Danny's age in the movie.Made at the time when westerns were on the wane (in the second half of the seventies,they were completely overshadowed by the sci-fi) ,"Cawhill US Marshall " pits again John Wayne against youngsters ,after "true grit" two years before;but this time ,these are his sons."Cawhill" ,although it has some of the western permanent features is also a melodrama (instead of the actor/actress or the businessman or the cop in modern times who neglects his sons who go to the dogs ,it is a US marshal -check the title-),a thriller (will the young boy who knows where the loot is hidden talk?
) with snatches of horror flicks (the cemetery).The father/son is a subject which was not this new in western,but the boys were generally older.Wayne portrays a relatively old father whose wife passed away at an early time.Too bad the only female character (Marie Windsor) should be so underwritten.The boys learn in the movie how painful it is growing up.An Indian scout epitomizes wisdom and hope..
Little known John Wayne western where his charm still comes through....
McLaglen): Little known John Wayne western where his charm still comes through despite his age.
This is the perfect John Wayne movie made very much like his older western movies despite the fact that it was made near the end of his life.
Here he plays a U.S. Marshall named Cahill that is a workaholic despite having 3 young sons that are constantly being neglected.
Names familiar from his John Ford days decorate the cast including the great Mr Hank Worden,but on the whole "Cahill - U.S. Marshal" doesn't add up to much.
The highlight of the first ten minutes, John Wayne is serenading his prisoners, George Kennedy is a well groomed, neatly presented bad guy who snarls with the best of them.
And it was mighty white of John Wayne to show that it's okay to treat Native Americans with respect, as long as the Indian gets killed in the last reel.
But the main thing I came away from this movie with, because we live in a relative universe, one can't know a good film until they see a number of bad flicks.
Not an iconic Western, but still a very strong John Wayne title..
'Cahill' is a film which follows US Marshal J.D. Cahill, played by John Wayne, on the trail of a group of bank robbers.
Moreover, the supporting cast is pretty great: George Kennedy portrays the menacing antagonist, and delivers a performance comparable to Lee Van Cleef's Angel-Eyes ('The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'); Neville Brand also shines as Cahill's war-chief accomplice, Lightfoot; and lastly, Clay O'Brien, around the age of 12 in 'Cahill', delivers an admirable performance.
. John Wayne's title character confesses in CAHILL: UN!TED STATES MARSHAL.
But instead of apprehending these Bad Seeds (as required of him by his oath of office), Marshal Cahill assassinates the only three witnesses to the perfidy of his Crime Family, and connives to show his sons the sort of "family law" favoritism once enjoyed by Saddam Hussein's boys.
Both versions of "3:10 to Yuma" did a decent job of it, and once this story gets under way, it becomes apparent that J.D. Cahill (John Wayne) has some work to do to build up his parental bona fides with sons Daniel (Gary Grimes) and Billie Joe (Clay O'Brien).
If anyone knows otherwise, I'll stand corrected.I just watched the Clint Eastwood film "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" so I had to do a double take when Neville Brand's character was introduced as the half breed Lightfoot.
I was all set for him to smack Danny around after J.D. warned his son not to use the derogatory term, you would think Danny would have learned his lesson earlier in the story when introduced to the Mrs. Sometimes you just need to get knocked off your high horse to see things more clearly.That scene actually had me reflecting on how times have changed since the Sixties and Seventies, and how a character like Cahill today would be considered a bully and an unfit parent.
In the real world there are enough characters like Abe Fraser (George Kennedy) in charge in enough places to make things uncomfortable when it comes to entering the modern day work force, and I don't know if graduates today are being properly prepared for it.
"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 main plot is of U.S. Marshal J.D. Cahill (John Wayne) trying to get his sons out of a gang of outlaws alive.
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.
On the positive side, the other actors are great in their roles, like George Kennedy as Fraser.