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To me, this movie is perfection.

Just perfect...

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Upon reflection, there aren't that many Westerns I can call to mind that explore the divide between the film's hero and his sons. 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). Just for the heck of it, I'm going to take a stab at Cahill's initials, there was one scene in which a sign indicated the 'Jefferson Davis County Jail', so I'm betting J.D. was named after Jefferson Davis. 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. And maybe more to the point, how impressionable college students viewing the film today might need a safe room to watch it in. 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. Just my little digression there.Say, here' something I've been waiting for a long time to see in a Western. Denver Pyle portrays a character named Denver, I wonder why it took so long. And what exactly was that animal that Royal Dano's character sold to Cahill? It looked like a mangy horse but brayed like a donkey and acted like a mule.Best line of story came early when J.D. hired Lightfoot to be his tracker - "I'll track, any killin', you do it. Might be friends of mine". Sort of puts old time Western relationships in perspective, doesn't it?

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. Consequently, the boys have fallen under the influence of mean George Kennedy (as Abe Fraser). One day, while Mr. Wayne is out shooting outlaws, young Grimes gets tossed in jail. This turns out to be part of a plot to rob the local bank, with both of Wayne's sons participating. To build an alibi, the crooks get thrown in jail on minor charges, sneak out to rob the bank, and then return to jail. Little of this is actually shown, but it helps to know...Wayne and director Andrew V. McLaglen should have ended their collaborations with the far superior "Chisum" (1970)...This one gets off to a confusing start. It's not an intricate story that develops; it's artificial and lacks cohesion. Seeing the "drunk and disorderly" Grimes with Kennedy might have helped, if the young actor was given the task. There are too many instances where Mr. McLaglen leaves Grimes with widened eyes and flared nostrils. And, let's try not to highlight "half breed" Comanche colored Neville Brand's florescent teeth. 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). Considering Marshal Wayne's sense of justice, the boys are lucky to be his sons. If not, Wayne might have plugged them with multiple, spasm-inducting bullets.*** Cahill, United States Marshal (1973-07-11) Andrew V. McLaglen ~ John Wayne, Gary Grimes, Clay O'Brien, George Kennedy

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 promises not to hurt anybody but they kill the sheriff. When J.D. returns, the boys lie to their father and Abe's gang has an airtight alibi. Billy Joe had hidden the money. Abe and his gang are released. Then four innocent men are caught for the crime and about to be hung. 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. The problem in this movie is that the kids need to be great actors. Both boys are workable but nothing special. They don't have the charisma to be the center of the movie. Yet the story requires them to be. In many ways, Cahill is the least interesting of the three characters. This being a John Wayne movie, he has to be on screen a lot. He and Lightfoot keep having light banter which distracts from the more serious aspect of the story. Also if J.D. suspects the boys of the crime, he should have just taken the boys and squeeze the truth out of them.

Many liberals like to bitch John Wayne out - I know because being a left-winger I have to put up with whiny liberals for company! What many of these liberals forget is that John Wayne - whilst politically unacceptable in many ways - was still an actor and a human being. Something some ''liberals'' complain about is Republican political oriented criticism on liberal actors and directors and the disrespect of the artistic talents of these liberal personages. 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.