Mclintock

John Wayne shows off his funny side in this 1963 western a comedy inspired by THE TAMING OF THE SHREW. Starring as wealthy cattle baron G.W. McLintock Wayne displays a real sense of comic timing in several slapstick-filled scenes. After his wife (Maureen OHara) and daughter leave him for the East McLintock attempts to win them back. The dynamics between OHara and Wayne are the strong suit of this film the actors having worked together previously on THE QUIET MAN. As this is by no means a revisionist western McLintocks chauvinistic attempts to tame his wife fit within the problematic ideology of the larger western genre. The ultimate example of this comes at the end of the film when McLintock settles his marital dispute by publicly spanking his wife in what is now a notorious cinematic moment.