In 1909, when John Fain's gang kidnaps Jacob McCandles' grandson and holds him for ransom, Big Jake sets out to rescue the boy.In 1909, when John Fain's gang kidnaps Jacob McCandles' grandson and holds him for ransom, Big Jake sets out to rescue the boy.In 1909, when John Fain's gang kidnaps Jacob McCandles' grandson and holds him for ransom, Big Jake sets out to rescue the boy.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Christopher Mitchum
- Michael McCandles
- (as Chris Mitchum)
Ethan Wayne
- Little Jake McCandles
- (as John Ethan Wayne)
- Directors
- George Sherman
- John Wayne(uncredited)
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJohn Wayne's last film with Christopher Mitchum. The two actors fell out when Mitchum disagreed with Wayne's conservative views during a television interview, and they never spoke again. Mitchum tried to get in touch with Wayne in 1979 when the veteran star was dying of cancer, but did not receive any response.
- GoofsBig Jake is bucked off his horse and falls in a mud puddle. Later in the same scene, his suit is clean.
- Quotes
Jacob 'Big Jake' McCandles: And now *you* understand. Anything goes wrong, anything at all... your fault, my fault, nobody's fault... it won't matter - I'm gonna blow your head off. No matter what else happens, no matter who gets killed I'm gonna blow your head off.
- ConnectionsFeatured in 100 Years of the Hollywood Western (1994)
Featured review
Big Jake and Dirty Harry: Same Writers!
Some comments here have mentioned how much the Western "Big Jake" reminds them of "Dirty Harry." Actually, both films were written by the same screenwriters -- Harry and Rita Fink -- though additional writers were brought in on "Dirty Harry." Both films were developed and shot around the same time. "Big Jake" came out in summer 1971, and "Dirty Harry" came out at Christmas 1971. John Wayne said he was offered "Dirty Harry" before Eastwood took it (but Dirty Harry was also supposedly offered to Paul Newman, Frank Sinatra, Bill Cosby and Walter Matthau before Eastwood, too!)
The twice-repeated "do you feel lucky?" speech in "Dirty Harry" and the twice-repeated "your fault, my fault, nobody's fault" speech in "Big Jake" prove to me that the same writers worked on both scripts.
Also, Richard Boone must be singled out. This powerful, amusing actor always made a great villain. Wayne had tried to get him as the villain for several films before "Big Jake" (he'd done a cameo in "The Alamo"). Boone finally said "yes" to "Big Jake" and the verbal showdowns between Big John and Big Boone in "Big Jake" are a wonder to behold.
BTW, Boone turned down a lot of movie parts during the 70's (like the Robert Shaw part in "The Sting") but came to help out his old friend Wayne twice in that decade: "Big Jake" and "The Shootist" (1976.)
The twice-repeated "do you feel lucky?" speech in "Dirty Harry" and the twice-repeated "your fault, my fault, nobody's fault" speech in "Big Jake" prove to me that the same writers worked on both scripts.
Also, Richard Boone must be singled out. This powerful, amusing actor always made a great villain. Wayne had tried to get him as the villain for several films before "Big Jake" (he'd done a cameo in "The Alamo"). Boone finally said "yes" to "Big Jake" and the verbal showdowns between Big John and Big Boone in "Big Jake" are a wonder to behold.
BTW, Boone turned down a lot of movie parts during the 70's (like the Robert Shaw part in "The Sting") but came to help out his old friend Wayne twice in that decade: "Big Jake" and "The Shootist" (1976.)
helpful•609
- ecarle
- Aug 20, 2003
- How long is Big Jake?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- The Million Dollar Kidnapping
- Filming locations
- El Saltito waterfall, Nombre de Dios, Durango, Mexico(Automatic handgun scene.)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $4,800,000 (estimated)
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