John Wayne regretted turning down the lead in Dirty Harry, so he was keen to star in his own action thriller about a maverick cop playing by his own rules. He got to bring his brash, politically incorrect style to director John Sturges’ McQ, about a hard-nosed Seattle detective in a hurricane of vengeance against those responsible for his partner’s murder. But McQ taps into a conspiracy way bigger than he’d expect. It could go all the way to the top! Littered with beach-front car chases and submachine gun violence, the film also features New Bev favorite Clu Gulager as top brass and Al Lettieri (in one of his last roles) as Manny Santiago, the head of the Seattle criminal underground.
