McLintock! is a 1963 American Western film, starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara, directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. Loosely based on The Taming of the Shrew, the project was filmed in Technicolour and Panavision, and produced by Wayne’s company, Batjac Productions. Tough cattle baron and town namesake George Washington “G.W.” McLintock lives as a bachelor on his ranch. His wife, Katherine “Kate” McLintock, abandoned him with no explanation and become a socialite out East two years prior; his daughter, Rebecca “Becky” McLintock, is away finishing her college degree. In the town, G.W. is disliked by local bureaucrat Matt Douglas, and territorial Governor Cuthbert H. Humphrey. However, he is a friend to many, including Sheriff Lord, General Store owner Jake Birnbaum, and the local populations of beggars and Comanche Indians.
G.W. addresses a group of homesteaders, warning them that the land is likely unsuitable for farming. Devlin “Dev” Warren, a young man with a mother and sister to support, asks G.W. for a job. G.W. initially refuses; egged on by aged drifter Bunny, Dev resorts to begging, then lashes out in frustration when G.W. relents. However, G.W. still hires him. He also hires Dev’s widowed mother Mrs. Warren, after tasting her cooking. G.W. then learns Kate is in town; she tells him she wants a divorce, so she can take Becky back East with her, but G.W. refuses. Kate then decides to move back into the ranch, and starts bossing everyone around, immediately targeting Mrs. Warren.
The Comanche come into town to meet a train, and Sheriff Lord settles them near the homesteaders. When a homesteader’s daughter wanders off with her lover, Douglas and the homesteaders assume the Comanche took her. G.W. and his men arrive to try to defuse the situation, and a huge and muddy brawl ensues, with Kate unexpectedly joining in on G.W.’s side. Later, Becky arrives home from college with a suitor, Douglas’ son “Junior”. G.W. disapproves of Junior, so Kate makes a show of approving. In the back of Becky’s train are four Comanche chiefs, who have arrived for a hearing to determine whether or not their people will be sent to a reservation in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. G.W. agrees to speak at the hearing on their behalf. While getting ready for Becky’s welcome-home party, Dev and Becky get into an argument when he accuses Junior of being a “Dude”. At the party, Dev gets into a fistfight to protect Birnbaum’s young assistant Davy, and impresses everyone with his boxing skills. Some time later, after being deliberately taunted by Becky and Junior, Dev accuses Becky of being a “trollop” for kissing Junior before they were properly engaged. Becky demands G.W. shoot Dev for insulting her; G.W. “shoots” him with a starter’s pistol to teach Becky a lesson, and allows Dev to spank Becky with a coal shovel, angering Kate.
At the hearing, G.W. delivers a passionate plea from the Comanche to Governor Humphrey, but is ignored. The Comanche are ordered to be imprisoned until they can be sent to Fort Sill. Getting drunk that night, G.W. suggests to Bunny that, if the Comanche were to go out fighting as they requested, the Government might realize Humphrey’s mismanagement of the territory and intervene. G.W. returns home and pressures Mrs. Warren into drinking with him; both of them fall down the stairs, and Kate assumes the worst when she sees Mrs. Warren on G.W.’s lap, until Mrs. Warren explains she is quitting because Sheriff Lord has asked her to marry him. At the Fourth of July celebrations the next day, Kate sternly refuses Humphrey’s advances, but continues to treat her husband harshly. Bunny, who took G.W. seriously, helps set the Comanches free; they charge through town on their way to fight the U.S Army, causing everyone to scatter and hide. While hiding in a haystack, Dev and Becky reconcile, and become engaged. Encouraged by this, and advice from Birnbaum, G.W. confronts Kate, getting her to admit that she left because she found lipstick on his shirt and incorrectly assumed he was having an affair. After pursuing her through town and spanking her, G.W. tells Kate she is free to divorce him, and leaves for home. However, she follows him, and the two finally reconcile.
