Review of Big Jim McLain (1952) by Allan C — 31 Jul 2013

Very silly and dated story of John Wayne as a U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee investigator working to ferret out dirty commies in 1950s Hawaii. The film is a terrible piece of right-wing propaganda (even going as far as to infer commie connection to Pearl Harbor ala Iraq and 9/11), but I have to say that I loved seeing all the location work around old Honolulu, which made the film quite enjoyable.

I also always liked Nancy Olson, who typically played girl-next-door types, get to do something a bit more glamorous. And it's interesting to note that Olson, a liberal democrat, hated the script but figured she couldn't pass up a chance to work six-weeks in Hawaii and with John Wayne.

If you can tolerate the right-wing McCarthy communist witch-hunt nonsense and the dragnet style of storytelling, it's possibly watchable and a **1/2 film. If you're a fan of Hawaii, give it an extra half a star.