The thought of former swashbuckling leading ladies Maureen O'Hara and Yvonne De Carlo duking it out over "Duke" John Wayne comes out a disappointment in this otherwise enjoyable comedy. Separated for two years, fighting married couple Wayne and O'Hara are reunited in his small rural community when their daughter (Stefanie Powers) comes home. The Duke's real-life son, Patrick Wayne, plays cook De Carlo's son, and falls for the fiery Powers, resulting in a two-generation battle of the sexes with more than a passing resemblance to "Taming of the Shrew".
There's also an Indian raid, a group fight with men sliding down into a mud pit (ultimately joined by the perfectly clad O'Hara), drunken attempts for Wayne and De Carlo to get up the Tara-like staircase, and a slapstick finale where O'Hara, showing off a still lovely figure after being stripped (or ripped) down to her bodice, tries to escape from her husband while ensued by the entire town. This being De Carlo's only film with Wayne, I longed to see more of her, but this is more than just the "guest appearance" she is billed with, given half a dozen major scenes and some good verbal spars with O'Hara that give the impression that the two will end up buddies, especially since it appears that they are going to end up related anyway.
Wayne always succeeded in comedy, especially in spoofing his western tough guy image, and he's very funny here. He also adds compassion for the Native American tribe fighting relocation to a reservation. O'Hara's a bit tougher here and overly hot-tempered, a bit quick to assume the worst about her dipsomaniac husband. But once she finds out the truth, she silently mutters an apologetic "oops" and becomes quite likable. Such professionals as Edgar Buchannan, Chill Wills and Jack Kruschen offer fine support, with "B" movie actress Mari Blanchard memorable in a tiny part as an obvious madame. (Interesting to note that I initially confused her for De Carlo, so imagine my surprise when she actually did show up as the younger Wayne's mama.) There's also a very funny sequence involving a rodeo contest with men racing on horses while having (in some of the cases) a year-old egg in their mouth. This results in an amusing scene where a pretentious politician named "Cuthbert" (Robert Lowery) really does end up with egg on his face.
There's also an Indian raid, a group fight with men sliding down into a mud pit (ultimately joined by the perfectly clad O'Hara), drunken attempts for Wayne and De Carlo to get up the Tara-like staircase, and a slapstick finale where O'Hara, showing off a still lovely figure after being stripped (or ripped) down to her bodice, tries to escape from her husband while ensued by the entire town. This being De Carlo's only film with Wayne, I longed to see more of her, but this is more than just the "guest appearance" she is billed with, given half a dozen major scenes and some good verbal spars with O'Hara that give the impression that the two will end up buddies, especially since it appears that they are going to end up related anyway.
Wayne always succeeded in comedy, especially in spoofing his western tough guy image, and he's very funny here. He also adds compassion for the Native American tribe fighting relocation to a reservation. O'Hara's a bit tougher here and overly hot-tempered, a bit quick to assume the worst about her dipsomaniac husband. But once she finds out the truth, she silently mutters an apologetic "oops" and becomes quite likable. Such professionals as Edgar Buchannan, Chill Wills and Jack Kruschen offer fine support, with "B" movie actress Mari Blanchard memorable in a tiny part as an obvious madame. (Interesting to note that I initially confused her for De Carlo, so imagine my surprise when she actually did show up as the younger Wayne's mama.) There's also a very funny sequence involving a rodeo contest with men racing on horses while having (in some of the cases) a year-old egg in their mouth. This results in an amusing scene where a pretentious politician named "Cuthbert" (Robert Lowery) really does end up with egg on his face.