Detective Jim Brannigan (John Wayne) of the Chicago PD roughs up a counterfeiter to get information about Ben Larkin (John Vernon), a crimelord on the lam. It turns out that Larkin fled to London so Brannigan is dispatched with extradition papers. Brannigan has only just arrived and met his local contact, Commander Sir Charles Swann (Richard Attenborough), when news arrives that Larkin has been kidnapped. When Larkin's lawyer, Mel Fields (Mel Ferrer), contacts Scotland Yard about the ransom demand, Brannigan finds himself staking out the drop point with Officer Jenny Thatcher (Judy Geeson). The kidnappers prove cleverer than it first appeared and Brannigan uses some Chicago investigative techniques to ferret them out, much to Sir Charles' annoyance. To add to Brannigan's troubles, an assassin - hired by Larkin - is on his trail. Can Brannigan survive assassination attempts while rescuing Ben Larkin from kidnappers so he can bring him back to Chicago for trial?
John Wayne had lobbied to be Dirty Harry but was viewed as too old for the role. Both this movie and McQ (1974) were his hardnosed, loose cannon cop movies. If I had not read the bit about Dirty Harry in the trivia on IMDb, I would never have made a connection between the two films. It is fun but there isn't anything new here. Wayne doesn't spend enough time with Attenborough for this to be an off-beat buddy cop film and Judy Geeson is basically a chauffeur. Thatcher and Swann should have been combined into one character. The underlying plot proves to be clever but that's a minor point that only comes into play at the very end. The assassin (Daniel Pilon) becomes less threatening as the movie progresses and his failures pile up. Maybe he should have acquired a rifle and gone the sniper route. Lesley Anne Down has a brief role as a high-end prostitute with only one line.
Despite being a disappointment at the box office, it is still good popcorn fun.
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