Big Jim McLain

Big Jim McLain
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Edward Ludwig
Written by	Richard English (story) James Edward Grant Eric Taylor
Produced by	Robert M. Fellows John Wayne
Starring	John Wayne Nancy Olson James Arness Alan Napier Veda Ann Borg
Cinematography	Archie J. Stout
Edited by	Jack Murray
Music by	Paul Dunlap Arthur Lange Emil Newman
Color process	Black and white
Production company	Wayne-Fellows Productions
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	August 30, 1952 (1952-08-30)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$2.6 million (US rentals)[1]

Big Jim McLain is a 1952 American film noir political thriller film starring John Wayne and James Arness as HUAC investigators hunting down communists in the postwar Hawaii organized-labor scene. Edward Ludwig directed.

This was the first film in which Wayne played a contemporary law enforcement officer, instead of an Old West lawman. Near the end of his career, in the mid-1970s, he took on two more such roles, (Brannigan and McQ), each time playing an urban cop.

HUAC investigators Jim McLain (John Wayne) and Mal Baxter (James Arness) are sent to Hawaii to track Communist Party activities and gather evidence toward convictions. Their trail leads to insurance fraudsters, saboteurs. and infiltrators of labor unions on the Honolulu docks to foul up the loading and unloading of ships. After receiving information from a local newspaper reporter (Vernon "Red" McQueen), the two agents search for Willie Nomaka, a former Party treasurer. He is under the care of psychiatrist Dr. Gelster (Gayne Whitman), whose secretary, Nancy Vallon (Nancy Olson), proves particularly helpful. McLain asks her on a date, and a romance develops.

Meanwhile, Nomaka disappears while ostensibly being treated for an (induced) nervous breakdown. Nomaka's landlady, the man-hungry Madge (Veda Ann Borg), assists in the investigation. Nomaka's ex-wife (Madame Soo Yong), an ex-Communist, also provides McLain with some helpful background information. Nomaka is eventually found under an alias at a Honolulu sanitorium. But he is heavily drugged and unable to speak. Party leader Sturak (Alan Napier) orders Dr. Gelster to dispose of him, but McLain rescues Nomaka and sweeps him away to safety. Unfortunately, his knowledge proves of little value. Later, two thug Communists kidnap McLain's partner, agent Baxter. During an interrogation, however, Dr. Gelster accidentally kills Baxter while injecting him with sodium pentothal. As a result of the loss of Baxter, McLain resolves to see his task through to the end.

In the meantime, Sturak orders the members of his Party cell to attend a meeting. There, he tells Gelster to confess his party membership to local authorities. This way, investigators will believe the cell has been destroyed. However, this will free other cells to continue their work. Gelster is reluctant to sacrifice himself for the Party. The meeting is suddenly interrupted by the arrival of McLain, who punches Gelster hard for killing Baxter. Vastly outnumbered, McLain loses the brawl that follows. But police arrive and place the insurrectionists under arrest. Those responsible for Baxter's death are convicted of murder. Ultimately McLain and Nancy see other Communists plead the Fifth Amendment to avoid self-incrimination during further HUAC interrogations. Seemingly, McLain is back where he started.

• John Wayne as Jim McLain
• James Arness as Mal Baxter
• Nancy Olson as Nancy Vallon
• Alan Napier as Sturak
• Vernon "Red" McQueen as Phil Briggs
• Gayne Whitman as Dr. Gelster
• Veda Ann Borg as Madge
• Robert Keys as Edwin White
• Sarah Padden as Mrs. Lexiter

Polly Cochran of The Indianapolis Star called this movie a "hodgepodge of good ideas and poor execution" and complained about a weak plot.^[2]

• John Wayne filmography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Big Jim McLain.

• Big Jim McLain at IMDb
• Big Jim McLain at the TCM Movie Database
• Big Jim McLain at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films