Andrew V. Mclaglen
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Biography
This son of Academy Award-winning actor Victor McLaglen learned the craft of directing apprenticing with the likes of John Ford, Budd Boetticher and William A Wellman. Ford had directed his father's Oscar-winning performance in "The Informer" (1935) and given the elder McLaglen new life in the cavalry trilogy ("Fort Apache" 1948, "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" 1949 and "Rio Grande" 1950), which brought the six-foot-seven-and-one-half-inch Andrew V McLaglen in contact with John Wayne, inaugurating their long association. The actor produced Boetticher's "Bullfighter and the Lady" (1951) and starred in Ford's "The Quiet Man" (1952) and Wellman's "The High and Mighty" (1954) and "Blood Alley" (1955), all with the younger McLaglen as assistant director. The 'Duke' would later star in four pictures helmed by Andrew, beginning with "McLintock!" (1963), sort of a Western "Taming of the Shrew" reteaming him with frequent co-star Maureen O'Hara, and including "The Undefeated" (1969), "Chisum" (1970) and "Cahill, United States Marshall" (1973).
McLaglen directed his first features ("Gun the Man Down" and "The Man in the Vault") in 1956, followed by "The Abductor" (1957), starring his father. He then signed a long-term contract with CBS-TV, where he became quite proficient at the helm of episodic Western fare (e.g., "Gunsmoke," "Have Gun--Will Travel" and "Rawhide"), as well as the courtroom drama series "Perry Mason." His feature reputation rests on the Westerns starring Wayne and "Shenandoah" (1965), a sentimental drama capturing the heartbreak of America's Civil War starring James Stewart which is arguably his best picture; but these films are memorable more for their performances than any particular McLaglen touch. With the exception of "Sahara" (1984), all of his features after 1976 were foreign affairs, the most notable being the British production of "The Wild Geese" (1978). The best of his later work was for the small screen, including "Louis L'Amour's 'The Shadow Riders'" (CBS, 1982), "The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission" (CBS, 1985) and the miniseries "The Blue and the Gray" (CBS, 1982) and "On Wings of Eagles" (NBC, 1986). His final feature efforts were the sequel "Return from the River Kwai" (1989) and the action thriller "Eye of the Widow" (1991), starring Oscar-winning character actor F. Murray Abraham. McLaglen died at his home in Friday Harbor, Washington on August 30, 2014 at the age of 94.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Film Production - Main (Feature Film)
Director (Special)
Life Events
1925
Moved to the USA
1945
Began working as a production assistant at Republic Pictures
1951
Worked as an assistant director on Budd Boetticher's "Bullfighter and the Lady"; produced by John Wayne
1952
Assistant director to John Ford on "The Quiet Man"; starring Wayne, Maureen O'Hara and Victor McLaglen
1954
Served as assistant director to William A Wellman on "Track of the Cat", "The High and Mighty" and "Blood Alley"; the latter two starred John Wayne
1956
With Wayne's brother Robert Morrison, co-produced Boetticher's "Seven Men From Now"
1956
First feature films as director, "Gun the Man Down" and "Man in the Vault"
1957
Directed his father in "The Abductors"
1958
Directed his father in "The O'Hare Story" episode of "Have Gun--Will Travel"
1959
Helmed "Incident of the Shambling Man" episode of "Rawhide", starring his father
1963
First time directing Wayne, "McLintock!"
1965
Directed "Shenandoah", starring James Stewart
1967
Helmed Disney movie, "Monkeys Go Home!"
1969
Reteamed with Wayne for "The Undefeated"
1970
Third film with Wayne, "Chisum"
1973
Fourth and final film with Wayne, "Cahill, United States Marshall"
1975
TV-movie debut, "Stowaway to the Moon" (CBS)
1978
Helmed "The Wild Geese", a silly but entertaining action yarn starring Richards Burton and Harris, along with Roger Moore
1982
Directed "Louis L'Amour's 'The Shadow Riders'", a CBS movie starring Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott
1982
TV miniseries debut, "The Blue and the Gray" (CBS)
1984
Executive produced and directed "Sahara", starring Brooke Shields
1985
Helmed CBS movie sequel, "The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission", with Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine and Richard Jaeckel repeating their roles from the 1967 feature
1986
Last TV project to date, the NBC miniseries "On Wings of Eagles"
1991
Last feature to date, "L'oeil de la veuve/Eye of the Widow" (filmed in 1989 and 1990)
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