Big Bad John Reviews

It's hard to believe that the song "Big Bad John" dates back only to 1961, when it stayed at the top of the charts for five weeks. Jimmy Dean's ballad of the big, quiet man with a murderous past who sacrifices himself to save his fellow miners has the mythic quality of a folktale. The movie version, which zipped in and out of theaters prior to appearing on videocassette, is about as memorable as a second feature at a drive-in. Dean himself has a starring role, not as John but as a retired sheriff in the Louisiana swamp country. He is visited by his erstwhile deputy (Jack Elam) and an old nemesis (Ned Beatty), the latter of whom married Dean's ex-wife (now deceased) and raised the sheriff's daughter as his own. Elam and Beatty are the bearers of disturbing news: that "big ol' boy" John Tyler (former Detroit Lion Doug English) has killed a local bully named Mahoney (in self-defense, of course) and fled with Dean's daughter. The local police aren't too concerned, but Dean sets out after English, armed with a monster shotgun and accompanied by Elam. Unknown to our heroes, however, Beatty contacts a psycho ex-con (Hopkins) and the vengeful brother of the dead man, paying them to follow Dean and Elam and to kill English, the ex-lawmen, and Dean's daughter. With his stepdaughter out of the way, Beatty will be able to sell the family estate to interested oil companies (don't bother checking; none of this is in the song). At long last the story turns to English, who, as it happens, is not a bad guy at all. In fact, he's brought Dean's daughter with him to save her from Beatty's beatings. English has kinfolk in Colorado, so he and his lady love travel there and are married. A nearby non-union mining operation is in need of workers, and English signs on. At this point the filmmakers borrow a few bars from Tennessee Ernie Ford; loading his 16 tons, English learns that he does indeed owe his wages to the company store. The action cuts back to Dean and Elam, just arrived in Colorado, hot on the trail. Another of the dead man's brothers shows up and warns Dean of Beatty's treachery. Nevertheless, Dean and Elam walk into Hopkins' ambush, and the ensuing shootout leaves Elam wounded and Hopkins apparently dead. For the sake of phony suspense, the paramedics who arrive on the scene ignore Hopkins, and he recovers and crawls off into the bushes. Later, as Dean reunites with his daughter at her home, Hopkins barges in and must be blasted once and for all. So, let's see, are we forgetting anything? Oh yes. Back in the mine, there's a cave-in. English supports the roof by himself while his comrades scramble to safety, but he is buried when the tunnel collapses. Dean and his daughter go back to the swamp country, run Beatty off "his" land, and care for her newborn, English's son. The obvious mistake here is overlaying Big John's tragic tale with a silly backwoods melodrama. If the filmmakers' intent was to make Dean the star of the show, they have succeeded, and the project isn't a complete disaster; Dean contributes a more-than-adequate performance.Fans may remember his role in TV's "Daniel Boone" series and his performance in the James Bond adventure DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER. But his character here, a typical folksy good guy, has few interesting features. The film's miscasting, however, is the role of Big Bad John. English's John is a big, protective, teddy-bear of a guy--hardly "bad" at all. The film might have been a tiny bit compelling had a truly fearsome actor taken the part. Believe it or not, Arnold Schwarzenegger was among those considered for the role until the producers met English during a golf game and decided his beefy benevolence suited them best. As Dean's grizzled sidekick, Elam is as comfortable as a favorite pair of old shoes, but heavies Beatty and Hopkins badly overact. As a sort of inside joke, country musician-film producer Red Steagall also appears, playing the nasty owner of the mining company who won't shore up the old timbers. Director Kennedy has made some notable westerns, including THE WAR WAGON and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHERIFF. Given his background, it's especially odd that BIG BAD JOHN takes place in the present day, putting Dean and Elam on the highway in a drug-dealer's confiscated truck (complete with a digital defense-system). One bow to tradition the movie should have avoided was outfitting Dean with an insufferable performing dog as a companion. It's one of the breed that covers its ears with its paws when somebody says something cute, and it tags along through the entire film just so it can bite Beatty's buttocks at the finish. Despite Dean's prominence here (his line of meat products even featured discount coupons for rentals of the videocassette), he does not perform "Big Bad John" on the country & western soundtrack; that honor falls to the Charlie Daniels Band, with an assist from the Oak Ridge Boys. Other songs include "Little Bits and Pieces" (Shelby Lynne), "Poncho and Lefty" (Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard), "Stay Out of My Arms" (Jim Lauderdale), "Big City" (Haggard), "Redneck Riviera" (Danny Steagall), "Houston" (Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers Band), "Every Road You Take Will Bring You Home" (Steagall), "Uncle Pen" (Ricky Skaggs), "Life Turned Her That Way" (Ricky van Shelton). (Profanity, violence, adult situations, substance abuse.)