Tycoon ** (1947, John Wayne, Laraine Day, Cedric Hardwicke, James Gleason, Judith Anderson, Anthony Quinn) – Classic Movie Review 6992

Director Richard Wallace’s 1947 movie stars John Wayne as Johnny Munroe, a youngish American railroad engineer taken on in South America to build a mountain railroad tunnel in a dangerous route through the Andes by tycoon Frederick Alexander (Cedric Hardwicke), who hates both his methods and his affair with his daughter Maura (Laraine Day).

Produced by Stephen Ames, this hugely ambitious, but partly misconceived movie is a real epic-scale adventure drama, excitingly shot in Technicolor by cinematographers Harry J Wild and W Howard Greene.

It was the relatively small RKO Pictures studio’s biggest production to date (it cost the then astronomical sum of over $3 million), a risky gamble that unfortunately failed to pay off when it lost over $1 million despite being a box office success.

Director Wallace focuses on some truly spectacular action set-pieces, but dallies over the soppy love story and Wayne was never at his best in love. However, good acting and a fine support cast help make up for the poor dialogue, weak plot and an overlong running time in the often struggling screenplay by Borden Chase and John Twist, based on a novel by C E Scoggins.

Also in the cast are James Gleason as Pop Mathews, Judith Anderson as Miss Braithwaite, Anthony Quinn as Ricky Vegas, Grant Withers as Fog Harris, Paul Fix as Joe, Fernando Alvarado as Chico, Michael Harvey as Curly Messenger, Harry Woods as Holden, Charles Trowbridge as Señor Tobar, Martin Garralaga as Chávez, Sam Lufkin and Trevor Bardette.

Tycoon was shot at Lone Pine, California, although it was planned to film it at RKO’s Estudios Churubusco in Mexico.

Day replaced Maureen O’Hara, who did Sinbad the Sailor instead.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 6992

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