BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.

JohnHowardReid Copyright 13 December 1947 by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Palace: 25 December 1947. U.S. release: 27 December 1947. U.K. release: 25 April 1949. Australian release: 22 July 1948. 11,844 feet. 131½ minutes.SYNOPSIS: American engineer in the Andes falls for the boss' daughter.NOTES: Shooting from early February to early May 1947. Negative cost: $3,209,000. Net loss after worldwide distribution: $1,035,000.COMMENT: Hard to believe in that budget - the largest ever expended by RKO to that time! There's precious little to show for it up there on the screen. The only worthwhile bit of action occurs right at the climax - and that is obviously contrived with miniatures! A couple of earlier explosions were cheated the same way. Location expenses were not heavy, as most of the picture was very obviously lensed in the studio. We can only surmise that the actors, the writers and the director were grossly overpaid.Wayne has the sort of tough, superficial, turnabout role he usually plays with a breezily unassuming credibility. Here his performance is so strained, so artificial his characterization is simply unbelievable. However, Duke is not alone - the same goes for the rest of the cast. Hardwicke can do nothing with the empty posturings the script hands him. Though it's always a pleasure to listen to his sonorous voice and it's a joy to find him in so large a role, what a pity the writers couldn't find him anything exciting to say or dramatic to do. All they have done is to obscure and haze his motivations so that his actions seem utterly incredible. If her part were larger, Judith Anderson would be in the same fix. Laraine Day comes out of the film best. She is certainly the player the photographers have lavished all their attentions upon. Radiantly lit, exquisitely gowned and made up, she projects an alluring luminosity that stays in the mind's eye long after the rest of this silly film is forgotten.It says much for the quality of the support cast to mention that Paul Fix and Harry Woods stand favorably in the forefront. Gleason is bombastically irritating (fortunately he is removed to hospital for a large part of his innings) and Quinn's role is so piffling as to seem almost non-existent.Of course - aside from the writers - the man to blame for the whole debacle is Richard Wallace. Never has direction been so painstakingly dull, so studiously lethargic, so blatantly disinterested.Tycoon provides a lavish feast of colorful hues for the eyes, nothing for the brain, and tintinnabulation for the ears!OTHER VIEWS: Aside from its lustrous Technicolor photography - Laraine Day never looked lovelier - Tycoon is an astonishingly dull, undistinguished effort which wastes a large amount of talent and money on the part of all concerned in its making. As for the time and patience of those forced to view this pleasantly picturesque but ploddingly banal photoplay . . .

SimonJack This 1947 film by RKO is one of several in which John Wayne has an interesting role other than Western or war. The movie has a very good plot, but an unfortunately weak script. The cast includes some of the best second tier performers in Hollywood during that time, and all delivered very well. Wayne is good in his role, but Anthony Quinn's role doesn't quite develop. Laraine Day and Cedric Hardwicke turn in good performances in roles that could have been developed better with a good script. One aspect that I don't see anyone else has commented on is the character played by Wayne. We all see quickly the hardness of Hardwicke's character, and the dislike between him and Duke's character. But the film has a good undertone about the Wayne character. Pop touches on it toward the end when he says that Johnny has changed – and not for the better. He does go through another transformation – a return to his former self at the end. But the underlying characteristic that is the cause for much of the trouble he encounters is his pride. This is a film about a decent guy who lets his pride get the best of him when he gets locked into a feud with the Hardwicke character. And it almost leads to his downfall. In the end, the loyalty and lasting friendship of his main crew members help draw Wayne's character out of his self-centeredness and he returns to the Johnny everyone knew and liked.My rating is high for this film mainly for its subtle message and lesson, and for its overall entertainment value. "Tycoon" holds one's interest from start to finish, and has some excellent action segments, some very good scenic shots, and very good camera work.

blanche-2 MGM never had any idea what to do with its contract star, Laraine Day, other than cast her as Lew Ayres' girlfriend in the "Dr. Kildare" series. Other than that, they loaned her out. I'm not sure if she was still with MGM when "Tycoon" was filmed - I have absolutely no clue why anyone would think of her as a South American, but there she was, with black hair and her skin darkened.I digress. "Tycoon" stars John Wayne, Day, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Anthony Quinn, and Judith Anderson in a technicolor film about the travails of a) falling in love with the boss' daughter; and b) then having the boss make sure you don't have the materials to build your railroad, tunnel, or whatever else you're building. Seems a bit self-defeating and spiteful.Filmed in technicolor, some of the shots are gorgeous, and some are hilarious - for instance, the South American town, which is a painted backdrop.I actually like John Wayne when he's not in a western, and here, he's handsome and tough and brings some life to the proceedings. I've always been a fan of Laraine Day, and she's lovely - but a chimpanzee could have played her part. I understand Day's husband, Leo Durocher, was on the set most of the time and was jealous of John Wayne. Judith Anderson as her duena is very good and Hardwicke is dignified. Anthony Quinn, as he often was back then, was shown to great advantage in a supporting role.It might have been a better film if it had been shorter - there's just too much down time in "Tycoon." The script is a bore. The explosions are good.

C.K. Dexter Haven A few negative comments here must be countered. This film is a little more drama than action, but it strikes a good balance between the two, pleasing surely both wives and their blue collar husbands who saw it back in 1947. Far from terrible, this story offers up some decent conflict, a couple funny moments (get outta the way, pigeons!), romance, suspense, two fisted action, explosions, and the exotic setting of the Peruvian Andes. Not one of John Wayne's very best films, but solid and entertaining fare, a cut above many of his more regarded 40's outings such as The Spoilers and Angel and the Badman. Good performances and a bit of everything for everybody. Duke doesn't disappoint here. Deserves a higher rating.