Scandalous John (1971) User Reviews (6)

Surprisingly Entertaining

[bmrhye · 7/10 · 2 August 2006]

This film started out pretty slow for me and probably for most who are used to quicker comedy prominent in other Disney movies of the time (such as Million Dollar Duck which was released a week after Scandalous John in 1971). But after the characters grew on me, particularly John & Paco, I found myself laughing out loud. I wasn't really pleased with some of the other actors, but they weren't so bad that they detracted from the overall film. Brian Keith makes it look fun to be a crazy old man. As the movie goes on, it gets better, so have a little patience if you're not used to this slightly slower style.

"It's Lilac Tweed. A MAN'S cologne."

Haha!

His one cow herd

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 27 November 2013]

I can certainly see what attracted Brian Keith to the part of John McCanless in Scandalous John. It's a great chance to chew several furniture factories of scenery and not be accused of overacting. It's an actor's dream.

Scandalous John is the story of a man who has completely retreated into the legends of the old west of which his family played a part. He's only got granddaughter Michele Carey to bring him back to reality every once and a while.

This modern day Don Quixote finds his Sancho Panza in Alfonso Arrau an illegal alien who wanders on to Keith's ranch. After Carey saves Arrau from a promiscuous shooting Keith, the two become fast friends as Arrau kind of goes with the flow of Keith's delusions.

There's a great where Keith says that they're going on a cattle drive, only his 'herd' consists of one scraggly longhorn. Seeing the two of them driving this one longhorn to market is really a bit much.

There's a bit of Romeo and Juliet in the plot as well as Don Quixote as Carey falls for Rick Lenz who is the son of Simon Oakland who is trying to take over Keith's spread one way or another.

There's a bittersweet ending to this film which I won't reveal, but Scandalous John is recommended for fans of Brian Keith and people who love outrageous overacting.

Almost enjoyed

[r96sk · 6/10 · 29 January 2021]

I almost enjoyed 'Scandalous John', but that's only down to the ending - the rest is average, at best.

I like the idea of having Brian Keith and Alfonso Arau as a duo, but Keith acts over the top too many times and his character isn't the most likeable - while Arau's role falls into periods of nothingness here and there. I will say that I actually did like the ending, which went a way I wasn't expecting and surprisingly added a bit of heart to proceedings.

The aforementioned, unfortunately, wasn't enough to raise it higher in my thoughts. 6*.

Very, very funny movie!

[zx565 · 19 April 2002]

Scandalous John is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. The crazy adventures that John McCanless lives with his ranch worker Paco while taking John's only cow to sell it and get money to save his home are hilarious.

Brian Keith is terrific as the loud and unpredectible John McCanless. This movie is the story of Don Quixote set in the early 1970's of the American West, with John McCanless has the crazy Don Quixote and Alfonso Arau has his sidekick Paco Martínez. If you want to see a great comedy and have a great time, watch Scandalous John.

Pass on This Bomb!

[aclockworkbear · 1/10 · 23 April 2010]

Unfortunately I have found a Disney movie that I just absolutely hated. This is a version of Don Quixote set in the late 60's early seventies. It has none of the charm or whimsy that Disney live action movies had previous to this soiled gem. This is one of Ron Miller's wonders.

I bought the movie because of Brian Keith. I think he is handsome, funny and has a great air about him. Here he plays a sort of crazy old drunken codger who thinks he is a cowboy in the old west. He mumbles, rambles, and talks to himself and anyone who will listen. I guess it could be considered a strong performance, but it annoyed me.

His cohort is an illegal Mexican. Well, in the current economy when this is viewed, an illegal worker is not a character that I am interested in watching or being friends with. Then there is the foreclosure issue in the story that just hits home for too many. Additionally, there were sub plot story lines that I guess I didn't quite get involving him.

I love Disney live action movies pre 1980's, but this one just had Ron Miller's hand on it, you can sense it. It was trying to be too adult without being crude and stay entertaining to younger viewers, which it's not. This was all around disappointing!

He's two barrels short of a bullet.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 4 September 2022]

The usually entertaining Brian Keith, made to look the age of Burl Ives or Will Here, is playing a rather intolerable character, a crazy old man who's quick on the trigger but not much else as the owner of a ranch threatened by foreclosure who hires Alfonso Arau as his ranch hand after nearly shooting him in the skull. Arau, in the United States illegally (apparently just across the border), says he's looking for family but ends up sticking around at the bequest of Keith's granddaughter (Michele Carey) to look after the nutty old coot.

I wouldn't be hanging around someone who pulls out a gun and starts shooting indiscriminately, but Arau's Paco is a big hearted fellow who longs for a place to settle, looking on incredulously at Keith, not out of lack of understanding but amazement. Keith has to deal with the young man (Rick Lenz) dealing with the foreclosure, initially shooting at him, but suddenly liking him when he learns that Lenz likes his granddaughter. The camaraderie between Keith and Arau is supposed to be touching, but it just made me feel sorry for Arau. At least Keith is around to prevent sheriff Harry Morgan from deporting Arau.

Morgan describes Keith as being out of touch with reality which is true, but this film is definitely out of touch as well, seeming like something said in the early 1900's rather than 1971. Arau is quite similar to Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez from "Rio Bravo" in his demeanor, quite likeable in spite of the fact that his character is not at all realistic in a modern sense. The veteran Mexican director still makes the audience root for him, but I mainly rooted for him to get away from Keith. Veteran character actors Iris Adrian and Fran Ryan would join Morgan in Disney's "The Apple Dumpling Gang" but that's actually set in a more realistic time setting. After just a few minutes on screen, Keith began to grate on my nerves, and he's in 90% of the film. Still, the endearing performance of Arau kept me engaged, but I just longed for him to tell Keith that he was more twisted than a bull's horns. Keith is a great actor, but he's dreadful in this, even though certain elements of his character prepared him to later play Teddy Roosevelt.