TYCOON is a very typical John Wayne picture with little to distinguish it from the multitude. The western star plays the man in charge of building a railroad across a dangerous gorge in South America; the plot is complicated - and slowed down quite considerably - when he ends up falling for his boss's daughter in the meantime. Yes, it's one of those dawdling tales that gets bogged down in romance and character interplay, with Wayne playing something of an amoral figure required to redeem himself through manly action. Unfortunately the running time goes on way too long, and there are too many scenes involving Cedric Hardwicke's glum character and not enough with the more interesting characters, like a youthful Anthony Quinn.

Forgettable romantic drama about engineer John Wayne trying to build a bridge while falling for millionaire Sir Cedric Hardwicke's daughter, Laraine Day. Daddy isn't too pleased. A huge flop for RKO at the time and it's easy to see why. Other than some nice location scenery and a couple of decent action scenes, it's nothing special and it goes on way too long. Duke is solid. Day looks stunning in technicolor but this is a part anybody could have played and she doesn't have the best chemistry with Duke. Hardwicke rarely offers a bad performance and this is no exception. His character has a rather long stick up his you-know-what. James Gleason is Duke's sidekick. He's great as always. Anthony Quinn and Judith Anderson offer good support, though this is hardly a part Quinn would brag about. Not the best John Wayne movie or even in the top thirty but it's watchable and there are some good moments.

"Tycoon" has a lot going for it. Unfortunately it doesn't really deliver. John Wayne plays a familiar persona, and does so very well, as always. Laraine Day, with whom I was not familiar, turned in a very good performance. The most notable of the cast, I thought, was Anthony Quinn in a supporting role. Having said all this, the film really fails to engage. I don't know why. The plot had a lot going for it, the photography was nice, the direction OK. I just can't put my finger on why this isn't a better movie. Grade: C-

Despite the fact that the technicolor location photography is great, John Wayne and Laraine Day have to deal with a script that is way too long (2 hrs. 8 min.) for the kind of romantic adventure seen here. One of the chief compensations for the overlong film, is seeing Laraine Day look lovelier than ever in technicolor. But other than that, the script is too long-winded and lacks enough action or drama to sustain itself over the long running time. Let me quote from my "LARAINE DAY: All-American Girl" article that appears in the Spring 2001 issue of FILMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE:"'Tycoon' is a spectacular action-romance co-starring her with John Wayne in which he carried most of the film. Once again, she was easy on the eyes in technicolor as a woman in love with a railroad constructor (Wayne) in conflict with his employer over construction of tracks through the Andes mountains. She handled the role capably enough but it was one that any young actress could have played and offered no new challenges."The nice supporting cast included Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Judith Anderson, James Gleason and Anthony Quinn. It passes the time, but don't expect anything much.