4/5 cahill us marshall
  by Richard N. Stretton
good movie with john wayne. a western with a little different twist to the conventional western. wayne is estranged from his sons who of course get into trouble involved in a robbery. good cast

2/5 Dull in the Saddle
  by Scott Rivers (Los Angeles, CA USA)
Another tired John Wayne vehicle from the 1970s, with the Duke going through the motions in a typical Western melodrama. Director Andrew V. McLaglen shows little enthusiasm for the preachy script while underusing a fine array of character actors. The opening scene falls painfully flat in its attempt to emulate Clint Eastwood's "Dirty Harry." Sorry to say, but "Cahill" looks like a made-for-TV movie that somehow acquired a major box-office star.

4/5 Western with plenty of parental advice
  by D. Keating (Bristow, VA United States)
Cahill is a somewhat different Western than most of John Wayne's film. Cahill tries to tackle a pretty serious topic - what happens when a father is not involved in raising his boys. Pretty heavy stuff for a Western. In this case - the film does a decent job pulling it off. Because of his neglect, or perhaps inspired by it, Cahill's sons participate in a bank robbery. The Duke spends the rest of the movie trying to find the culprits.

There are some good action scenes in the film, and George Kennedy is excellent as the main bad guy. If you like John Wayne movies with a somewhat serious theme, then you will enjoy this one. It reminds a little bit of the Cowboys.

5/5 Cahill
  by C. Cooper
This is a great entertaining movie. If you are a John Wayne fan this is a must.

3/5 Quality Duke western from tail end of career
  by T O'Brien (Chicago, Il United States)
Late in his career, John Wayne did a handful of westerns that while not classics, were and are always reliable entertainment for his fans. Cahill US Marshal is one of those westerns, almost like comfort food in movie form. JD Cahill is a tough as nails US Marshal who always get his prey and isn't afraid to go up against a gang all by himself. But returning home after a long time on the trail, Cahill finds out the local bank has been robbed, but there's no tracks anywhere in or out of the town that the robbers left. As he begins to investigate, Cahill begins to wonder exactly what's going on and who's involved. At the same time, the Marshal is trying to reconnect with his sons who since his wife died have almost raised themselves. Nothing too different here, but it's a quality western with some good action and beautiful locations around Durango. The town location from The Train Robbers has been expanded to a much bigger town. All in all, a worthwhile pick for John Wayne fans and westerns in general.

The Duke stars as U.S. Marshal J.D. Cahill, the peace officer trying to right a wrong with his sons while also bringing a gang of four bank robbers to justice. John Wayne late in his career was still a great presence, and his role here as a bigger than life US Marshal doesn't disappoint. Gary Grimes is good as Cahill's 17-year old son, Danny, who angry at his father for not being around gets caught up in the wrong crowd, bringing his 13-year old brother, Billy Joe (Clay O'Brien), into the mix as well. Neville Brand has some good moments as Lightfoot, a half-breed Comanche who tracks for Cahill and serves as a sidekick of sorts. George Kennedy may be remembered as a great character actor who played sidekicks and supporting roles, but he's very good here as the villian, Fraser, the gang leader who knocks off the bank with some special help. Morgan Paull as Struther and Dan Vadis as Brownie are members of the gang. With a Wayne western, there's got to be some stock company appearances and there's a plenty, including Paul Fix, Harry Carey JR, Royal Dano, Denver Pyle, Hank Worden, and Chuck Roberson to round out the cast.

Along with a very nice looking widescreen presentation, the DVD offers some pretty cool features, including a director commentary from Andrew V. McLaglen, a director who worked with Wayne many times in the actor's later years. Also added on is an 8-minute featurette, The Man Behind the Star, about peace officers in the west and how the movie portrays them, a trailer, some cast and crew info, and a little recap of Wayne's later westerns. So overall, this isn't a classic western like The Searchers or Liberty Valance, but Cahill US Marshal is an enjoyable western from Duke's later years that fans will like. Check out Cahill US Marshal!