Brannigan (also known as Joe Battle) is a 1975 British action thriller film directed by Douglas Hickox[1] and starring John Wayne and Richard Attenborough.

Set principally in London, the film is about a Chicago detective sent to Britain to organise the extradition of an American mobster, who is soon kidnapped and held for ransom.

The film's action sequences included a car chase through Battersea's Shaftsbury & Winstanley Estate, Wandsworth and Central London featuring Brannigan jumping a yellow Ford Capri coupé across the half raised Tower Bridge.

The Capri's jump was one of the last significant appearances of Tower Bridge without its red, white and blue paint scheme which was applied in 1977 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II.

[6] Conversely, the film's opening sequence and first several minutes display Chicago roadways, riverside buildings and an early O'Hare Terminal 1 that have all been razed and replaced.

Roger Ebert gave the film 2 stars out of a possible 4, writing, "Brannigan isn't great, but it's a wellcrafted [sic] action movie and, besides, it's got John Wayne in it.

"[8] Arthur D. Murphy of Variety called it "an okay John Wayne actioner," adding, "The clash between U.S. and British law enforcement philosophies is dramatized in potboiler oversimplification, and there's just enough Anglophobia to satisfy the yahoo trade.

"[10] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times praised the film as a "smart, lively thriller" with a script that has "an affectionate sense of fun yet genuine respect for the mythical figure that John Wayne has become.

"[11] Tom Shales of The Washington Post wrote that the film "is primarily a humdrum slugfest, from the same producers as last year's slovenly Wayne vehicle, McQ ... What 'Brannigan' does have over 'McQ' is locale: London is a big improvement on Seattle.

"[12] Richard Combs of The Monthly Film Bulletin observed, "After a sleek recapping of the Clint Eastwood formula in a credits sequence that is all caressing close-ups of the hero's prized revolver, Brannigan spends most of its time hastily backpedalling in order to find some comfortable, old-fashioned niche in the formula for its star ... in fact, the film becomes more and more of a throwback, in everything from Brannigan's chaste relationship with his Girl Friday ... to his abrasive partnership with his opposite number from Scotland Yard.