McKay is a hypocrite when he asks Leach: "What did we prove?"
He wanted that fight at least as much as Steve did.
"It's the system, Lara. People will be different after the Revolution."
McKay wanted the fight, yes: but for different reasons and from a different motivation.
He was absolutely right in announcing that Leech expected Pat would "admire" him for being able to beat McKay, as well as his recognition that the foreman hoped to vanquish him, the Easterner, before an appreciative audience of the lady in question, the Major, and the entire ranch crew.
But McKay cared nothing about proving to that audience that he would lower himself to accepting the dare. He knew that a fight would not prove whether he had lied about having been lost. But McKay did decide that after having traveled 2,000 miles by stagecoach for a wedding that now was likely canceled, he wanted the satisfaction of knocking the source of his inconvenience into the dust a few times. Unlike Leech, McKay issued his counter-challenge strictly to indulge himself, as opposed to his having the slightest intention to prove anything to anyone -- including Leech. He even made it clear that he didn't want Leech telling anyone that they had fought.
So McKay definitely was not hypocritical. He never stated that he didn't believe in fighting; but as the woman who came to understand him best puts it: He "is only afraid of one thing ... that people would suspect him of showing off."
Most great films deserve a more appreciative audience than they get.
But McKay did decide that after having traveled 2,000 miles by stagecoach
Your response to the OP was so astute and spot on, that they only thing I can quibble with is the part about McKay "traveling 2000 miles by stagecoach." I think he rode at least 2/3 the distance on the railroad.
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the only thing I can quibble with is the part about McKay "traveling 2000 miles by stagecoach." I think he rode at least 2/3 the distance on the railroad.
I'll give you that, sir, and I apologize for my barefaced misstatement. Of course McKay would have come as far as possible by train before having to climb into that rocking "prairie conveyance," so I was just wrong about that. But thanks for agreeing with the rest of my point!
Most great films deserve a more appreciative audience than they get. share
But McKay cared nothing about proving to that audience that he would lower himself to accepting the dare.The OP seems to have missed that point altogether. McKay simply wasn't interested in grandstanding, to satisfy others' expectations of him.🐭 share
So true, spookyrat1, McKay wasn't interested in grandstanding. One of the best sequences in the film, a sequence noted by film historians, was the two men fighting it out with no witnesses.
shareI don't know if McKay is really a hypocrite for indulging Leech in a private fight but it was highly inconsiderate of him to just ride off without telling his fiance or prospective future father-in-law that he was going to roam around the big country to get a feel for the place and assure them that as a former ship's captain he had a lot of experience navigating unfamiliar terrain. I know he's the hero and the Terrills are jerks but still that was extremely insensitive on his part, regardless of whether not he was trying to prove to them on a subconscious level that he could take care of himself or just prove to himself that he could handle it.
shareHi DarthBill, I watch the film whenever TCM screens it and I think he left word for them. He left after the engagement party to get Julie to sell him the Big Muddy, something he couldn't share with the Major. The Terrells underestimated him and assumed the worse.
shareYou're right digitaldiva. He left word with Ramon in general terms (because he didn't want anyone to know exactly what he was up to) that he was riding off and would be back. Ramon later tried to tell the Major when asked what McKay told him but the Major dismissed him as an idiot without really trying to understand what he was trying to tell him. McKay wanted the gift of Big Muddy to be a wedding surprise. McKay was neither a hypocrite or insensitive in any way he acted - that's a big misread of the character by Darth and others.
shareMcKay never wanted to prove anything to anyone but himself, just as he did when he tamed "Old Thunder" without an audience while everyone was in for the night. The Terrill girl wanted to display him and make him jump through hoops in front of Steve Leach to show how much McKay loved her, or as Julie said,"How many times does he have to win you?" Pat Terrill was a spoiled brat, who enjoyed making Leach jealous, attempting to cause the men to fight over her,sulking when McKay didn't rise to the bait. She didn't understand anything about McKay.
The down-to-earth Julie Maragon was perfect for him.