Los hijos de Katie Elder

John Wayne was THE man when it came to starring in Westerns. He could carry a film with little more than a grunt, but you often got more from The Duke than you would expect when they gave him decent supporting players or an antagonist to spar with. Here he's both saddled as his brothers with Dean Martin, Earl Holliman, and Michael Anderson Jnr, and James Gregory, George Kennedy, and as the piece's villains a young Dennis Hopper. Unfortunately, it's not one of the better westerns of Wayne, but here is enough to warrant you time.

Her four sons are attending the funeral of Katie Elder in Clearwater, Texas, all four of them harboring regrets that they'd let down their mother. Wayne, the eldest, is a famous gunfighter, Martin is a professional gambler, Holliman is a store owner, and the youngest Bud is still in school. Their return home is not popular, and things turn sour pretty fast when certain things happen that make the brothers ask questions. They murdered their father, lost their ranch and land in a card game, and their mother died with little to their name. Some stinks, and John Elder from Wayne will find out exactly what has happened.

George Kennedy's got that gleeful grin from a baddie down here to a tea, and he's not disappointing here during his short screen stint. Unfortunately, Hopper is underused and James Gregory hams it up as well as the real villain pulling all the strings that the brothers were framed to kill the local sheriff. There are shootouts, there are unexpected deaths, and as they did in Rio Bravo back in 1959, Wayne and Martin make for a good team. The script isn't great, there's no interest in love for any of them, and Martha Hyer's small role is nothing more than a token female part that brings very little to the proceedings.It's a shame, this is one of those movies that I haven't seen for more than thirty years and seemed to remember having more action and certainly more Wayne dialogue. Unfortunately not, and director Henry Hathaway made much better movies than this one, scrubbing off the very long list of Wayne Westerns is just another.

"The Sons of Katie Elder", though not one of John Wayne's best westerns, is very entertaining nonetheless. Director Henry Hathaway keeps the story moving providing us with breathtaking scenery and a rousing finale. We are also treated to another rousing score from composer Elmer Bernstien.

The story has the four Elder brothers, John (Wayne), Tom (Dean Martin), Matt (Earl Holliman) and Bud (Michael Anderson Jr.) returning home to Clearwater, Texas for their mother's funeral (the "Katie" of the title). It seems that Katie had been held in reverence by the townspeople while eking out a living to enable the youngest, Bud to attend college.

Their father had also died six months earlier and had apparently lost the family ranch in a poker game. Further investigation reveals that he had been murdered by being shot in the back.

Number one suspect is the town gunsmith Morgan Hastings (James Gregory). Hastings it seems, has acquired the Elder ranch and lives there with his spineless son Dave (Dennis Hopper). Hastings has also hired gunfighter Curley (George Kennedy) to help him get rid of the Elders.

When town sheriff Billy Watson (Paul Fix) is murdered Deputy Ben Latta (Jeremy Slate) immediately blames the Elders and arrests them. While transporting his prisoners to another venue they are ambushed and.......

This was the first film for Wayne following his surgery for cancer. You'll notice that he wears a large bandanna over his neck, presumably to hide the scars and/or the jowls. He was now beginning to show his age and the fact that at nearing age 60, he was still playing a character presumably much younger, kind of detracts a little from his credibility in the role. But hey its John Wayne. Who really cared?

As in most of Wayne's films, the cast includes a roster of recognizable faces. Martha Hyer provides window dressing as Wayne's potential love interest. Also in the cast are John Qualen as the jailer, John Litel as the minister, John Doucette as the undertaker, James Westerfield as the banker, Karl Swenson as the bartender, Rhys Williams as Striker the horse rancher, Strother Martin as the guy who "wins" Martin's glass eye, Percy Helton as the storekeeper and Rudolfo Acosta and Chuck Roberson as contends.

The two plus hour running time goes by quickly. Don't miss the scene where Wayne cold cocks Kennedy or the final shootout.

John, Tom, Matt and Bud, these are the Elder boys, who upon meeting up at the funeral of their recently deceased mother, find that their father may have been murdered over a card game. The boys must cast off sibling rivalries and find out just what has been happening in their childhood town of Clearwater, Texas.

Unfairly given harsh treatment upon its release by the critics and beset with behind the scenes problems, The Sons Of Katie Elder actually holds up rather well in this day and age. All the required traits are in the film to make it an oater of some worth, a splendid cast with as much macho beef as you can shake a stick at, a top Elmer Bernstein score, the wonderful use of the Casa Blanca location and a revenge driven plot of some note. So why is it hard to actually sell this picture to the staunch Western crowd? Well coming as it did in 1965 it certainly has something of a modern sheen to it, an uneasy bed fellow with the wild west theme of the picture. The casting of the brothers just about works, but Michael Anderson Jr (Bud) and Earl Holliman (Matt) do seem to be overawed by the presence of John Wayne (John) and Dean Martin (Tom), meaning as a foursome it never quite gets to being a tight acting unit. The length of the picture may also be an issue to some? Long periods of inaction work to me personally because the characters (family unit) are gaining much needed depth, but for those wanting guns a toting at frequent intervals are not exactly catered for.

Yet what action there is surely more than makes it worth the viewers patience? From the Duke swinging a nice piece of hickory to a wonderful riverside shootout, Henry Hathaway's Western is not found wanting for memorable sequences, in fact if you ask me then the mere sight of the Duke blasting away with a six shooter in each hand is a truly blood pumping joy, and don't get me started on a delightful Dean Martin scene as he raffles his glass eye! So all in all it's not without its itches, but as 60s Westerns go, The Sons Of Katie Elder is a hugely enjoyable picture to enjoy by the fireside on a Sunday afternoon. 7/10

I just saw this movie some 30 years after my first viewing of the film--and surprisingly I found it to be a lot more entertaining than my first recollections of the film.

It's a traditional Hollywood western: good wins over evil, the hero gets the girl, and law is maintained. It has no complications. Even the Mexicans are shown squatting at the funeral far apart from the others only getting up to bury the body. That was how most Westerns were made...So what's good about the film?

Elmer Bernstein's music is as good as his music in 'The Magnificent Seven', if not better. The range of actors: a believable John Wayne, an entertaining Dean Martin with "third-eye" act, a menacing George Kennedy, a "likable" Strother Martin in a brief role as the winner of the third eye, and a fine performance by young Dennis Hopper makes the film above average viewing.

The real hero of the movie is "Katie Elder" dead when the film begins, respected as the film unfolds, and never seen on screen. Everyone seems to remember her with awe. She is epitomized by the empty rocking chair (final shot) and a Bible she leaves behind.

Henry Hathaway's westerns will not be reflective ones as are later Westerns such as "Will Penny", "Tell Them Willie Boy is Here" or "Monte Walsh"--his movies tend to affirm the status quo of typical Hollywood westerns with a heart (good Christian values, strong connection with nature and animals--horses in this movie--as he did in "How the West was Won") and no mind (insensitive to Mexicans and Red Indians). The Christian values in the film are fuzzy, e.g., fool some poor gullible guys at a bar and emerge a hero, or sell a blind horse to gain money and remembered for it at your funeral, etc. This film of Hathaway, ably supported by Bernstein's music and Lucien Ballard's camera, is a great movie for an audience that wants to see a traditional western unfold--and but not be asked to think beyond what is shown.

Feisty Katie Elder has passed on and her sons have arrived in Clearwater, Texas for her funeral. Katie's four sons are played by John Wayne, Dean Martin, Earl Holliman, and Michael Anderson, Jr. and three's a certain amount of hostility directed towards them from some quarters. And a bit of fear evident in the town's people. It also turns out that their father had been murdered a few months before that and their ranch now belonged to James Gregory. When questions are asked, trouble starts.

One thing is clear though, none of her kids has quite turned out the way she hoped, but the three oldest are going to see that young Anderson becomes some kind of success in life.

Despite some glaring plot weaknesses The Sons of Katie Elder is a film that is sold by the sincere playing of its leads. I'm not quite sure why the Elder boys didn't come back with the news of their father's death and settled things back then. Or why Michael Anderson was so resistant to some higher education.

This was a special film for John Wayne, the first post cancer operation film he made. And he did it and all his subsequent films with essentially one lung. One thing about Duke was that he really loved MAKING movies. I've always thought on some level he wanted them to make money because that way he could make more of them. Wayne just loved being out on location, working all day and partying all night, this was him. Although his health gradually deteriorated and he became more testy and irritable and he had more and more need of an oxygen tank as years past, he wouldn't give it up until he HAD to. For John Wayne it really was a labor of love.

Wayne surrounded himself with a good cast of familiar players for the most part. This was his second film with Dean Martin who after completing this film started on his highly acclaimed variety show. And his guest on his first show, John Wayne to plug the upcoming release of their film. They are an interesting pair of older Elder brothers. Wayne who lives by a strict code and Martin who gets by on his wits and a larcenous streak. Still the affection the two had for each other in real life comes forth on the screen.

Dino has a real moment to shine when he sneaks out and brings Dennis Hopper back to the stable where Wayne and a wounded Anderson are holed up. One of his best acted scenes from any of his films.

George Kennedy plays a menacing gunman that James Gregory hires and he also gets quite a clout from John Wayne with a two by four after Kennedy was bullying John Doucette. It's a great cinematic moment from a Wayne film, but afterwards you can't find any trace of injury on Kennedy for the rest of the film. I remember in Joe Kidd when Clint Eastwood gave Don Stroud a similar clout, Mr. Stroud looked every bit the injured party for the rest of that film.

Though we never see Katie Elder we get quite the picture of the uncomplaining pioneer mother through the townspeople that knew her and their sons. I'm still also not sure though why Earl Holliman was supposed to be such a bad role model, he's a hardware merchant in another town. Still the other three Elder boys want Anderson to aim higher than that.

Elmer Bernstein's musical score is one of the best that is featured in a John Wayne film. Wayne films were always distinguished by good use of music, something the Duke learned from John Ford. Bernstein and the Duke first worked together in The Comancheros and this one is every bit as good as that rousing score.

The action sequences are the best part of the film and the last half hour with the ambush on the bridge by Gregory's men right up to the explosive climatic battle with Wayne and Gregory, the excitement doesn't let up for a New York minute. No western fan should miss it.