The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Talbot Jennings (story)
William H. Wright (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 July 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

If Texas coundn't tame 'em ...could she?

Plot:

Ranch owner Katie Elder's four sons determine to avenge the murder of their father and the swindling of their mother.

Plot Keywords:

Texas | Murder | Rocking Chair | Exploding Bridge | Shot In The Chest

Awards:

1 win

Cast

John Wayne	...	John Elder
Dean Martin	...	Tom Elder
Martha Hyer	...	Mary Gordon
Michael Anderson Jr.	...	Bud Elder
Earl Holliman	...	Matt Elder
Jeremy Slate	...	Ben Latta
James Gregory	...	Morgan Hastings
Paul Fix	...	Sheriff Billy Wilson
George Kennedy	...	Curley
Dennis Hopper	...	Dave Hastings
Sheldon Allman	...	Harry Evers
John Litel	...	Minister
John Doucette	...	Hyselman
James Westerfield	...	Mr. Vennar
Rhys Williams	...	Charlie Striker

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #20933) | USA:Not Rated (video release) | Australia:PG | West Germany:12 (re-rating) | West Germany:16 (f) (original rating) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | South Korea:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Casa Blanca, Durango, Mexico

Company:

Hal Wallis Productions

Trivia:

The story was originally set to be filmed in 1956, starring 'Alan Ladd' and directed by John Sturges.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the gunfight between John Elder and Morgan Hastings in the gun shop at the end of the movie John looks up from behind the counter and Morgan fires a round at him. You see a glow on the counter where the bullet strikes the counter before the bullet gets there. This is where the small charge is that simulates the bullet strike.

Quotes:

Bud Elder: I'm going with you. I can draw pretty fast. We can be famous -- like the Dalton Brothers!
John Elder: They're famous -- but they're just a little bit dead. They were hung!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Edith Head: The Paramount Years (2002) (V)

A largely mediocre western

Despite all the talent involved this is, for the most part, a largely mediocre western, albeit a very handsome one, (any film photographed by Lucien Ballard you could guarantee would be handsome). There is one marvellous sequence involving an ambush on a bridge but otherwise the plot is flimsy and the classic elements we expect of a good western are mostly absent.

This time round, instead of one hero we have four, the Elder Brothers, representing some serious miscasting between the youngest, Michael Anderson Jr, and the oldest, John Wayne. The others are Dean Martin, giving the film's best performance, and Earl Holliman, underused as ever. They've returned for the funeral of their mother, the titular Katie Elder, (but not the Katie Elder of legend), only to find their pa has been murdered and their ranch purloined by villain James Gregory. There isn't anything new in the picture and it's bereft of action until past the midway point. It's reasonably entertaining in an undemanding kind of way but from Hathaway you expect better.