The Sons of Katie Elder
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Movie Reviews of The Sons of Katie Elder
Movie Review: Not a great Waynestern, but a good one with very enjoyable twists
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a different sort of Western for John Wayne. While he has a big reputation as a gunfighter, he spends the film avoiding fighting as much as he can. Wayne also has fewer action sequences in the film. This may simply be due to the plot of the movie, or it may have been his recover from lung cancer surgery and treatment that he had in 1964 and had delayed the shooting of the film until 1965. Wayne insisted on doing all his own stunts even though it had only been four months since he had the cancerous lung removed.
John Wayne, Dean Martin, Earl Holliman, and Michael Anderson Jr. play, respectively, John, Tom, Matt, and Bud Elder. They have come back to Clearwater to attend their mother, Katie's funeral. She was a widely loved, admired, hard working, tough, and sometimes sly woman (we are told she sold a man a blind horse once, and she also wrote a horse rancher that she would like a hundred or two hundred of his horses on credit to sell). John's reputation is such that he watches the funeral from up on a hill. His three brothers had waited for him at the train (along with Sheriff Billy and his hot headed deputy). However, the only person that got off the train was a menacing looking stranger. We later learn his name is Curly (WONDERFULLY played by George Kennedy) and he is a gunfighter who was hired by Morgan Hastings (James Gregory).
As the brothers try to settle up Katie's estate they learn that there was something shady surrounding the loss or sale or transfer of Katie's 1,200 acre ranch to Morgan Hastings, who seems bent on buying up and building the town, with him owning it all. They discover that their father had supposedly lost the ranch in a poker game, which seemed somewhat in character. But his being shot very shortly after this game was supposed to have taken place raises their suspicions. Sheriff Billy Wilson (Paul Fix) at first tries to simply get the brothers to move on, but he keeps getting closer to the truth of Bass Elder's death. When Billy is shot, his hot headed deputy assumes it was the "Elder Gang" and arrests them without any investigation. The movie heads towards its climax and a good one it is.
Martha Hyer plays Martha Gordon who was an old friend of the family and took care of Katie. She is as close to a romantic lead as the movie gets, and it doesn't get very close. Percy Helton did a nice turn in a small role as a shopkeeper who enjoyed doing business with Katie Elder. She bought at his store, but also made dresses for his wife and gave her a couple of guitar lessons. Another interesting aspect of the film is that Wayne was really 57. Katie's tombstone says she was 64. So, how old John Elder was supposed to be (40?) is open to question. Bud is supposed to be 17. The old Western TV show Bonanza had a similar age problem with the oldest sons and Lorne Green.
But this is a classic Waynestern. Not one of the very best, but memorable and enjoyable.
Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI
Movie Review: Four Wild Sons of a Murdered Father and a Devout, Defrauded Mother
Summary: 5 Stars
The setting of this western is the town of Clearwater, TX (near Laredo), probably in the 1870's. The four sons of Katie Elder, who had not seen each other, or her, in years, come to her funeral. The eldest brother, John Elder (John Wayne), watches the funeral from a distance.
Why are some of the townspeople anxious for John Elder, a gunslinger, to leave the town as soon as possible after the funeral? The brothers do not get straight answers as to how it was that their mother had recently lost her property, and begin to smell a rat. They also learn that their father had been murdered, but no one will say who was responsible.
A woman who was a close friend of Katie Elder describes Mrs. Elder as a devout woman of character, and how disappointed she was in her four sons. At least some of Katie Elder's sons mailed her letters and money, but had otherwise gone down the wrong paths in life. Mrs. Elder at least wanted one of them to go to college, but he balked. The woman did not want to discuss the murder of Mr. Elder because Katie Elder didn't want vengeance and further violence.
Three of the brothers wanted to fulfill their mother's wishes that the remaining one go to college, but he continues to balk. John Elder keeps the pressure on.
Sibling rivalry exists even in adulthood. At one time, all four brothers are involved in a brawl. At another time, they drag each other into a body of water.
The conspiracy of silence about Mrs. Elder's property and her murdered husband begins to unravel despite the current owners' persistent efforts to have it stifled. In time, the current owners of Mrs. Elder's property frame the four sons for murder. The local law enforcement officials seem ready to believe the charge with no evidence, and a lynch mob surrounds the prison. There is a massive shootout, and three of the four brothers are wounded. Will any of these three survive? Will they be able to clear the Elder name of the murder charge?
Movie Review: "the sons of katie elder" john wayne's first film after first bout with canser
Summary: 5 Stars
after having a lung removed for canser john wayne's first film back is this fine "family" western in which wayne, together again with dean martin, and farl hollman, and michael anderson jr. as brothers who come together to find out who killed their father and stole mom's land. a much slower pace than some wayne movies but it still has some great fistfights and gunfights as wayne bounces back in fine form after his health problems and shows he still had stuff to hang in there with. story is slight but they do seem to be having fun.Movie Review: Four Brothers on the loose
Summary: 5 Stars
This classic Western Flick is the best introduction into this genre.Four Brothers try to find out why their mother was killed.The movie is full of legendary moments like classic shootouts or brawling scenes.It is also an exemple of perfect Type casting and beautiful composed pictures(See Waynes first appearence).The Picture is quiet good in a terrific Scope presentation and the sound ok.Specials are Zero.But a must for any collectors.Movie Review: Classic Wayne with help from Dean Martin
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the Duke's classics from the 60's. Surrounded by a group of great actors that include Dean Martin and Dennis Hopper, this film tells the story of Four brothers brought together for the funeral of their mother. They discover treachery behind the death of their father and the loss of the family ranch. Action and drama aplenty fill the screen in this taut western. Don't skip this movie, Katie wouldn't like it.