The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) 7.1
Ranch owner Katie Elder's four sons determine to avenge the murder of their father and the swindling of their mother. Director:Henry Hathaway |
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The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) 7.1
Ranch owner Katie Elder's four sons determine to avenge the murder of their father and the swindling of their mother. Director:Henry Hathaway |
|
| Watch Trailer 0Share... |
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| John Wayne | ... | ||
| Dean Martin | ... | ||
| Martha Hyer | ... |
Mary Gordon
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| Michael Anderson Jr. | ... | ||
| Earl Holliman | ... |
Matt Elder
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Jeremy Slate | ... |
Ben Latta
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| James Gregory | ... |
Morgan Hastings
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| Paul Fix | ... |
Sheriff Billy Wilson
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| George Kennedy | ... | ||
| Dennis Hopper | ... |
Dave Hastings
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Sheldon Allman | ... |
Harry Evers
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| John Litel | ... |
Minister
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| John Doucette | ... |
Hyselman
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James Westerfield | ... |
Mr. Vennar
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| Rhys Williams | ... |
Charlie Striker
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The Elder boys return to Clearwater, Texas for their Mother's funeral. John the eldest is a well known gunfighter and trouble follows him wherever he goes. The boys try to get back their ranch from the towns gunsmith who won it from their father in a card game with which he was shortly murdered there after but not before getting through the troubles that come with the Elders name. Written by Christopher D. Ryan <cryan@direct.ca>
Katie Elder bore four sons The day she was buried they all return to the Texas town of Clearwater to pay their last respects
John (John Wayne) is the oldest, the toughest, the gunfighter Texas, its bigness and its violence echoes in his empty soul Tom (Dean Martin) is a different breed of hombre He is good with a deck of cards and good with a gunwhen he has to be Matt (Earl Holliman) is the quiet one Nobody ever called him yellowtwice Bud (Michael Anderson, Jr.) is the youngest, but he is the rebel one...
At the funeral are Sheriff Billy Wilson (Paul Fix) and his grim young deputy, Ben Latta (Jeremy Slate) who's real conscientious about his job Also at the burial, in addition to many townspeople, is the young Mary Gordon (Martha Hyer), the woman who tries the impossible
Mary visits the four brothers, brings them food, and is sardonic about their desertion of their mother Only Bud, who has been going to college, shows a possibility of becoming a fine, respecting young man
As the brothers investigate into the past and present circumstances of their mother's life, they find the old place is no longer hers and that she was penniless
John discovers that his father supposedly gambled away the ranch when he was pretty drunk and that on the same night he was shot in the back The only witnesses are Morgan Hastings (James Gregory) and his son Dave (Dennis Hopper) The sheriff warns the Elders to stop digging around and to stay out of trouble
Realizing that the only tribute to Ma Elder would be for Bud to finish college, the brothers pledge themselves to that cause Yet they feel the loss of the ranch was under peculiar circumstances, they decide to find out the truth
Henry Hathaway was one of the great versatile directors whose Westerns have been as variable in quality as his other films
Hathaway's strong points were atmosphere, character and authentic locations In "The Sons of Katie Elder" he took particular care with locations, proud of the fact that he is one of the few directors who handle their own second-unit work, and when this element combines successfully with the other two the result can be impressive indeed