Mackenna's Gold (1969)

The gangster Colorado kidnaps Marshal McKenna. He believes that McKenna has seen a map which leads to a rich vein of gold in the mountains and forces him to show him the way. But they're ... See full summary »

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writers:

Heck Allen (novel), Carl Foreman (screenplay)

Stars:

Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif, Telly Savalas

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gregory Peck	...	Mackenna
Omar Sharif	...	Colorado
Telly Savalas	...	Sergeant Tibbs
Camilla Sparv	...	Inga
Keenan Wynn	...	Sanchez
Julie Newmar	...	Hesh-Ke
Ted Cassidy	...	Hachita
Lee J. Cobb	...	The Editor
Raymond Massey	...	The Preacher
Burgess Meredith	...	The Storekeeper
Anthony Quayle	...	Older Englishman
Edward G. Robinson	...	Old Adams
Eli Wallach	...	Ben Baker
Eduardo Ciannelli	...	Prairie Dog
Dick Peabody	...	Avila

Storyline

The gangster Colorado kidnaps Marshal McKenna. He believes that McKenna has seen a map which leads to a rich vein of gold in the mountains and forces him to show him the way. But they're not the only ones who're after the gold; soon they meet a group of "honorable" citizens and the cavalry crosses their way too - and that is even before they enter Indian territory.

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Plot Keywords:

gold | marshal | cavalry | catfight | nude underwater | 

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Taglines:

A GIANT OF A MOVIE

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Genres:

Romance | Western

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Certificate:

M

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 May 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

El oro de Mackenna

Filming Locations:

Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Highroad Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The pool and waterfall where part of the action takes place was man-made and the water had to be hauled in by tanker truck.

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Goofs

The shadow is the key to the location of the canyon, but it will only point to that precise spot a few days each year.

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Quotes

The Preacher: It can work for the lord as well as the devil!
Colorado: Ai chihuahua.

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Connections

Featured in Reel Injun (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Old Turkey Buzzard"
Music by Quincy Jones
Lyrics by Freddy Douglass (as Freddie Douglas)
Sung by José Feliciano (as Feliciano)

User Reviews

The map was on his mind.

1969 was a very good year for westerns (The Wild Bunch, True Grit), so this film went by without being noticed, but every second of it is enjoyable. Gregory Peck is great as always, Omar Sharif as Colorado does surprisingly well, also Julie Newmar as the Indian girl, Edward G. Robinson as Adams, Telly Savalas as an army officer. No doubt this was a precursor to Raiders of the Lost Ark. It is also very similar in certain scenes to the 1949 western "Lust For Gold". Seeing it today in DVD with widescreen is quite an experience, because of the beautiful way the scenery is shown (it looks like Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon put together with a bit of fantasy) also the unusual places the camera is placed, like at certain moments you are following the feet of the horses, or in other scenes you feel the camera is riding the horse.