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

One of George Lucas's projects while a student in film school was documenting the making of this film. While he was on set, he actually made suggestions (which were used) on how to rehearse and shoot some scenes.

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Goofs

In a key scene, a lengthening shadow at sunrise points to the destination location. As the sun rises, shadows get shorter, not longer.

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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 The Wiz (1978)

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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

What were they thinking?

This is a Western that ought to have everything: amazing vistas; larger than life characters; Indians; the Cavalry; a US Marshall and a Mexican bandit; and a treasure worth dying for. It looks as if it should have been a Spaghetti Western and probably would have made more sense had it been. Unfortunately the nearest comparison is more like It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.

The huge cast seems to exist just to give most of the actors cameos in the film. No sooner are most introduced (and some with extended explanations of who they are and why they're here) than they are killed one way or another. Omar Sharif is utterly unconvincing as a Mexican, and Gregory Peck seems to have phoned in his performance (which puts his performance as General MacArthur in the 1977 film in a good light).

Also, the plot doesn't make a great deal of sense. The ending is contrived and not really explained well - the special effects have aged horribly over the 40 years since this was made. Also, any films that requires a voice over to explain the plot or the characters motives all the time, can't be that good at telling and explaining things naturally.

A pity. because as a "Saturday/Sunday Afternoon film" on TV (to be watched while you're doing something else) it's not bad! In fact, so bad it's good.