Mackenna's Gold (1969)

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writers:

Heck Allen (novel)
Carl Foreman (screenplay)

Release Date:

10 May 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Western

Tagline:

A GIANT OF A MOVIE

Plot:

The gangster Colorado kidnaps Marshal McKenna. He believes that McKenna has seen a map which leads to...

Plot Keywords:

Gold | Marshal | Cavalry | Rope Bridge | Squaw

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

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
Rudy Diaz	...	Besh
Robert Phillips	...	Monkey
Shelley Morrison	...	The Pima Squaw
Robert Porter	...	Young Englishman (as J. Robert Porter)
David Garfield	...	Adams' Boy (as John Garfield Jr.)
Pepe Callahan	...	Laguna (as Pépe Callahan)
Madeleine Taylor Holmes	...	Old Apache Woman
Duke Hobbie	...	Lieutenant
Victor Jory	...	The Narrator
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Trevor Bardette	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
J. Lee Thompson

Writing credits
Heck Allen		(novel) (as Will Henry)
Carl Foreman		(screenplay)

Produced by
Carl Foreman	....	producer
Dimitri Tiomkin	....	producer

Original Music by
Quincy Jones

Cinematography by
Joseph MacDonald		(director of photography) (as Joseph Macdonald)

Film Editing by
Bill Lenny

Production Design by
Geoffrey Drake

Art Direction by
Geoffrey Drake
Cary Odell

Set Decoration by
Alfred E. Spencer

Costume Design by
Norma Koch

Makeup Department
Virginia Jones	....	hair styles

Production Management
Ralph E. Black	....	production manager (as Ralph Black)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Salven	....	assistant director
Tom Shaw	....	second unit director

Art Department
Eugene J. Reed	....	carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department
John Blunt	....	stereophonic dubbing: (Cine Tele Sound )
Peter Bond	....	assistant sound editor
Derek Frye	....	sound supervisor
Jeanne Henderson	....	sound editor
Bob Jones	....	stereophonic dubbing: Shepperton Studios
William M. Randall Jr.	....	unit sound recorder (as William Randall Jr.)
John Blunt	....	sound (uncredited)
Tony Dawe	....	foley recordist (uncredited)
Bob Jones	....	sound (uncredited)
Bill Taylor	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Daniel Hays	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Lawrence W. Butler	....	special visual effects (as Larry Butler)
Willis Cook	....	special visual effects
Bob Cuff	....	special visual effects: (Abacus Productions Ltd. )
Geoffrey Drake	....	special visual effects: (Abacus Productions Ltd. )
John Mackey	....	special visual effects: (Abacus Productions Ltd. )
Joy Cuff	....	matte painter (uncredited)

Stunts
Robert 'Buzz' Henry	....	stunt coordinator (as Buzz Henry)
May Boss	....	stunts (uncredited)
Buff Brady	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jim Burk	....	stunts (uncredited)
Steven Burnett	....	stunts (uncredited)
Joe Canutt	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred Dale	....	stunts (uncredited)
Pete Dunn	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jeannie Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Herron	....	stunts (uncredited)
Terry Leonard	....	stunts (uncredited)
Neil Summers	....	stunts (uncredited)
Buddy Van Horn	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Buddy Van Horn	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Williams	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Donald C. Glouner	....	additional photography (as Don Glouner)
John Mackey	....	additional photography
Richard Moore	....	additional photography
Harold E. Wellman	....	second unit photography (as Harold Wellman)
Emil Oster	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Don Deacon	....	associate film editor (as Donald Deacon)
Lois Gray	....	first assistant film editor
John F. Link	....	associate film editor (as John Link Jr.)
Raymond Poulton	....	associate film editor

Music Department
Jack Hayes	....	orchestrations
Leo Shuken	....	orchestrations
Leo Arnaud	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Gus Levene	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Gene Clinesmith	....	driver (uncredited)
Frank Khoury	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
José Feliciano	....	introduced by
Bobby Hoffman	....	dialogue coach (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (presents)
• Highroad Productions (as A Highroad Presentation)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1969) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Film-Verleih (1969) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• CBS Television Network (1972) (USA) (TV)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• GoodTimes Home Video (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Abacus Productions (special visual effects) (as Abacus Productions Ltd.)

Other Companies

• Cine Tele Sound  stereophonic dubbing
• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)  acknowledgement
• Shepperton Studios  stereophonic dubbing
• Sunset Gower Studios  sound stages (uncredited)
• The United States Department of Interior, National Park Service  the producers thank , for its co-operation and permission to photograph in the following areas:- National Park Service: Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona (as the United States Department of the Interior)
• The United States Department of Interior, National Park Service  the producers thank, for its co-operation and permission to photograph in the following areas:- Bureau of Land Management: Kanab, Utah (as the United States Department of the Interior)
• The United States Department of Interior, National Park Service  the producers thank, for its co-operation and permission to photograph in the following areas:- Bureau of Land Management: Medford, Oregon (as the United States Department of the Interior)
• The United States Department of Interior, National Park Service  the producers thank, for its co-operation and permission to photograph in the following areas:- National Park Service: Glen Canyon National Recreational Area, Arizona (as the United States Department of the Interior)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

128 min | UK:136 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:PG | West Germany:12 (f) (re-rating) | West Germany:16 (f) (original rating) | Germany:16 (DVD rating) | UK:15 (tv rating) | UK:A (original rating) (passed with cuts) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1987) (1992) (2001) | USA:M | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Arizona, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Acording to a 1996 biography, Clint Eastwood was first offered the lead role, but turned it down to make Hang 'Em High (1968) instead.

Goofs:

Continuity: The cloud formation while jumping the earthquake chasm.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Space Travellers (#5.1)" (1992)

Soundtrack:

Old Turkey Buzzard

The Old Turkey Buzzard

With so much talent and such great location cinematography from Arizona and Utah where Mackenna's Gold was shot, you would think the film would have wound up a classic. Sadly it tries and misses by a good deal.

Gregory Peck at his noblest is a town marshal who is ambushed by old Apache chief Eduardo Ciannelli. Peck kills him and finds out that the old man thought Peck was one of a gang of outlaws after a map of a lost canyon of gold. But as Ciannelli dies, Peck inherits the map which he burns.

Turns out Peck inherits a lot more than a map. Word of what the old guy had has reached the strangest places. The U.S. Cavalry, a group of settlers from the town Peck was the marshal, and unfortunately one unscrupulous bandit played by Omar Sharif. He kidnaps Peck and since Peck knows the location of where the lost canyon allegedly is, that fact keeps him alive.

Gold does terrible things to the human soul as we discover watching this film. Part of the problem here is that Peck somehow seems to rise above the whole business. Maybe he's just a bit too noble in this film and that's my problem with it.

The townspeople are an interesting crowd, the citizens that Peck has sworn to protect turn on him quite savagely. Gambler Eli Wallach, newspaper editor Lee J. Cobb, storekeeper Burgess Meredith, a pair of traveling Englishmen, Anthony Quayle and John Philip Law who think it would be jolly good sport, and even the local preacher who convinces himself God has ordained this so he can build a tabernacle. That role is played by Raymond Massey in his final big screen performance. And of course there's Edward G. Robinson as an old prospector who claims the canyon exists because the saw it and for that the Apaches burned out his eyes.

Camilla Sparv is another of Omar Sharif's hostages who's having a big problem choosing between Peck and the gold. One of the more ridiculous sequences in the film has Sharif and his band coming across an Eden like waterhole they spend a bit of time skinny dipping and satisfying some lustful desires.

The two best performances in the film are from Julie Newmar in a role with no dialog as a murderous Indian squaw who travels with Sharif's band and has a personal score to settle with Peck and from Telly Savalas as a cavalry sergeant who murders his own men and declares himself in on the gold hunt.

Hovering over the characters in the sky throughout the film is an old turkey buzzard and a song is sung intermittently throughout the film by Jose Feliciano. It's a kind of running commentary, the way some of the westerns in the fifties had Frankie Laine and other singers performing the same function.

A lot of the same themes were done better twenty years earlier in Columbia films classic Lust for Gold that starred Glenn Ford and Ida Lupino. Mackenna's Gold is an entertaining enough western, but considering all the talent in this film it should have been a lot better.