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The Sons of Katie Elder

  • 19651965
  • PassedPassed
  • 2h 2m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
18K
YOUR RATING
John Wayne, Dean Martin, Michael Anderson Jr., and Earl Holliman in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
lbx
Play trailer3:14
1 Video
80 Photos
Western
Ranch owner Katie Elder's four sons determine to avenge the murder of their father and the swindling of their mother.Ranch owner Katie Elder's four sons determine to avenge the murder of their father and the swindling of their mother.Ranch owner Katie Elder's four sons determine to avenge the murder of their father and the swindling of their mother.
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
18K
YOUR RATING
    • Henry Hathaway
  • Writers
    • William H. Wright(screenplay)
    • Allan Weiss(screenplay)
    • Harry Essex(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • John Wayne
    • Dean Martin
    • Martha Hyer
    • Henry Hathaway
  • Writers
    • William H. Wright(screenplay)
    • Allan Weiss(screenplay)
    • Harry Essex(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • John Wayne
    • Dean Martin
    • Martha Hyer
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 83User reviews
    • 42Critic reviews
    • 72Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    The Sons of Katie Elder
    Trailer 3:14
    Watch The Sons of Katie Elder

    Photos80

    John Wayne, Dean Martin, Michael Anderson Jr., and Earl Holliman in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
    John Wayne, Dean Martin, and Paul Fix in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
    Dean Martin in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
    John Wayne in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
    John Wayne, Dean Martin, Michael Anderson Jr., and Earl Holliman in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
    John Wayne, Dean Martin, Michael Anderson Jr., Earl Holliman, and Jeremy Slate in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
    John Wayne and Dennis Hopper in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
    John Wayne in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
    John Wayne, Dean Martin, Michael Anderson Jr., and Earl Holliman in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
    "The Sons of Katie Elder," Dean Martin. 1965 Paramount
    "The Sons of Katie Elder," Dean Martin. 1965 Paramount
    The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

    Top cast

    Edit
    John Wayne
    John Wayne
    • John Elder
    Dean Martin
    Dean Martin
    • Tom Elder
    Martha Hyer
    Martha Hyer
    • Mary Gordon
    Michael Anderson Jr.
    Michael Anderson Jr.
    • Bud Elder
    Earl Holliman
    Earl Holliman
    • Matt Elder
    Jeremy Slate
    Jeremy Slate
    • Ben Latta
    James Gregory
    James Gregory
    • Morgan Hastings
    Paul Fix
    Paul Fix
    • Sheriff Billy Wilson
    George Kennedy
    George Kennedy
    • Curley
    Dennis Hopper
    Dennis Hopper
    • Dave Hastings
    Sheldon Allman
    • Harry Evers
    John Litel
    John Litel
    • Minister
    John Doucette
    John Doucette
    • Hyselman
    James Westerfield
    James Westerfield
    • Mr. Vennar
    Rhys Williams
    Rhys Williams
    • Charlie Striker
    John Qualen
    John Qualen
    • Charlie Biller
    Rodolfo Acosta
    Rodolfo Acosta
    • Bondie Adams
    Strother Martin
    Strother Martin
    • Jeb Ross
      • Henry Hathaway
    • Writers
      • William H. Wright(screenplay)
      • Allan Weiss(screenplay)
      • Harry Essex(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Dean Martin later said of John Wayne, "Someone else would have laid around, feeling sorry for himself, for a year. But Duke, he just doesn't know how to be sick. He's recuperating the hard way. He's two loud speaking guys in one. Me, when people see me, they sometimes say, 'Oh, there goes Perry Como.' But there's only one John Wayne, and nobody makes any mistakes about that".
    • Goofs
      John Elder fires 14 shots from a six-shooter without reloading.
    • Quotes

      Tom Elder: Mr. Hastings, you know everybody around here: Can you tell us who is the dirty stinkin' lowdown rat that shot our pa?

    • Connections
      Featured in The Dean Martin Show: Episode #1.2 (1965)

    User reviews83

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Good, well made Western, traditional and enjoyable
    Beset by production difficulties and largely ignored by critics upon release, this is a film that, like its star, has grown better with age. Director Hathaway's open-air style perfectly suits the expansive nature of the material, which by today's standards seems almost leisurely. In fact Sergio Leone acknowledged this fact when he greatly reworked the opening station scene as the beginning of Once Upon a Time in The West/C'era una volta il West (1969). (He also had his heroine arriving at his own Clearwater station later.) Elmer Bernstein's score is a standout, recalling his achievement on The Magnificent Seven (1960). There are several scenes which gain immeasurably from his masculine music, which ranges from the grand celebratory mode of the main theme to some suitably subdued and menacing cues for the final showdown.

    A convalescent Wayne plays the returning gunfighter John Elder, summoned by the death of his mother. Bewigged, paunchy, and slightly wheezy, the recently de-lunged actor still acts an imposing head of the Elder clan. He finds himself leading a dysfunctional family, united at first by grief, then the clumsy depredations of Morgan Hastings (an excellent James Gregory) who has swindled his way into possessing the family land. Together with memories of the late Katie Elder herself, like an American monument, Wayne's presence dominates the film. Recognising this, Hathaway uses it to great advantage with the first view of his star, perhaps Wayne's most impressive screen entrance since that in Stagecoach of 26 years earlier. As Katie is buried, in long shot, we take in an overview of the cemetery with its cluster of mourners, A massive rock formation overshadows the land. After a few seconds, a small detail catches the eye high up in a cleft. The camera cuts closer, and we think we recognise the figure. Cut again, and it is shown to be the watching John, irresistibly solid and still. At this stage in his career Wayne so easily assumes the permanence and grandeur of landscape that the iconic nature of this moment is accepted by the viewer without question.

    This is last time in his career that Wayne is so emphasised. Twice in Katie Elder the director takes the opportunity to film his star 'doing the walk' – his tall frame strolling purposefully towards the camera, intent on action. In later films (such as Hathaway's own True Grit (1969)) such virile ruggedness is replaced by hard-bitten cantankerousness, more in keeping with the actor's advancing age. It was more the rule too, in Wayne's later career, for seriousness to be replaced by knockabout humour, reaching a zenith in the boisterous McClintock! (1963). In Katie Elder, many of the interior scenes between the brothers are marked by such elements of genial horse play, culminating in a fist fight in which John Elder crashes through a door. Outside they present more of a unified force, optimistically dubbed by Hastings 'the Elder Gang'. Showing this is more difficult than it seems, and fortunately Hathaway keeps matters under control. Moments of broad comedy, like Tom (Dean Martin) auctioning off his glass eye, are not too distracting and often provide a contrast to more serious moments (Curley threatening Matt with gunplay). The banter between the Elder sons also serves to unify the siblings in the most natural way, and establish relationships, even if some of the camaraderie is hard won. In particular one wishes that the two older brothers had more to say to each other, or shared some scenes alone - especially given the on-screen rapport Martin effortlessly created a few years earlier when he worked with Wayne in Rio Bravo (1959).

    As the villain of the piece, Hastings has an emphasised affinity with a special firearm. His armament enthusiasm recalls some of the baroque arsenals appearing in some spaghetti Westerns of the time, where the traditional six shooter was replaced by ever more fancy weapons. At the start of the film Hastings has already hired Curley, a heavy dressed all in black in very traditional fashion. This range thug is played well by George Kennedy, and the scene where he is clubbed in the mouth by Wayne is often cited by viewers as one of the most memorable. In fact, so effective is Curley's suggested brutality that one wishes more could have been made of a man who says ominously 'I don't care what I have to do, as long as I get my money'. Curley and Wayne needed more of a showdown to make their moral antipathy pay dividends, and the viewer is disappointed that this doesn't eventually occur. It is one of the weakness of the film that the villain meets his demise so casually, a victim of crossfire rather than a deliberate showdown. As Hasting's son Dave, Dennis Hopper performs adequately. One feels he would have been better cast as the younger Elder brother, with more to do. In contrast to Kate's oft-stated warmth towards her absent sons, Hasting's treatment of his sibling is cold and uncaring. If the less experienced face of Jeremy Slate had been cast as his son, the gun lover's cruelty would have been even more damning. As it is, Hastings' attitude towards Dave is left largely unexplained, although predictable enough.

    Apart from the casting and music, much of the pleasure of the film springs from the mise-en-scene familiar to those who enjoy the big 50's and 60's Westerns. The geography of Clearwater for instance, so effortlessly established in the early scenes; the interior of Katie's pioneer cabin, or the gunfight by the river. It is also a reminder of a lost time in Westerns, when an ever reliable Wayne confronted frontier trouble, with none of the moral complications suggested by the contemporary work of a Peckinpah or Leone. Like the simple pleasures Mrs Elder found in her beloved rocking chair, this is a production which has been continually revisited by fans since the initial release, and will continue to be so.
    helpful•56
    14
    • FilmFlaneur
    • Sep 19, 2002

    Details

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    • Release date
      • July 14, 1965 (Canada)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, Durango, Colorado, USA
    • Production company
      • Wallis-Hazen
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 2 hours 2 minutes
      • Mono

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