The Sons of Katie Elder 1965

     The year is 1898 and Katie Elder has passed away in her hometown of Clearwater, Texas.  This town is about two hours east of Dallas but not by horse.  Her four adult sons come to pay their respects.  John is a famous professional gunman, Tom is a professional gambler and the youngest son Bud is attending college.  Matt is an unsuccessful hardware dealer.  The one thing Katie would have wanted is for the boys not to become involved in violence.  What is the first thing they do after the funeral, they stir up the waters in town?  They start to investigate why Katie was renting a small home and Morgan Hastings now owns the Elder Ranch?  Supposedly, the Ranch was lost in a game of Blackjack and soon after Bass Elder was shot in the back?  There hasn’t been any investigation of the killing?  Hastings kills Sheriff Bob and he blames the death on the Elders.  The entire town is against them and the new Sheriff hustles the brothers out of town early in the morning.

     Everyone in town loved Katie because of her honesty, the way she found work to pay her way and the love she had for the boys.  Her sons should have checked on her before she died and settled all the land problems much earlier.  Instead, they went their own ways and didn’t think much about what was happening in Clearwater or to Katie.  This film suffers from age and a weak plot?  3* (This movie is OK) 

122 min, Western directed by Henry Hathaway with John Wayne, Dean Martin Martha Hyer, Michael Anderson Jr., Earl Holliman, Jeremy Slate, James Gregory, Paul Fix, George Kennedy, Dennis Hopper, Sheldon Allman, John Litel, John Doucette, James Westerfield, Rhys Williams, John Qualen, Rodolfo Acosta, Strother Martin.

Note:  Imdb 7.2 out of 10, 100% critic 81% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 390 reviews, TCM 3.5* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Outdoor footage was in Durango, Mexico and the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, Colorado.  Other locations were Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico; Chupaderos, Casa Blanca, Sonora and El Saltito, Durango, Mexico; Mayo River, Alamos and Navojoa, Sonora, Mexico.  Filming was due to begin September 1964 but was delayed until January 1965.  John Wayne was diagnosed with lung cancer and he had surgery to remove his left lung.  He insisted on doing his own stunts and he nearly came down with pneumonia after a scene in the river.  The name Kate Elder was one of several names used by Mary Katherine Horony Cummings also known as Big Nose Kate.  She was a western icon and sometime companion of Doc Holliday.  Dean Martin also filmed Rio Bravo six years earlier after splitting with his partner Jerry Lewis.  A well-known error in this film is that John Wayne fires 13 shots from a six-shooter that was not reloaded during the final gun battle.  The hearse used at Katie’s funeral is currently in front of the Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World.