The Sons of Katie Elder

2010 ended with a Western, so why not kick off the new decade with another?

The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) is an enjoyable John Wayne vehicle, expertly crafted by Henry Hathaway (True Grit). Not the most original of oaters, it succeeds on the strength of its star power and exciting action.

Kindly widow Kate Elder, beloved by all in her small Texas town, passes away and her four estranged sons turn up for her funeral: shifty gambler Tom (Dean Martin), drifter Matt (Earl Holliman), disgruntled college boy Bud (Michael Anderson Jr.) - and John (John Wayne), a gunfighter with a bad reputation. The Elders try desperately to stay out of trouble, but sense that something's amiss when they learn that businessman Morgan Hastings (James Gregory) had bullied Kate out of the family ranch shortly before her death. Things come to ahead when the town marshal (Paul Fix) is bushwhacked outside of town, and the Elders framed for the crime. Now it's time for John to lose his inhibitions, strap on the six-guns and dispense some Texas justice!

The Sons of Katie Elder has a derivative plot, with elements of Bad Day at Black Rock and Shane liberally mixed together. Despite its conventionality, the story is well-told and entertaining throughout, with a great cast, smart script and crisp direction helping things along. The film is a bit slow-going at times but Hathaway and Co. make it bareable even in the dryer moments. With no deep thematic concerns or particular inventiveness, Katie Elder may fail as high art, but succeeds as an enjoyably old-fashioned sagebrush epic.

Hathaway's direction is another major selling point. A solid craftsman, if not a brilliant auteur, Hathaway handles the film with aplomb, ratcheting up the right level of excitement. The movie's action scenes are excellent: rough, violent and exciting without Peckinpah-level gore and stylization, with the protracted river shootout a particular highlight. A fine screenplay gives the stars plenty of choice dialogue to chew on. Lucien Ballard's gorgeous photography is a help too, and Elmer Bernstein contributes another iconic Western score. But, of course, all of this would be little or nothing without its stars.

John Wayne gives a dependably rugged performance: this is one of his best late-career roles, giving him a chance to do more than pose before a poorly-blocked camera with a rifle in hand and paunch sticking out. Its doubly impressive to see Duke in such good shape so soon after his first bout with cancer; he was suffering badly on the set, spending much of the time between takes using a respirator, yet refused to postpone filming or even be doubled for key stunts. The Duke's classiness and devotion to his fans are indisputable, and it helps that his performance is rather good too.

The Duke is generous enough to share with a nice ensemble cast. Dean Martin recaptures his chemistry with Wayne from Rio Bravo, and gets the movie's best scene pawning off a glass eye to a gormless Strother Martin (Cool Hand Luke). Earl Holliman (Gunfight at the OK Corral) and Michael Anderson Jr. (Major Dundee) acquit themselves well in less well-defined roles. George Kennedy's (Charade) malevolent hired gun is a clone of Jack Palance in Shane but James Gregory (Al Capone) and Dennis Hopper (True Grit) make fine villains. Dependable Western hands Jeremy Slate (Born Losers), Paul Fix (Red River), John Littel (Rusty's Birthday) and John Qualen (The Searchers) also get nice parts. Martha Hyer's perfunctory love interest is a waste of screentime (and a pretty actress).

Basically, this is a film that speaks for itself. Do you like the Duke, Westerns and undemanding entertainment? Then The Sons of Katie Elder should be right up your alley.

PS: Dean Martin fans are encouraged to check out this cool fan blog, ilovedinomartin. Many thanks to the gentleman for reproducing this review; I can use all the publicity I can get.