The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

John Wayne is John Elder, the eldest of four sons who return to Clearwater, Texas, to attend their mother’s funeral.

John, Tom (Dean Martin), Matt (Earl Holliman) and Bud (Michael Anderson Jr.) are surprised to find that their mother was no longer living on the family ranch.

They’re also surprised that she seemed to get no money for that ranch. And that their father had been killed with a bullet to the back the same night he supposedly lost that ranch in a card game.

They ask a lot of questions. But even those who remember their mother fondly aren’t eager to provide answers.

Quickly, signs begin to point to the new owner of the ranch (James Gregory as Morgan Hastings) and his son Dave (Dennis Hopper) as the men with the answers.

After all, a gunman named Curly (George Kennedy) just arrived in Clearwater, under the employment of Morgan Hastings.

Complicating matters is a wanted poster with Tom’s name on it and a do-it-by-the-book deputy Ben Latta eager to prove his worth.

John Wayne as John Elder, reading from his late mother’s Bible in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

Dean Martin as Tom Elder, the gambler among the Elder brothers in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

Review:

A rousing final 30 minutes of action can’t salvage one of Wayne’s weaker films. Up until that point, it’s a slow-moving affair, chock full of bickering between the siblings and humor that seems way too forced.

About the plot … The brothers are concerned about their father’s death now, but they weren’t when he died?

And, if you want to quibble, why is George Kennedy’s character named Curly? He sure doesn’t look like a Curly.

This was the first film Wayne made after undergoing lung cancer surgery that required the removal of two ribs.

Former Disney child star Tommy Kirk was to play the role of the youngest brother until being fired after an arrest for possession of marijuana.

The role went to Michael Anderson Jr. instead. He’d played a major role in another Western the same year — “Major Dundee.”

Earl Holliman as Matt Elder, the shopkeeper among the Elder brothers in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

Michael Anderson Jr. as Bud Elder, jailed with his brothers for a killing they didn’t commit in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

Directed by:
Henry Hathaway

Cast:
John Wayne … John Elder
Dean Martin … Tom Elder
Martha Hyer … Mary Gordon
Michael Anderson Jr. … Bud Elder
Earl Holliman … Matt Elder
Jeremy Slate … Ben Latta
James Gregory … Morgan Hastings
Paul Fix … Sheriff Billy Wilson
George Kennedy … Curly
Dennis Hopper … Dave Hastings
Sheldon Allman … Harry Evers
John Litel … Minister
John Doucette … Hyselman
James Westerfield … Mr. Vennar
Rhys Williams … Charlie Striker
John Qualen … Charlie Biller
Rodolfo Acosta … Bondie Adams
Strother Martin … Jeb Ross
Percy Helton … Mr. Peevey
Karl Swenson … Doc Isdell

Runtime: 122 min.

Score: Elmer Bernstein

James Gregory (right) as Morgan Hastings, the man behind the trouble, flanked by son Dave (Dennis Hopper) in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

Jeremy Slate as Deputy Ben Latta and Paul Fix as Sheriff Billy Wilson, watching a fast gun arrive in Clearwater in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

Memorable lines:

Sheriff Billy Wilson: “How long you planning to stay?”
John Elder: “Well, I don’t know. People usually let you take your hat off before they ask you to leave, Billy.”

John Elder: “You’ve been trying real hard not to tell me something, Billy. What is it?”

Tom Elder to younger brother Bud: “Let me point something out, kid. That kind of work (as a gun hand) doesn’t pay too well. If you’re looking for a line of work to follow, I’d recommend mind.”
Matt Elder: “Yeah, larceny.”
Tom: “The hours are better and you get shot up a lot less.”

Mary Gordon, getting the late Katie’s belongings from her son John in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

George Kennedy as Curley, the fast gun Morgan Hastings hires to deal with the Elders in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

Mary Gordon: “She (Ma Elder) blamed Texas for takin’ her sons.’ Texas is a woman,’ she used to say. ‘A big, wild, beautiful woman.’ You get a kid raised up to where he’s got some size, and there’s Texas, whispering in his ear, saying ‘Come on out with me and have some fun.’ ‘It’s hard enough to raise children any place,’ she’d say. ‘But when you have to fight Texas, you haven’t a chance.'”

Tom Elder, as the brothers check out their old ranch: “Somebody always kept pushing me out of that loft.”
John Elder: “That’s because you bounced so good. Everybody in the family kept on bragging about how good you bounced. Well, let’s bounce on down.”

Sheriff Billy Wilson: “When a man is killed, does it make a whole lot of difference what direction the bullet came from?”
Tom Elder: “It makes all the difference when you want to find out whether he was murdered or not.”

Bud Elder: “I can draw pretty fast. We’ll be famous. Like the Dalton brothers.”
John Elder: “Yeah, they’re famous, but they’re just a little bit dead.”

Dean Martin as Tom Elder with brothers Bud (Michael Anderson Jr.) and Matt (Earl Holliman), awaiting a train in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

Sheldon Allman as Harry Evers, a lawman trying to convince the Elder brothers to give themselves up in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

Rhys Williams as Charlie Striker, entering a horse deal with the Elder brothers in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

Michael Anderson Jr. as Bud Elder, Earl Holiman as Matt and John Wayne as John Elder debate their next move in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

Martha Hyer as Mary Gordon, telling the Elder brothers, including Dean Martin as Tom, about their mother’s last days in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

Dennis Hopper as Dave Hastings, bothered by his father’s means of attaining power and wealth in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

John Wayne as John Elder, locked in a gun battle with some of Morgan Hastings men in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

Earl Holliman as Matt Elder, John Wayne as John Elder and Deam Martin as Tom Elder, off to face justice in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)