The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

It tries everything to win the viewer over, all of the typical western tactics and tropes, but a western with a vapid story line, basic acting, and too many improbable and poorly edited shoot 'em up moments cannot be rescued, no matter how many whiskeys and cowboy antics are thrown in, even with a star-studded cast.

The four Elder boys return to Clearwater, Texas for their beloved mother Katie's funeral after some time. The eldest John (John Wayne) is an infamous gunslinger. Tom (Dean Martin) is a gambler. Matt (Earl Holliman) had an unsuccessful hardware store. The youngest Bud (Michael Anderson, Jr.) was sent away to school after he was accused of stealing a horse. Their father had sold the family ranch to new land baron Morgan Hastings (James Gregory) under mysterious circumstances. The bank insists that Katie had no money despite selling the land. Hastings hired gun thug Curley (George Kennedy) just in case. Sheriff Billy Wilson tells the boys that Hastings says their father gambled the money away and then got shot in the back, all in the same night.Bud Elder is terribly annoying and the young actor is doing very broad acting. This is all very old-fashion. For any old western fans, this is a perfectly fine watch. It also has a younger Dennis Hopper as well as big names like John Wayne and Dean Martin. The story is pretty interesting with some compelling villains. It's not one of the great westerns but it is a well made traditional one.

Four brothers reunite at their mother's funeral. They discover their mother was broke and their father had been murdered six months before and try to figure out who is responsible. This was John Wayne's comeback film after his much-publicized cancer surgery that cost him a lung. It also reunited him with Rio Bravo co-star Dean Martin, who plays one of his brothers. The other two are played by Earl Holliman and Michael Anderson, Jr., who replaced Disney star Tommy Kirk at the last minute. Much is made about the age gap between Wayne and his brothers, particularly Anderson. It seems obvious to me that the character Wayne plays is supposed to be younger than he actually was at the time. Maybe even as much as ten years younger. It's not a big deal unless you're the type of person who lets little things get to them. This is a fun western with a solid cast. The bad guys include James Gregory, George Kennedy, and Dennis Hopper. Not one of my favorite Duke movies but a pretty good one.

A bit of research provides this humbling realization--the most improbable parts of this film are the ones based upon reality. The wrongly-accused Marlow brothers DID resist a lynch mob and an ambush assisted by their guards, and in the end, the survivors found legal vindication.A sheriff and his deputy wait at the station for the expected arrival of a brother with a bad reputation. Instead, an obvious hired gun arrives, about whom they worry, about whom they do... nothing. John Wayne, eldest and most formidable of the Elder brothers, comes in the back way and even attends his late mother's funeral at a safe distance. One of the most interesting aspects to this film is Wayne's character's repeated refusals to fall into ambush, to do the stupid thing.Their parents are dead, the family impoverished, the scent of fish slowly rises as Wayne, particularly, but also Martin and a VERY strong cast of supporting actors gradually unspool the plot. A hired gun... an ambitious gunsmith and his son, even in his early days, Dennis Hopper did edgy and creepy with a master's abilities. Who ARE the good guys? The Director is honest enough to let the viewer go with his impulses to trust the Brothers--rightly, as it turns out.George Kennedy makes a creepy, convincing heavy, one with a psychopath's utter lack of concern for legality and a sadist's delight in inflicting pain. There are few scenes to rival his gleeful torturing of an inoffensive undertaker interrupted when he looks up to receive Wayne's pick handle in his face. Seldom is a steaming dish of come-uppance so satisfactorily served.The growing and utter hopelessness of the brothers' cause manifests itself with conviction. The villainy of the scheming antagonist grows more and more manifest until he murders his own son without any particular sign of remorse. There is an intensity here that rewards the careful watcher, there is a breadth to this film worth a bit of slow pacing in the second half.On the whole, a convincingly superior effort.