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| The Sons of Katie Elder | |
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 1965 Movie Poster |
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| Directed by | Henry Hathaway |
| Produced by | Paul Nathan Hal B. Wallis |
| Written by | screenplay by William H. Wright Allan Weiss Harry Essex from a story by Talbot Jennings |
| Starring | John Wayne Dean Martin Martha Hyer Michael Anderson, Jr. Earl Holliman |
| Music by | Elmer Bernstein |
| Cinematography | Lucien Ballard |
| Editing by | Warren Low |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | July 1, 1965 |
| Running time | 122 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Sons of Katie Elder is a 1965 western film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring John Wayne and Dean Martin. The film was released by Paramount Pictures.
Filmed shortly after Wayne's surgery to remove a cancerous lung and two ribs, the star insisted on doing his own stunts, and nearly contracted pneumonia after being dragged into a river. The 2005 film Four Brothers was loosely based on The Sons of Katie Elder.
Plot
The sons of Katie Elder - John, Tom, Bud and Matt - reunite at their hometown for their mother's funeral. All four of them share some regret with each other as none of them have done her exactly proud, although until her death she had held her hopes high for her offspring.
However, the townspeople are mostly not on friendly terms with John, the eldest of the four and a professional gunslinger. Morgan Hastings, the owner of the local gunsmithy and inheritor of the old Elder ranch after their father's death, begins to display an increasingly hostile attitude towards the brothers. This only serves to pique their curiosity, and after asking questions about their father's demise they begin to suspect foul play. But as soon as it becomes clear that Hastings is a villain, he frames the Elders for murder and, not content with seeing them going to prison, arranges an ambush in which Matt is killed and Bud seriously injured. Enraged and confronted with the truth, John takes it upon himself to avenge his family by going after Hastings.
Cast
- John Wayne as John Elder
- Dean Martin as Tom Elder
- Martha Hyer as Mary Gordon
- Michael Anderson, Jr. as Bud Elder
- Earl Holliman as Matt Elder
- Jeremy Slate as Ben Latta
- James Gregory as Morgan Hastings
- Paul Fix as Sheriff Billy Watson
- George Kennedy as Curley
- Dennis Hopper as Dave Hastings
External links
