The Sons of Katie Elder

"From the four winds they came, the four brothers, their eyes smoking and their fingers itching..."

1965 2h 2m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 314

Western

Synopsis

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The four sons of Katie Elder reunite in their hometown of Clearwater, Texas for her funeral and discover that the family ranch is now in the hands of Morgan Hastings, a corrupt businessman who wants to exploit the area around the town.

“From the four winds they came, the four brothers, their eyes smoking and their fingers itching...”

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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

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Henry Hathaway
Writers: William H. Wright, Harry Essex, Allan Weiss
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.5× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

61 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Henry Hathaway, shot by Lucien Ballard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Elmer Bernstein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Warren Low shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

John Wayne and Dean Martin and Martha Hyer carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "From the four winds they came, the four brothers, their eyes smoking and their fingers itching...".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0059740 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Henry Hathaway directs. Lucien Ballard behind the camera. Elmer Bernstein scores. Warren Low cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 3.5× over at the box office.
261 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Henry Hathaway, shot by Lucien Ballard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Elmer Bernstein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Warren Low shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6John Wayne and Dean Martin and Martha Hyer carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "From the four winds they came, the four brothers, their eyes smoking and their fingers itching...".
8IMDB entry: tt0059740 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 10 themes, including "sibling relationship", "texas", "revenge", "murder".

The technical file

Cinematography: Lucien Ballard
Original score: Elmer Bernstein
Editing: Warren Low
Costume design: Edith Head
Makeup / hair: Loren Cosand
Runtime: 122 min · 2h 2m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $6,500,000
Box office: $23,000,000
Return: 354% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

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Henry Hathaway

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-10-04
★ 7/10
The Magnificent Four! John, Tom, Matt and Bud, these are the Elder boys, who upon meeting up at the funeral of their recently deceased mother, find that their father may have been murdered over a card game. The boys must cast off sibling rivalries and find out just what has been happening in their childhood town of Clearwater, Texas. Unfairly given harsh treatment upon its release by the critics and beset with behind the scenes problems, The Sons Of Katie Elder actually holds up rather well in this day and age. All the required traits are in the film to make it an oater of some worth, a splendid cast with as much macho beef as you can shake a stick at, a top Elmer Bernstein score, the wonderful use of the Casa Blanca location and a revenge driven plot of some note. So why is it hard to actually sell this picture to the staunch Western crowd? Well coming as it did in 1965 it certainly has something of a modern sheen to it, an uneasy bed fellow with the wild west theme of the picture. The casting of the brothers just about works, but Michael Anderson Jr (Bud) and Earl Holliman (Matt) do seem to be overawed by the presence of John Wayne (John) and Dean Martin (Tom), meaning as a foursome it never quite gets to being a tight acting unit. The length of the picture may also be an issue to some? Long periods of inaction work to me personally because the characters (family unit) are gaining much needed depth, but for those wanting guns a toting at frequent intervals are not exactly catered for. Yet what action there is surely more than makes it worth the viewers patience? From the Duke swinging a nice piece of hickory to a wonderful riverside shootout, Henry Hathaway's Western is not found wanting for memorable sequences, in fact if you ask me then the mere sight of the Duke blasting away with a six shooter in each hand is a truly blood pumping joy, and don't get me started on a delightful Dean Martin scene as he raffles his glass eye! So all in all it's not without its itches, but as 60s Westerns go, The Sons Of Katie Elder is a hugely enjoyable picture to enjoy by the fireside on a Sunday afternoon. 7/10
CinemaSerf2024-03-26
★ 7/10
When "John" (John Wayne) returns home for the funeral of his mother and to reunite with his three brothers, he sets the cat amongst the pigeons. It turns out that their ranch now belongs to gunsmith "Hastings" (James Gregory) and with their father having been shot in the back, they start to investigate. Now "John" is a notable man with a gun, so tensions heighten when "Curley" (George Kennedy) arrives in town as a bit of muscle for the ambitious "Hastings". It's all a little predictable this but it builds to quite an explosive denouement and there's an enjoyable degree of chemistry between Wayne and kid brothers "Tom" (Dean Martin) and the baby of the pack "Bud" (Michael Anderson Jr) who has a notion to put a marble angel on top of his mother's grave - that or an horse. What ensues delivers quite an entertaining western with plenty of shoot 'em ups, quite a menacing baddie and a pretty wimpish Dennis Hopper in there too. It's a solidly written and paced action adventure that showcases some of the less laudable elements of the pioneering spirit - with plenty of splinters.