I think it’s fair to say that the going always appears to be trickier once one hits the downside of a slope. There’s that ever present temptation to succumb to the lure of relaxation, to freewheel, to sit back and let the momentum carry one wherever it fancies. If we are to see the western as having scaled the heights of its artistic potential by the end of the 1950s, and on into the beginning of the next decade to be fair, then the following years must represent the other side of that hill. By the mid-60s the treacherous nature of that downhill path was becoming apparent, the more so since it proved to be a pretty steep descent for the most part. As the decade wore on there were increasing numbers of westerns that do not quite work, or which flat out fail in some cases. It can be a dispiriting experience trawling through some of these when one bears in mind what had come before. Still, one of the strengths of this genre is its overall resilience, its ability to offer up something worthwhile just when it seems that hope has passed. The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) is not what I would personally term a great western, but it is a very good and entertaining one.
The plot of The Sons of Katie Elder follows a well trodden path. A newcomer buys influence and expands his power, elbowing aside any local objections or stamping hard on them should the need arise. In the case of the eponymous Mrs Elder and her offspring, the latter action appears to have been applied. We never get to see Katie Elder, she has already passed away before the movie begins and the opening scene has three of her sons, Tom, Matt and Bud (Dean Martin, Earl Holliman, and Michael Anderson Jr respectively) waiting by the train halt for the senior member of the clan to arrive prior to attending the funeral. The oldest brother John Elder (John Wayne) is a gunfighter of renown or ignominy, depending on one’s perspective. Well he doesn’t show up so the service takes place without him, or so it seems. The fact is he has slipped back home unobtrusively and we can observe him watching proceedings from afar, high among the rocks overlooking the cemetery, aloof and vaguely forbidding in his isolation. As the story progresses, it becomes evident that the Elder family has been cheated, the father was almost certainly murdered and his wife then forced to leave the home where she raised her four boys before they went on their separate ways. Now they are back though and experiencing a combination of guilt for their neglect of a woman who everybody held in the highest regard as well as an incipient sense of indignation over being gypped. And that’s how it plays out – the process of arriving at some kind of accommodation with feelings of self-reproach develops side by side with a deepening conflict with Morgan Hastings (James Gregory), the man now occupying the land that was once theirs.
The notion of past events coloring or shading the present frequently results in good drama, and the shadow of Katie Elder looms large in the lives of her sons. Where each of them is seen to be flawed or negligent or profligate, their mother is spoken of with warmth and respect by all those who had known her. This conceit is a neat way to allow the characters to address their own deficiencies within a narrative framework which encompasses justice and redemption. Having Katie exist only as a memory offers the opportunity to build something of a myth around her, as of an ideal to be lived up to. By rendering her in those terms her spirit starts to feel emblematic of the mythical west, almost as though woman and land have fused. It’s an aspect that is further highlighted when Martha Hyer speaks of her to the four sons as all of them stand around the old lady’s beloved rocking chair.
Texas is a woman, she used to say, a big, wild, beautiful woman. You raise a kid to where he’s got some size, and there’s Texas whispering in his ear and smiling, saying, “Come and have some fun.” “It’s hard enough to raise children,” she’d say. “But when you’ve got to fight Texas, a mother hasn’t a chance.”
The Sons of Katie Elder was John Wayne’s first film after undergoing major surgery for lung cancer. He’d had a lung and a couple of ribs removed only a few months before but looked and acted remarkably robust under the circumstances. It’s an ebullient performance, big and commanding with the balance between humor and seriousness deftly maintained. Henry Hathaway framed and shot him in such a way as to emphasize the iconic, monumental stature he was growing into by this time. Some of the action scenes are very stylized, but superbly put together at the same time – the big gun battle at the river crossing, and that memorable moment when he belts George Kennedy’s sniggering bully full in the face with an axe handle.
Dean Martin made his western debut alongside Wayne in Rio Bravo, giving a fine performance first time out and growing ever more comfortable in the genre in subsequent outings. Maybe he became too comfortable at times later on, cruising along on charm and a wink at the camera. His role as Tom Elder allows him to indulge the laid-back persona at times – a nicely played comedic interlude in a saloon involving a glass eye, as well as some other horseplay involving his siblings – but not to the extent is diminishes the more dramatic moments. Earl Holliman is quite subdued, much more composed than some of the less secure characters he was often cast as. The youngest brother was Michael Anderson Jr and he was enjoying a wonderful run in westerns that year; aside from The Sons of Katie Elder, he had roles The Glory Guys and Major Dundee. One notable feature of this movie was the absence of any other women bar Martha Hyer, who serves as a kind of conscience for the the Elders, recalling the strong character of the late Katie and reminding the sons of their duty to her memory. It’s worth pointing out too that the movie represented a rehabilitation for Dennis Hopper. He had apparently enraged Henry Hathaway during the making of From Hell to Texas and found himself essentially frozen out in Hollywood till Wayne got him the part in this film. Of course he would go on to work with Hathaway, and an Oscar winning Wayne, once more a few years later on True Grit.
The Sons of Katie Elder is what I’d call a satisfying western, something that was not the case with a number of genre efforts as the decade wore on. Hathaway’s films were always very smoothly put together and this one is no exception. Basically, he keeps everything balanced; the classic western themes are there, the cast features a lot of very familiar faces who are used sparingly and not in the tired “by the numbers” fashion of, say, an A C Lyles picture, Lucien Ballard has it looking extremely attractive and Elmer Bernstein’s score is one of his better ones. All in all, this is a very watchable and enjoyable film.
Riding the High Country 
Really enjoyed your article, Colin. Thanks for giving it some serious consideration, got a lot out of it – even though this is one of those movies that I feel like I know extremely well, not least because it seemed to be endlessly on rotation on Italian TV in the early 1980s. Probably seen it a dozen times over the decades. It is very well put together as a film, hugely entertaining and very solid though, as you say, it hardly breaks any new ground. Love the Bernstein score. Saw the Mark Wahlberg remake recently, which I thought was a perfectly viable idea that utterly failed to work.
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I hadn’t watched it for some time and I had a good time with it. I think that’s enough to ask of a film really, and even if it doesn’t challenge in any way, there are are points raised for consideration, albeit in a fairly unobtrusive way.
I had to look up the Wahlberg movie you referred to – I’d never seen it, nor heard of it to be honest.
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I’d stay away from the remake – though making them all foster kids did allow for a much more diverse cast, which is a solid idea. But apart from that …
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Fair enough, I’ll take your tip on board. And it’s not like I’m in any danger of getting near the bottom of the to-watch pile anyway.
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🤣
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I have that remake too on Blu. Still have to check it out. My to watch list never ends!
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I agree with your description – a satisfying western, though not in the same league as Rio Bravo.
Love the title track too.
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No, it’s not up there with the Hawks movie. Even so, it is one of the stronger genre efforts to come out of the 60s. At a time when many westerns seemed to have difficulty defining themselves it retains its own voice.
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What would be your favorite post Ford Wayne movies?
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I think the best of his post-Ford roles are The Shootist and In Harm’s Way. The latter role for Preminger doesn’t get spoken of as often yet it’s a wonderfully nuanced performance. It is a mature piece of work and has great honesty, an aspect I appreciate very much. What underpins it all is the depiction of the evolving relationship with Patricia Neal, and it is particularly well realized.
True Grit is of course very fine, even if his Oscar winning role isn’t actually his best acting role. Again, the movie “works” because of so many ingredients coming together just right.
I also find a lot to enjoy in El Dorado, Chisum and Big Jake, even if none of those (no, not even the Hawks movie) are in the same league
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Yes, I agree with your choices especially ‘In Harm’s Way’ and his lovely, mature relationship with Patricia Neal in the film. Wayne was often striking and respectful with women in his movies a quality I find underrated when evaluating his incredible body of work.
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True, there’s some of that courtesy and old school chivalry on show in this film as well in his interactions with Martha Hyer.
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I like this one for the performances and for the relationship between the brothers.
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The relationships are well handled – humor, rivalry, bonds of loyalty and collective guilt. There’s a lot in the mix and this contributes to making the movie an enjoyable experience.
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Excellent review. Enjoyable later Wayne a notch below ‘True Grit’ and ‘The Shootist’ but still very entertaining. Duke and Dino had good chemistry. I believe Joan Didion wrote an excellent piece on the making of it. Will have to spin my disc again!
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I’m not aware of the making of piece you refer to. Sounds like something to investigate further.
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It has an immortal quote by Dino, “When people see me on the street they say ‘There goes Perry Como’ and when they see Duke they say ‘There goes John Wayne’ nobody mistakes Duke for anybody else”. Priceless!
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That’s indeed a great line, and indicative of how self-effacing he could be.
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The wonderful article by Joan Didion is “John Wayne: A Love Song”. Really worth seeking out.
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Yes, I’m going to have to try to source that.
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Yes, I was just reading it today again after reading your excellent article on the film. I believe the Dino quote about Duke comes from a different article around the same time. There was plenty of coverage of this film because it was Wayne’s first one back after having a lung removed because of the ‘Big C’. His determination to make the film seemed to impress everybody especially all the water stuff at the bridge in the ambush scene.
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If this movie did not have the cast it did, I think it would be just another western in the bunch, but because its Duke, Dean, Henry Hathaway and the pieces that came together, its a really solid and likable movie. I love the score music in the movie- Bernstein is in fine form here. I also like the psychological aspect of the mother’s presence being on all their mind’s
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Fair point. I tend to think that the films that do “work”, not only those we think of as the greats, are the ones where a gelling of elements occurs. One factor alone, let’s say a star or a director, rarely if ever guarantees success, though it can provide an all-round boost.
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If I hadn’t known differently, I might just as well been listening to Bernstein’s musical score of The Magnificent Seven.
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l know what you mean. Bernstein does have a habit of recycling certain chords and motifs in many of his scores. Mind, you most of the great composers do tend to have a recognizable sound.
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I approached this with some apprehension then as Wayne had just went thru a major surgery. However after watching it, I was completely overwhelmed as it was fast moving and entertaining. I do agree that Elmer Bernstein’s score is very ear catching and absolutely rousing.
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I agree about Wayne, but Martin, Miachael Anderson adnEarl Holliman cannot be brothers. They are even less probable than Jimmy Stewart and Audie Murphjy.
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Yes, I try to take that on faith because of the forty years age difference between brothers.
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The age range is something of a problem although I imagine Wayne is supposed to be playing a bit younger. He was pushing 60 when the movie was shot and Anderson was in his early twenties at that stage, a 36 year difference in real life. However, movie ages are never meant to be taken as a reflection of reality – or for that matter are movies themselves – and as with lack of resemblance between siblings this is just another of the aspects we have to take on faith within the framework of the story. It’s all part of the illusion after all.
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All so true. Movies are THE medium to take on faith and just go with it sometimes.
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It certainly represented a strong comeback, didn’t it? And, as has been mentioned, there was a degree of physical exertion required of him, especially the scenes in and around the river.
Bernstein was hugely prolific and his career seemed to go on forever. There are countless superb scores among his credits and I feel his western compositions are uniformly strong.
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