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John Wayne, Dean Martin, Martha Hyer, Michael Anderson Jr., Earl Holliman ... see more see more... , Jeremy Slate , Dennis Hopper , James Gregory , Paul Fix , George Kennedy , Sheldon Allman , John Litel , John Doucette , James Westerfield , Rhys Williams , John Qualen , Rodopho (Rudy) Acosta , Strother Martin , Percy Helton , Karl Swenson , Harvey Grant , Boyd 'Red' Morgan , Chuck Roberson , Ralph Volkie , Jack Williams , Henry Wills , Joe Yrigoyen , Jerry Gatlin , Loren Janes

Henry Hathaway directs the 1965 psychological Western The Sons of Katie Elder. Four sons reunite in their Texas hometown to attend their mother's funeral. John (John Wayne) is the gunfighter, Tom (Dea... read more read more...n Martin) is the gambler, Matt (Earl Holliman) is the quiet one, and Bud (Michael Anderson Jr.) is the youngest. They soon learn that their father gambled away the family ranch, leading to his own murder. The brothers decide to find their father's killer and get back the ranch, even though they are discouraged to do so by local Sheriff Billy Wilson (Paul Fix). When the sheriff turns up dead, the Elder boys are blamed for the murder. Deputy Sheriff Ben Latta (Jeremy Slate) joins forces with the only witnesses of the murder: Morgan Hastings (James Gregory) and his son Dave (Dennis Hopper). A gunfight breaks out between the Hastings gang and the Elder gang. After his brother Matt is killed, John decides to settle the ranch dispute in a court of law with a judge (Sheldon Allman). However, Tom decides to take matters into his own hands by kidnapping Dave. After the final climactic gunfight, John and the wounded Bud retreat to a rooming house owned by Mary Gordon (Martha Hyer). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

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82% liked it

9,628 ratings

Critics

100% liked it

11 critics

PG, 2 hr. 2 min.

Directed by: Henry Hathaway

Release Date: July 1, 1965

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DVD Release Date: June 5, 2001

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Flixster Reviews (391)

  • moonrivers
    May 3, 2011
    moonrivers
    Dean Martin as The Duke's brother?!? Admit it ... it's not the first casting choice anyone would make, but Dino finds his way in this tale of 4 wayward brothers who come home to try to make things right by Ma even if it kills them. Stay with it because it builds momentum after ... read morea slow start.
  • bottcorecords1
    October 30, 2009
    bottcorecords1
    The Sons of Katie Elder starts off strong, but as it nears the end of the first hour, the plot begins to meander away from its strongpoints. John Wayne, Dean Martin, Michael Anderson Jr. and Earl Holliman are four brothers returning to town for their mother's funeral. John, the... read more eldest, is a gun-slinger who's greeted rather coldly by the town's sheriff. Actually, all four of the brothers are greeted cooly by the entire town, as their mother was one of the town's most beloved citizens and it's obvious her sons weren't there to take care of her in her time of need. The boys do some investigation and find out their mother was in hard financial straits: their father lost the family ranch in a card game and then died, leaving their mother up the proverbial creek. As the boys do some more investigation, they find more to the story than originally suggested (this angle is similar to that of "Bad Day at Black Rock"). Rather than fully solve the mystery of their parents demise, the boys decide that a fitting memorial to their mother would be to put the youngest brother through college (whether he wants to or not). From here, the plot goes downhill as convenient plot devices lead to coincidences that favor the bad guys every time. It's not a horrible film though, just disappointing.
  • Redlats
    September 7, 2007
    Redlats
    One of John Wayne's better westerns. Four wayward brothers have to deal with their mother's death and the fact that someone has stolen their family homestead. On top of that the brothers have to figure out how to work together to clear their name, and perhaps to live up to their... read more mom's wish that they amount to something.
  • deano
    August 5, 2007
    deano
    This John Wayne western story is so movingly portrayed on Katie Elder's four sons reunited after Katie's death and forced to fight to get back their land. It has plenty of action and roughhouse comedy - cool.
  • garyX
    May 24, 2007
    garyX
    Another solid outing by the duke, not up to the standards of his work with John Ford, but it passes a sunday afternoon pleasantly enough.
  • fb1619601747
    September 14, 2011
    fb1619601747
    It's really uneven at times, and has very shaky third act with a poor ending. Still, I think John Wayne does some of the finest acting I've seen from him yet in this film.
  • xxdebxx
    May 3, 2010
    xxdebxx
    Four brothers meet up after their mother's funeral but they are surprised to learn that Katie was left no money from the sale of their family ranch and that she ended her days doing odd jobs to earn money for her keep. To make things worse the man who now owns their land frames t... read morehem for a crime which they didn't commit and turns the entire town against them. A classic western theme strengthened by the presence of John Wayne, Dean Martin, George Kennedy and Dennis Hopper.
  • TonyPolito
    August 16, 2010
    TonyPolito
    Wayne & Co. deliver well this mid-Century Western, based on true facts surrounding the Marlow Brothers of Oklahoma, circa 1888.

    Wayne's the eldest of four prodigal brothers come home to tend the affairs of their just-passed mother. What they find is no one's talking much about ... read morehow their father died, how he came to sell the family ranch - or what's become of the money from it.

    Soon enough, the town's powerful, wealthy blackhat (Gregory) - who just happens to now own that ranch - decides the brothers are far too inquisitive and frames them for murder, setting the law and a lynch mob upon them. The brothers slowly struggle and wiggle their way to righteousness, at one point having to fight/shoot their way out of an ambush while in legirons.

    Wayne delivers perfectly his stoic, ethically-strong persona, despite sucking oxygen between takes, having just had his cancerous lung removed.

    One brother's the hothead always in trouble (Dino), one's the tenderfoot kid brother better off at college as Mama wished (Anderson), one's the level-headed sibling respecting Wayne as lead-dog (Holliman).

    No small part of this film' strength is that it contains a complete set of excellent deliveries. Gregory's quite despicable, as is George Kennedy as Gregory's hired hatchet-man. Dennis Hopper is spot-on as Gregory's weaseling, gut-less son. Even the sidelined lawmen are characterized well.

    Anyone who's truly fond of Westerns has seen this classic a half-dozen times. But even if you aren't especially fond of Westerns, the fact that this thick plot/drama falls from a true story - and that it's told with a full house of strong performances - means you should consider it next time you're shopping the genre.

    RECOMMENDATION: When you're in the mood for a Western, queue it up.
  • talldarkwshades
    December 2, 2009
    talldarkwshades
    Classic Not in my Library yet







    Come on I am a guy! Its THE DUKE. From a time when being a man wasn't politically incorrect.
  • kcddck
    March 13, 2009
    kcddck
    A pretty fun movie and the way the cast was, it showed. A good build up from the first hour and a half to a very climactic last half hour. Dean Martin was a scene stealer in just about every scene he was in.

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Critic Reviews

Steve Crum
December 21, 2006
Steve Crum, Dispatch-Tribune Newspapers

Fun, often exciting Wayne western with great cast.

Dennis Schwartz
October 13, 2005
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Undemanding psychological Western. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
June 25, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Henry Hathaway's 1965 enjoyable Western was extremely popular at the box office--it was John Wayne's first movie after his bout with cancer. Full Review

Jaime N. Christley
July 16, 2001
Jaime N. Christley, Apollo Guide

Those who favour the big-hearted Americana and rolling landscapes of non-revisionist westerns could do far worse than this movie. Full Review

September 3, 2008
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Howard Thompson
May 9, 2005
Howard Thompson, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Chuck O'Leary
October 9, 2005
Chuck O'Leary, Fantastica Daily

No review available.

Thomas Delapa
June 9, 2005
Thomas Delapa, Boulder Weekly

No review available.

Robin Clifford
November 19, 2004
Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews

No review available.

Tony Toscano
March 1, 2004
Tony Toscano, Talking Pictures (U.S.)

No review available.

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The Sons of Katie Elder Trivia

  • how many brothers does john wayne have in the film sons of katie elder  Answer »
  • Name the three actors that were John Waynes's brothers in the "Sons of Katie Elder".  Answer »
  • " Four Brothers" ,Starring Mark Wahlberg ,was a remake of which classic!  Answer »
  • I starred in The Rare Breed, The Quiet Man, Sons of Katie Elder, Rio Bravo, The Green Baret, Stagecoach and many more.  Answer »
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