The Sons of Katie Elder

Returned home for their mother’s funeral, four brothers (John Wayne, Dean Martin, Earl Holliman, and Michael Anderson Jr.) investigate their father’s death.

The Sons of Katie Elder is an enjoyable, but not spectacular, western, notable as star John Wayne’s return to acting, just four months after undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous lung.

Highlighted by Lucien Ballard’s great widescreen photography and featuring an excellent supporting cast including Paul Fix, George Kennedy, and Rhys Williams, The Sons of Katie Elder breezes through its 122-minute running time.

Unfortunately, the film does have a rather glaring weakness. While John Wayne and Dean Martin are great as the oldest of the titular brothers, the younger Elder brothers are a different story. Earl Holliman barely registers and Michael Anderson Jr. is both one-note and annoying, a fact made all the more frustrating given that the cast also includes an under-utilized Dennis Hopper, who would have been much better in Anderson Jr.’s role. Further, the script does little to help the disparity, as Wayne’s and Martin’s are the only two brothers that are really fleshed out. Still, despite these shortcomings, the combined charisma of Wayne and Martin is enough to compensate.