Talbot Jennings is reputed to have been known for his strong narrative skills. On the other hand, somebody is said to have said westerns are really only about the scenery and the gun-play. Otherwise this film is completely without meaning or purpose. What happened to the two hundred horses ? Looked more like five hundred to me, all bought on credit from a funny looking guy who dropped in from Idaho and then disappeared, just like his horses. Difficult to think of four more unlikely looking brothers, ages ranging from 16 to 60, give or take a year or so. Dean Martin ? John Wayne had the weirdest walk. Four worthless sons of a paragon mother, who sold a blind horse. This film passes the time in a totally aimless sort of way, if you've nothing better to do. Don't bother, unless you really can't think of anything else, which happened to me. I won't be watching it again.

Released in 1965 and directed by Henry Hathaway, "The Sons of Katie Elder" is a Western starring John Wayne, Dean Martin, Earl Holliman and Michael Anderson Jr. as four brothers who reunite at their Southwest home town after the death of their mother. They try to solve the mysteries of who shot their dad in the back six months earlier and how her their mother was swindled. James Gregory plays Morgan Hastings while George Kennedy appears as a hired heavy. A young Dennis Hopper is also on hand while Martha Hyer appears as the requisite babe, but she's relatively underused, unfortunately.The main problem with this movie is the difference in ages between the oldest son, played by John Wayne, and the youngest, who's only 18. But let's assume Katie had her eldest son when she was about 16, which was common at the time, and birthed the youngest son when she was in her mid-40s. It's not out of the realm of plausibility and has been known to happen, particularly back then when women had more kids than in modern times. True, Wayne was too old for the role at 58 years-old, but without him there would be no movie.Beyond that, I found this a satisfying Duke Western of the same general quality as some of his other Westerns of the time, like "The Comancheros" (1961), "El Dorado" (1966), "The War Wagon" (1967), "Rio Lobo" (1970), "Chisum" (1970) and "The Train Robbers" (1973). While it may not be on the level of "The Horse Soldiers" (1959), "The Alamo" (1960), "North to Alaska" (1960), "True Grit" (1969), "The Cowboys" (1972) and "Rooster Cogburn" (1975), it's better than 1956's overrated "The Searchers" IMHO. It's a slow-build drama with entertaining highlights, a quality score (for the era) and a compelling final act. The focus on the four reunited brothers is a unique approach for a Wayne Western, or any Western.The film runs 122 minutes and was mostly shot in the Durango, Mexico, area with studio work in Mexico City and the opening train shots done in Durango, Colorado.GRADE: B

. . . that John Wayne and Dean Martin's characters in THE SONS OF KATIE ELDER are stone-cold serial murderers; career criminals who've terrorized the people of Texas, Louisiana, and who knows how many more states. Martin's "Tom" would be on the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted List," had the Feds been around in the 1800s. Tom's made a career out of impoverishing normal people with various scams, and slaying any small businessmen who object to his turning their honest establishments into dens of thieves. Martin's movie big brother "John" is far worse, getting two Texas sheriff's killed through his reckless, loose-cannon ways in this brief plot alone. John fatally guns down several more deputies with his own two hands. John's guiding principle seems to be, "When you're in Texas, the thing to do is totally ignore or defy police orders, because all the cops there are gutless wimps." John closes KATIE by setting off a terroristic blast destroying half of Clearwater, TX. Quite a few of "Il Duce's" features climax in this fashion, which is why Wayne's later criticism of Clint Eastwood's ending for HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER is so hypocritical. Clint should have set "Il Duce" straight in that Mr. Eastwood's Modus Operandi is just to retrace Big John's footprints.

This movie is a decent one from the Duke. Dean Martin is his usual charismatic, charming, con man self. Earl Holliman plays one of the four brothers and it actually surprised me when he got killed. Katie Elder is never seen but a verbal portrait is painted over the length of the film of a tough, no nonsense, honest woman. Wayne plays the oldest and toughest of the brothers. A known gunfighter, not necessarily a hired gun though. The scenes when the three oldest gang up on the youngest, Bud, where they are going to see their mothers wish that at least one brother amounts to something admirable, are pretty funny. The frame up the bad guy pulls is kinda smart. Dennis Hopper does his usual fine acting as the cowardly son and of course he gets killed in the end. George Kennedy plays a gunslinger for hire and does a good job.