The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

Featured Audience Ratings

• moon r

  
  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… More
  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 a slow start.

• First L

  
  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… More
  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 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.

• Red L

  
  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… More
  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 mom's wish that they amount to something.

• Dean M

  
  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.

• xGary X

  
  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.

• Dillon L

  
  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.

• Deb S

  
  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… More
  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 them 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.

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