The four sons of Katie Elder

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Movie
German title The four sons of Katie Elder
Original title The Sons of Katie Elder
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1965
length 122 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Henry Hathaway
script William H. Wright
Allan Weiss
Harry Essex
production Hal B. Wallis
music Elmer Bernstein
camera Lucien Ballard
cut Warren Low
occupation

Katie Elder's Four Sons is an American western from 1965. It was based on a story by Talbot Jennings .

action

Katie Elder lived in Clearwater, Texas . In 1898 the old lady, who was very popular in the village, died. The Sons of Katie Elder - John, the eldest and a gunslinger; Tom, a professional player; Matt, an unsuccessful hardware dealer ; and the youngest, Bud - have been away from home in years and come to the funeral, but Clearwater residents are quite hostile to them for not caring very much for their mother. Because of his bad reputation, John only secretly attends his mother's funeral, and later learns from the local sheriff that his father, Bass Elder, had been killed six months earlier and the elder farm has become the property of Morgan Hastings, one of them rich entrepreneur who slowly intends to incorporate the city. Hastings, in turn, is concerned that John in particular will challenge his claim to the farm and has therefore hired the hit man Curley, who arrived in Clearwater at the same time as John.

John Elder meets with his brothers after the funeral. The very next day they set out to work through their parents 'story and come across numerous unanswered questions, most of which question the legality of Hastings' acquisition of their ranch. Hastings tries to discredit the Elder Brothers in town, and they also have the problem that Bud, as the youngest and thus the last hopeful of the family, wants to drop out of school to emulate John, which John strictly rejects. Instead, the brothers try to do their mother credit after her death by sending Bud back to college.

Hastings, however, eventually goes so far that the Elders are even accused of murder by personally ambushing the city's sheriff. The brothers are arrested and the townspeople are ready to be lynched. To prevent a riot, the deputy sheriff Ben Latta organized a transport of the prisoners to Laredo , but Hastings arranged for the brothers to be shot from behind on the way. The plan fails, but Matt Elder is killed, Bud is injured, and the deputy, who finally realizes the scope of Hastings' criminal nature, is also shot by him.

John and Tom drive Bud back into town to get medical treatment and to settle accounts with Hastings. They go into a forge and Tom kidnaps Hastings' son Dave. He is shot in the back by Morgan Hastings, but manages to get Dave into the forge. Fearing treason, Morgan Hastings shoots his own son, who, as he dies, confesses to John Elder and the judge present that Hastings had insidiously murdered Bass Elder in order to usurp the ranch. John Elder arranges medical attention for the seriously injured Tom, then pursues Morgan Hastings and brings him down.

background

Katie Elder's name is based on Kate "Big Nose" Elder , who became famous in western folklore as the companion of Doc Holliday . The character of Katie Elder in the film has little to do with the life of Big Nose Kate, who only died in 1940 at the age of 90.

Hathaway shot the film in Mexico . The climatic conditions particularly affected his leading actor John Wayne , who was already suffering from cancer , and he often had problems keeping himself in the saddle of his horse. The cast of the film is top-class. Especially the cast of Dean Martin alongside Wayne is reminiscent of one of the great classics of the genre: Rio Bravo . In 2005, John Singleton directed a very free remake of the film called Four Brothers . Mark Wahlberg played the main role .

It is noteworthy that the actors of Katie Elder's four sons were born between 1907 and 1943, that is, they have an age difference of 36 years.

Reviews

“Elaborately and powerfully staged westerns. While the main characters are drawn differently, the assessment of vigilante justice and the law of the thumb fluctuates indecisively between glorification and condemnation. "

- Lexicon of international film

"Old master Henry Hathaway staged an effective western with a good cast."

- Prism Online

“A skilful standard Western who knows how to compensate for the hard basic rules of the genre with many sympathetic traits. Definitely recommended for friends of this type of film from 16. "

- Protestant film observer (review No. 15/1966)

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Four Sons of Katie Elder. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. ↑ The four sons of Katie Elder on prisma.de