Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		2.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.0

The Sons of Katie Elder Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 12, 2020

In John Wayne's legendary screen cowboy career, The Sons of Katie Elder ranks as one of the lesser efforts. Directed by Western veteran Henry Hathaway, the film struggles through a lackluster script that offers no real challenge to the excellent assembled cast and never pushes the audience, either, moving through stale plot points and inadequate suspense, never mind the contrived core concepts that at once elevate the title character to sainthood yet see the same townsfolk take advantage of her because the story demands they do. The movie eventually pushes through to some decently executed shootouts but on the way it's a laborious journey through flat storytelling and uninspired technical expression.

Beloved Clearwater, Texas resident Katie Elder has passed away. Her funeral is widely attended, including by her four sons: Tom (Dean Martin), Matt (Earl Holliman), Bud (Michael Anderson, Jr.), and John (John Wayne), the latter of whom watches from a distance. They boys are not so well liked around town. They neglected their mother, pursuing their desires, but they've returned to pay their respects and ensure her proper burial and settle her estate. It quickly comes to light that a local gun dealer, Morgan Hastings (James Gregory), claims to own the widow's property, won from her late husband Bass in a blackjack game. Morgan hires Curley (George Kennedy), a gunfighter, to protect him from the brothers -- John in particular -- should they discover the truth behind Bass' death and the widow Elder's impoverishment. The situation quickly deteriorates with the Elder boys caught in the middle of a violent feud that will leave permanent scars on all sides.

The Sons of Katie Elder plays better as laid-back, mind-off movie consumption, enjoying Wayne's screen presence, the relatively strong camaraderie between him and fellow cast, and the generally agreeably photography (not realized to its fullest potential on Blu-ray; see below) rather than a picture demanding the audience's full attention and, more, significant emotional investment. Much of the problem is the film attempting to craft a larger -- and longer -- story where one does not necessarily exist. Between the lack of mystery (at least on the audience's side of the screen), purposeless character moments, overextended scenes, and so on, the film languishes through a borderline dreadful middle stretch as it unravels crucial plot points which come as no surprise to the audience, leaving it to the cast to sell various developments as novel, even when the audience is already familiar with the story's truths.

The cast does, at least, work the material with enough emotional heft to make the audience care about the characters. Wayne, making his return to film after battling cancer, doesn't miss a beat in physical presence or verbal cadence. He's not particularly believable as the eldest brother in terms of how he physically appears next to the others, looking much older and suggesting the boys were spread out a great deal, not all birthed within a decade or so timeframe. But there's good essential camaraderie, even if development is too thin to bring them all together fully and firmly. The film gets some of its best work from the villains played by George Kennedy and James Gregory. Elmer Bernstein's score builds a soul for an otherwise soulless movie, accentuating core narrative structure and building excitement even where little otherwise exists. The end shootout is entertaining, but Wayne has worked better.

The Sons of Katie Elder Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Sons of Katie Elder's 1080p transfer disappoints. Colors are dull. There's not much life apparent in the image, even considering the countless scenes depicting earthen terrain, beige clothes, wooden construction elements, and so on. The movie is very bland to begin with, but the picture could have certainly benefitted from more finely defined contrast, allowing the natural tones more depth, blue skies improved punch, and natural greens more realism. As it is, all of this content can't find anything close to the potential inherent to the source. Blacks are light but flesh tones aren't too far off. It's a dim, disappointing color spectrum that fails to capture the Texas majesty, which is only further lost to a flat, lifeless texture. Unfortunately, the picture lacks the filmic credentials one would have expected to find. Grain often appears frozen in place, or removed almost entirely, and the picture is the victim of unpleasant filtering. The lack of depth is harmful but the absence of finer detail is a major drawback. While the resolution allows crisper and more accurate representations of period attire, woods, dirt terrain, and faces, the picture falls well short of the possibilities. The picture is further hindered by a steady, but not particularly debilitating, series of pops and speckles. Can't win 'em all; Paramount has been on a roll of late with the titles released alongside Katie Elder (Uncommon Valor and Barefoot in the Park for example), but what should have been a crown jewel is instead a dud.

The Sons of Katie Elder Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Sons of Katie Elder features a Dolby TrueHD 2.0 mono soundtrack. As expected of an older sound design and limited channel engagement, it's a fairly flat track that commendably executes the basics but offers little more. Dialogue is the primary sound mover, and it presents with good foundational clarity and center imaging. Music lingers towards the center, too, not often enjoying that rich, robust, wide spacing. It's not particularly aggressive, either, and clarity only goes so far as the source, which is midlevel at best. Light atmospheric and support effects -- chatter at a bar, footfalls on wooden floors, horses trotting across the terrain -- help set a scene but lack lifelike detail and vigor. Gunfire presents with adequate depth but listeners will never feel drawn into the action.

The Sons of Katie Elder Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of The Sons of Katie Elder contains no supplemental content. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

The Sons of Katie Elder Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Hathaway would make amends for the lackluster The Sons of Katie Elder several years later when he would again team with John Wayne on the legendary True Grit, one of Wayne's finest films and a stalwart staple of the Western genre. Even John Wayne can't save this one, though, at best a tepid film with an unimaginative plot and weak execution. Paramount's Blu-ray is no better, delivering bland video and uninteresting audio. No extras are included, either. As stale as the movie may be, it deserved better Blu-ray treatment. For Western and Wayne collectors only.