I'm partial to 60s John Wayne films, which tend to be beautifully shot, pay due reference to the star's iconic status, but generally try to be something different (his 70s films could be a bit tired at times).This one has great colour, a terrific title and concept, plus a great John Wayne entrance - his mother's funeral, he stands in the distance amongst some boulders. Right on, Duke!
It's good to see Dean Martin as his brother and George Kennedy as a hired gun (all hired guns look as though they will wimp out against the Duke and so does Kennedy but he's an enjoyable presence).
I enjoyed this, but it had a surprising amount of flaws - it goes on a bit (almost two hours), saves most of its action until the end, the youngest elder (Mike Anderson Jnr in a role meant for Tommy Kirk before he was sacked for being on drugs) is a little cliched "why can't I be a gunfighter", the fourth brother (Earl Holliman) isn't given any character so when he dies you feel nothing, there isn't quite enough story to sustain the running time, the female lead is negligible.
But it is such a terrific idea with the added bonus that all the sons are guilty about neglecting mum, and Wayne is in fine form. Dennis Hopper strikes sparks, too, as a coward.
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