The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) review

Brothers Tom (Dean Martin), Matt (Earl Holliman), Bud (Michael Anderson Jr.) and John Elder (John Wayne) make their way to their hometown of Clearwater, Texas to attend the burial of their saintly mother Katie and look into how she lost her property ... and it has something to do the nefarious activities of a certain Morgan Hastings (James Gregory) and his crew.  Hathaway's not what you'd consider the most "engaging" director when the movie has the Elders basically playing "detective" and asking a lot of questions as to what happened with Ma and Pa (it's clear there's been foul play), but he's back in his "comfort zone" much later on once Sheriff Billy Wilson (Paul Fix) is murdered, the lads are falsely accused of the crime and placed in shackles, a bridge blows up and Wayne and Martin have to shoot their way to safety.  Dennis Hopper has a nice little role as Hastings' skittish son (who gets accidentally killed by his old man) and this is noteworthy for the Duke, as it marks his return to the screen after receiving treatment for lung cancer ... although apparently he swapped out the cigarettes for stogies.  It's a fiendish habit, I swear....