Mackenna's Gold
| Mackenna's Gold | |
|---|---|
 film poster by Howard Terpning | |
| Directed by | J. Lee Thompson |
| Produced by | Carl Foreman Dimitri Tiomkin |
| Written by | Heck Allen novel |
| Screenplay by | Carl Foreman |
| Based on | Mackenna's Gold 1963 |
| Narrated by | Victor Jory |
| Starring | Gregory Peck Lee J. Cobb Raymond Massey Burgess Meredith Anthony Quayle Edward G. Robinson Eli Wallach |
| Music by | Quincy Jones |
| Cinematography | Joseph MacDonald |
| Editing by | Bill Lenny |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 10 May 1969 |
| Running time | 128 mins. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $7,000,000 |
| Box office | $3.1 million (US/ Canada rentals)[1] |
Mackenna's Gold is a 1969 western film directed by J. Lee Thompson, starring Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif, Telly Savalas, Camilla Sparv, and Julie Newmar. It was photographed in Super Panavision 70 by Joseph MacDonald, with original music by Quincy Jones.
The film is based on the novel of the same name by Heck Allen using the penname Will Henry, telling the story of how the lure of gold corrupts a diverse group of people. The novel was loosely based on the legend of the Lost Adams Diggings, crediting the Frank Dobie account of the legend (Apache Gold and Yaqui Silver) in the Author's Note.
Contents[show] |
Plot[edit]
An old legend tells of a fortune in gold hidden in the "Cañon del Oro," guarded by the Apache spirits. Along with several others, a man named Adams found it when he was a young man, only to have the Indians capture and blind him, leaving him stranded in the desert after killing his companions. Years later, Marshal MacKenna (Gregory Peck) wounds an old Indian shaman named Prairie Dog (Eduardo Ciannelli) who tried to bushwhack him; Prairie Dog subsequently dies, despite MacKenna's attending to him. MacKenna thereby comes into possession of a map that supposedly shows the way to the treasure. Though skeptical, he memorizes the directions before burning the map.
Meanwhile, Mexican outlaw John Colorado (Omar Sharif) and his gang had been tracking Prairie Dog to get the map, all the while being chased by the U.S. Cavalry. He takes shelter in the house of the old judge of the town of Hadleyburg, stealing horses, mules and food for his journey. He kills the judge and kidnaps his daughter, Inga Bergmann (Camilla Sparv), whom Colorado mistakes for the judge's wife, as a hostage in case the cavalry catches up with him.
Colorado finds MacKenna digging a grave for Prairie Dog and when he learns that MacKenna has destroyed the map, he takes him captive and forces him to lead them to the gold. Colorado also loads Prairie Dog's body onto a horse to bring along with them to Colorado's old hideout, which he has began to use for shelter again. The gang is made up of outlaws, including Colorado's right-hand man, Sanchez (Keenan Wynn) and several Indians, amongst them a hulking Apache warrior named Hachita (Ted Cassidy). Colorado and his companions have a previous history with MacKenna after being driven out of the state by the Marshal years before, while a fiery Apache woman, Hesh-ke (Julie Newmar) had been MacKenna's one-time love.
The next morning, Ben Baker (Eli Wallach), a gambler and old friend of Colorado's from the town of Hadleyburg, arrives with a posse of townsmen who have become "infected" by "gold fever." Those amongst "Ben's friends" are two Englishmen (Anthony Quayle and J. Robert Porter), that came along after overhearing Baker's conversation to the others about the gold; an editor (Lee J. Cobb); a storekeeper (Burgess Meredith); a preacher (Raymond Massey) that has convinced himself that God has called upon him to build a tabernacle in His honor with his share of the gold; and the blind Old Adams (Edward G. Robinson) himself. Colorado persuades Old Adams to relate the story of how he discovered the canyon, only to be left alone in the desert by the Apache. This only further raises tensions and hopes in the party. MacKenna tries to allow the townsmen the opportunity to leave under the cavalry's escort, led by the cunning Sergeant Tibbs (Telly Savalas). MacKenna insists that the townsmen will get themselves killed searching for the gold, but Colorado steps in and convinces them to stay after "confessing" that their town's leader, the Judge, was murdered by accident, and revealing that MacKenna shot Prairie Dog.
The party bypasses the encamped cavalry by having two of Baker's men drop off a drunken squaw and make it appear that they are being pursued by Apaches. As MacKenna's group plans to make a final rest stop at a water hole, the cavalry ambushes them. All of the gold hunters, except for MacKenna, Colorado, Inga, Hesh-Ke, and Hachita (and perhaps a few others whose fates are left ambiguous) are killed by nesting cavalry soldiers that received information about their whereabouts from the squaw, or later on by marauding Apaches trying to prevent the exposure of the gold from outsiders. During this attack, the body of Prairie Dog is lost as well, although it turns up later being led for proper burial by another Apache, whom Colorado quickly shoots away. As the remaining gold hunters near the canyon, MacKenna and Inga begin to fall in love, and a jealous Hesh-Ke tries to drown Inga at the water hole, only to be stopped by MacKenna.
Meanwhile, Sergeant Tibbs periodically sends messengers back to his commanding officer, supposedly to keep him informed. Eventually, the patrol is whittled down to just Tibbs and two men. Inga is sent to Tibbs to divert their attention. Rather than escort Inga to safety, Tibbs kills his troopers. He returns her to MacKenna and the outlaws, wanting a share of the gold. After another shoot-out with the Apaches and crossing dangerous river rapids, they reach "Shaking Rock", a location on the map, to wait for the sun to rise on the specified day. The shadow of the pinnacle eventually points to the hidden entrance to the canyon. MacKenna, who had been skeptical, now begins to believe in the legend.
The gold hunters find a canyon with a large vein of pure gold. As all race to the canyon floor, Hesh-ke tries to kill Inga, but loses the horse-back struggle and falls to her death. While the rest are celebrating their great fortune, MacKenna escapes with Inga to an Indian dwelling high up the canyon wall, realizing that Colorado does not intend to leave any of the party alive. Hachita uses a hatchet to kill Tibbs. Colorado tries to shoot Hachita but his guns had been emptied by Hachita the previous night. Hachita claims that the Apache spirits came to him a dream and enlisted him to kill everyone, so that they cannot poach their gold. As Hachita prepares to kill Colorado with the hatchet, Colorado manages to get him first with a spare knife in his pocket. He proceeds to pursue MacKenna and Inga up the cliff to the dwellings, where a three-way fight follows. Apaches tipped off by Hachita now attack, and the ensuing shooting and shouting leads to a rockfall. The Apaches and survivors flee just before the walls of the canyon fall, burying the gold. This is followed by the crash of "Shaking Rock."
Stunned from what has just happened, Colorado warns MacKenna to not chase him. He leaves in disgust, believing the gold has been buried beyond reach. Before MacKenna and Inga ride off together, a saddlebag on the horse MacKenna took in the mad scramble is shown to be full of the large gold nuggets.
Cast[edit]
- Gregory Peck as Marshal Sam MacKenna
- Omar Sharif as John Colorado
- Telly Savalas as Sergeant Tibbs
- Camilla Sparv as Inga Bergmann
- Keenan Wynn as Sanchez
- Julie Newmar as Hesh-Ke
- Ted Cassidy as Hachita
- Lee J. Cobb as The Editor
- Raymond Massey as The Preacher
- Burgess Meredith as The Storekeeper
- Anthony Quayle as Older Englishman
- Edward G. Robinson as Old Adams
- Eli Wallach as Ben Baker
- Eduardo Ciannelli as Prairie Dog
- Dick Peabody as Avila
- Rudy Diaz as Besh
- Robert Phillips as Monkey
- Shelley Morrison as The Pima Squaw
- J. Robert Porter as Young Englishman
- John Garfield, Jr. as Adams' Boy
- Pepe Callahan as Laguna
- Madeleine Taylor Holmes as Old Apache Woman
- Duke Hobbie as Lieutenant
- Victor Jory as the Narrator
Of the main cast, only Omar Sharif, Camilla Sparv, Julie Newmar, and Eli Wallach are still alive.
Production notes[edit]
Title[edit]
Although Allen's novel title and hero shared the same spelling of the name "Mackenna," and the film's title according to the studio is "Mackenna's Gold," Peck's character is listed in publicity materials as "MacKenna."
Development[edit]
Screenwriter Carl Foreman and composer Dimitri Tiomkin joined up to coproduce the film. The screenplay by Foreman was based on the novel of the same name by Heck Alen. The novel released on 1963 was based on the legend of Lost Adams Diggings. According to the legend, teamster named Adams and some prospectors in Arizona were approached by a Mexican Indian named Gotch Ear, who offered to show them a canyon filled with gold. However in the novel as well as the film, the gang abducts a Marshall named Mackenna to find a way to the Canyon. The film also adapts elements from other novels based on the same legend, like Apache Gold and Yaqui Silver (1939) by Frank Dobie.
Thompson's first choice for the role of MacKenna was Clint Eastwood. However he was offered the lead role in Hang 'Em High (1968) and subsequently Gregory Peck replaced him. Omar Sharif was in the originally decided cast following the critical and commercial success of Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Doctor Zhivago (1965). Julie Newmar played Hesh-Ke, a former love interest of Mackenna. The film also features a stable of Hollywood veterans like Eli Wallach, Raymond Massey, Edward G. Robinson, Burgess Meredith, Lee J. Cobb, Keenan Wynn and others appearing in lively supporting roles.
Original production concept[edit]
Originally planned to be shown in single lens Cinerama with reserved seat roadshow engagements, Columbia pulled the plug on that idea, and the film was drastically cut down from nearly three hours (plus an intermission) to just over two hours.
Film stock[edit]
Although most of the film was photographed on 65mm stock, a handful of scenes were filmed in 35mm anamorphic.
Locations and props[edit]
Zuni Mountains were the locations[2] of digging according to the legend, but the film was shot mainly at Glen Canyon of Utah and Canyon de Chelly[3] of Arizona, specifically Spider Rock. In the climax scenes, as the sun rises, the shadow of "Shaking Rock"[4] grows longer. In reality, shadows become shorter as the sun rises higher.
The "Old Turkey Buzzard" theme song sequence was shot at Monument Valley, on the Arizona-Utah border. The bird is actually a black vulture rather than a turkey vulture (buzzard).
Soundtrack[edit]
The original score and songs of the film were composed by Quincy Jones. The opening song, "Old Turkey Buzzard", is a recurring background theme. It was sung by José Feliciano and was composed by Quincy Jones with lyrics by Freddie Douglas.
The theme song was used on the Late Show with David Letterman in 2007 as a random running gag. A 13-second clip would be played after Letterman threw his blue index cards through the "glass" window behind his desk, and was often combined with a video clip of the turkey buzzard soaring in the sky during the movie's opening sequence. Letterman would gradually show increased mock irritation with the clip in discussions with bandleader Paul Shaffer, while at the same time calling it "exciting, moving, inspirational" and "stirring, haunting, beautiful". The running gag ultimately resulted in Feliciano making a guest appearance on the Late Show on October 16, 2007, singing a longer version of the song (with the buzzard video clip superimposed over him).
| Track listing | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 1. | "Overture" | 4:36 | ||||||||
| 2. | "Old Turkey Buzzard" | 2:46 | ||||||||
| 3. | "Canon Del Oro" | 5:13 | ||||||||
| 4. | "Waterhole Trek" | 2:37 | ||||||||
| 5. | "Reve Parisien" | 2:40 | ||||||||
| 6. | "Old Turkey Buzzard (Instrumental version)" | 2:30 | ||||||||
| 7. | "Soul Full Of Gold" | 2:40 | ||||||||
| 8. | "Main Title" | 3:00 | ||||||||
| 9. | "Apache Camp" | 4:36 | ||||||||
| 10. | "Massacre Montage" | 2:42 | ||||||||
| 11. | "Old Turkey Buzzard (Spanish version)" | 1:30 | ||||||||
| 12. | "Finale" | 2:47 | ||||||||
Total length: | 37:37 | |||||||||
Reception[edit]
The film had a large success in the Soviet Union.[5][6] It was firstly shown at the VIII Moscow International Film Festival in 1973, following by a cinematic premiere in 1974.[6] The film was viewed by 63 million people and now stands fourth in the all-time rating of a foreign film distribution in the Soviet Union.[7]
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