Karen Johnson Hilarious! This is a movie ostensibly about the search for a hidden canyon of gold. How the lure of riches this canyon will provide and how this lure affects various characters is what drives the plot.What you get is a gorgeous 5 ft 11 inches Julie Newmar as a jilted, angry, Apache renegade warrior trying to do in Greg Peck and anyone else who shows an interest in him. Also, Ted Cassidy, all 6 ft 9 inches of him, plays yet another Apache warrior with evil on his brain. Though they do NOT say it these two must have been from the tall tribe of Apaches. Omar Sharif plays the head villain Colorado with an accent of undetermined origin. When he starts chewing the scenery in the 1st act, you know this movie will have some unintended laughs.How so many stars got involved in this movie is a bigger mystery than the one posed in the story and the main reason I gave it a 4 rating.The difference between this movie and "Bride of the Monster" or "Plan 9 from Outer Space" is the number of A-list people involved. Don't tell me this is an unintended comedy. Have you listened to the "Old Turkey Buzzard" theme song? The middle word in the title song best describes the entire movie.

Fred Schaefer I first saw MACKENNA'S GOLD on TV when I was a kid and loved it; to me it was the perfect mix of the western and adventure genres. And I have always been a sucker for a treasure hunt story. It didn't matter that the film was considered to be a big overblown failure; a ridiculous attempt at a western epic, the kind of film that was going out of favor with moviegoers when it was released in 1969.I will gladly concede to the critics that everything they say is wrong with MACKENNA'S GOLD is valid: the script meanders; most of the acting is over the top; interesting characters wander into the action and then are promptly disposed of for no good reason; the whole thing runs too long.None of that matters, because MACKENNA'S GOLD is just plain fun; even after all these years. It was made by the same duo that gave us THE GUNS OF NAVARONE: producer Carl Foreman and director J. Lee Thompson, and if they did not recapture the greatness of that earlier classic, it was not for want of trying.Like NAVARONE, MACKENNA'S GOLD is a about a mission, but this time the mission is to find a mythical valley of gold hidden away in the badlands of the Southwest and guarded by fearsome Apaches. The plot concerns a motley group of various and sundry individuals who brave the dangers and each other to find a fortune. Gregory Peck (who was in NAVARONE) is Marshall Sam MacKenna, the only man who knows where to find the valley; he's being forced by the outlaw Colorado, played by Omar Sharif, to lead him and his gang there. Along the way, they pick up and discard a collection of greedy fools all driven to forsake their homes by the lure of gold.This group includes Telly Savalas as a treacherous Army Sergeant; Eli Wallach as a store keeper; Raymond Massey as a preacher; Lee J. Cobb as a newspaper editor; Edward G. Robinson as a blind old man who saw the gold when he was young; Anthony Quayle (another veteran of NAVARONE) as a traveling English gentleman; Keenan Wynn as a bandit. Add to them, Julie Newmar and Ted Cassidy as Apaches and Camilla Sparv as a hostage taken captive by Colorado. Everyone, except for Peck and Sparv (who naturally fall in love along the way) are driven by the dream of getting rich instantly, and before it's over, even those two will succumb to the itch for gold.Besides the cast, what makes MACKENNA'S GOLD so memorable? The great location scenes, some of them shot in the legendary Monument Valley. The sequence at the deep water desert spring, where villains Newmar and Sharif go skinny dipping while Peck, ever the hero, dives in with his clothes on. The laughable miscasting of Arabs and Italians as Mexicans and American Indians (The great Eduardo Ciannelli as Prairie Dog); the equally great Victor Jory's narration. Ted Cassidy and his awesome voice. Telly Savalas in one of his best bad guys roles after THE DIRTY DOZEN. Jose Feliciano's rendition of the unforgettable theme song, Old Turkey Buzzard (with music by Quincy Jones). Did I mention Julie Newmar swims in the nude? And then tries to drown Sparv because she has a thing for Peck? The way Peck plays Mackenna like it's still 1958 and he's in THE BIG COUNTRY and working for William Wyler, while the rest of the cast hams it up. Even little things like the sound effects of rifle fire echoing off the canyon walls stick in the mind.If the ambition of MACKENNA'S GOLD was to be a serious commentary on human greed, then it fell short. But in its own way, it went somewhere better: into the hearts of legions of fans who don't care that it's not THE WILD BUNCH, TRUE GRIT or ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, three classics westerns that came out the same year that MACKENNA'S GOLD was released. And if Quentin Tarantino is looking for a follow up to DJANGO UNCHAINED, I'd suggest he dust off the screenplay for MAKENNA'S GOLD. It has a lot of possibilities.

Neil Welch Marshall Mackenna (Gregory Peck) becomes the recipient of the location of a legendary hidden valley of gold. This makes him of considerable interest to assorted individuals who believe the legend to be true (Mackenna doesn't), chief among whom is outlaw Colorado (Omar Sharif).This 1969 western is a curious mix of extremes - when it's good, it is very good, and when it's bad it is truly awful. The workmanlike story is perfectly serviceable (if a little overburdened with sidetracks), but the script is abominable. The extensive cast is peppered with high profile names, but most of them have little to do while the obscure and uninspired Camilla Sparv is on screen through the latter two thirds of the film. The scenery is eye-catching and spectacular, but there are big chunks which are heavily (and obviously) studio-bound. The action is mostly pretty good, but the special effects are lamentable (poor rear projection, standard ratio shots unsqueezed, out of focus model work etc.).Peck is his usual upright self, and Sharif has fun chewing the scenery. Most of the support cast is OK, and Julie (Catwoman) Newmar as a moody Apache woman with her own agenda, puts in sterling service with a nekkid dip in a mountain pool.

Bob_Zerunkel This guy who got famous for standing around watching crazy people and occasionally commenting on humanity plays the lead, a man who stands around watching crazy people and occasionally commenting on humanity.So in the movie, this guy is ambushed by an Italian guy who was a leader of an Indian tribe. In the end the Italian guy dies and the other Italian Indians get mad.Then the guy who gets famous is captured by this Greek guy who heads the local Mexican gang which is made up of white guys playing Mexicans and/or Indians.Lurch just stands there, but Catwoman does her sexy killer routine.So far, after 40 years, that's as far as I've gotten. Peck is the slowest moving action hero known to man. Van Cleef, by the way, still gets that award in the villain and overall categories. Lurch is as good as needed. Catwoman is truly strange. The godawful music must have been written in 5 minutes (by one of the best in the business) and also recorded in 5 minutes (again, by one of the best.)...... Parts I didn't see because they happened after Minute 5 which is the point where my aneurysm always starts throbbing:The producers felt that having just one Greek in a Mexican gang was not enough so they import another guy later on. But two Greek guys is not enough to make an authentic Mexican gang.They bring in stars such as Edward G., but they had to poke his eyes out.From what I hear, this is sort of a messy road movie. You could remove the Mexican bandits or the townspeople or Telly and the army, and the movie would be the same. It is one of my lifelong goals to sit through this pile of manure. I failed again today. I plead unpreparedness. All my towels are white and with this aneurysm throbbing, I felt that I was looking at a potentially devastating laundry bill.This movie gets one star because I like Lurch