The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

The four sons reunite for the first time in years, returned to the town of Clearwater to pay their respects. The Eldest (Wayne) is the most feared. Upset at the changes he finds in the town, he digs for answers, but they aren't forthcoming and not everyone is happy with the questioning, particularly one shady ranch owner who hires a trigger-happy gunman to protect him.
It's an enjoyable couple of hours for fans of the Duke or Martin, but it's really nothing special as far as genre pictures go. The mystery is a nice touch but runs out of steam pretty quickly, and because the majority of the action scenes are held back until the last half hour the pacing may even leave some non-fans bored. In short, if you're not already itching to see it because of the cast, then you can probably live without it just fine.

3 brotherly punches out of 5

True Grit (1969)

John Wayne plays an eye-patch wearing U.S. Marshal with a tough façade and a love of the bottle, or more precisely what's in the bottle. There's an attempt to give him a dual nature, but Wayne's abundant charisma is impossible to hide and even when he's being mean he's likeable.
Similarly, Kim Darby has two sides to her but it too is surface deep.
It's a typical American tale that moves from A to B to C with no great surprises, but it's a great film, nonetheless, full of humour and charm.
The 2010 Coen Bros version is equally as good.

4 corks popped out of 5