A Western Movie Morph

The 1965 John Wayne Western The Sons of Katie Elder went through a bunch of changes before it was produced.

Originally, it was to be a historical film about Texas outlaws, the Marlows. John Sturges (The Magnificent Seven, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral) was the director and Alan Ladd was to star.

But over 12 years, Henry Hathaway became director, the script became less about history, and John Wayne became the lead.

And the title? Producers referred back to one of the alleged aliases of “Big Nose Kate” (Doc Holliday’s girlfriend).