Wander into the Wild West in this gripping gunslinging action drama. Mackenna’s Gold comes from the stable of the Writer/Producer and director duo of Carl Foreman and J Lee Thompson. The two had earlier teamed up and given us the classic ’The Guns of Navarone’.
A very intriguing plot, wide and colorful ensemble of stars and a haunting musical score are the hallmarks of this movie. The cinematography has a touch of ruggedness in true tradition of a western. The vastness of the barren desertland is captured very beautifully by the cameraman and comes across in its full bloom in the wide 70 MM format.
Perhaps if the set decorator and the art director had been a bit more meticulous and had worked on the climax set a little bit more, the end effects of the earthquake might have been created more realistically on the screen. Anyone could tell the artificial breaking up of the set in the climax scene during the earthquake at the Grand Canyon.
Apart from the above, the rest of the elements are perfectly in place in the movie. Quincy Jones has composed a reverberating theme score, which comes with the song ’Old Turkey Buzzard’ during the title sequence. It is one my favorites along with the themes of Ben Hur and the Indiana Jones series.
In the acting department, Omar Sharif seems to have an edge over the towering Gregory Peck in their confrontation scenes. The former has a subtle touch of comic and brutality in his character.
There are a lot of well-known character actors in smaller roles in the film. One scene has them all face to face. Edward G Robinson is brilliant as ’Old Adams’ who narrates his encounter with the Indians at the canyon of gold.
If you are a lover of westerns, you are bound to love Mackenna’s Gold. Though not in the league of John Wayne’s classics, it is still worth an enjoyable watch.