Re-Watch: MacKenna’s Gold (1969)

When the ‘Re-Watch’ section was introduced, it provided the perfect platform to revisit some of the movies deemed as ‘Classics’ and see how relevant they are in our age.

A friend once mentioned that older movies are slow and laborious; which is true, as movies are a good reflection of the society they were made in. Today’s movies are fast and edgy, in accordance with our lifestyles, while olden cinema took the audience on an unhurried (yet measured) path, which synced with their routines.



Armed with this perspective and almost 20 years later, I watched the 1969 classic MacKenna’s Gold again. Starring the usually impeccable Gregory Peck as marshal MacKenna and the highly talented Omar Sharif as the outlaw Colorado, this Western is has the perfect ingredients for an adventure: lost Apache gold and, of course, ‘cowboys and Injuns’ (Indians, for those who can’t read accents!).

Director J. Lee Thompson starts the film off with a turkey buzzard flying high in the desert skyline while the titles roll. And they roll and the turkey flies. Then the turkey flies and the titles… well, you get the drift. That’s all you’re going to see for the first five whole minutes of the movie – no exaggeration!

When the buzzard finally lands, MacKenna is attacked by an old Apache, who has the map to the fabled Canyon d’Or – a land of pure gold! A gun fight pursues, MacKenna fatally wounds the old man, disregards the map as an old Indian legend and burns it.
Tailing the old Apache is the outlaw Colorado, his band of ‘free thinking’ Apaches and a captive daughter of the town judge, Inga Bergmann (played by Camilla Sparv). They soon capture MacKenna, who has a history with Colorado. But since he’s the only one who knows the way to the canyon, Colorado makes a deal to keep him alive and let Inga go free if MacKenna takes him to the gold.

 A pact is made between MacKenna and Colorado for the girl

From here, it’s all adventure as the motley crew moves from landmark to landmark on the map as more characters come on board, like the villainous Sgt. Tibbs (Telly Savalas).

Characters make or break a movie, but McKenna's Gold squanders the tremendous potential that its great cast of actors held: From the ‘hardened but upright’ marshal MacKenna to the ‘victim of circumstances’ outlaw Colorado, none of the characters have been fully explored in the movie. Yet, both actors manage to deliver great performances in the circumstances.

The randomness of new characters is particularly irksome. New ones are introduced after every 30 minutes, without developing the existing characters. And just as suddenly as they were introduced, they get bumped off for no apparent reason. Eli Wallach (Tuco, from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly) is the prime example of this. What a waste of a fine actor!

The rest of the story is filled up by a love triangle between the Apache woman Hesh-Ke (played by Julie Newmar), Inga and MacKenna; savage Apache attacks; and gold fever. The plot goes completely wayward, leaving only the mystery about the legend’s authenticity.

Love triangle between MacKenna, Inga and Hesh-Ki (not in picture)

Oh and one more thing: When the sun climbs higher in the sky, shadows grow shorter and not longer! The entire movie ending was based on that alone! Bah!

For the benefit of those who have not seen the movie (although I seriously doubt it), I won’t play spoilsport and reveal anything further. But should you watch it? Only if you answer ‘yes’ to the following questions:
A. For pure nostalgic value of the childhood fantasies about finding hidden treasure
B. You want to find out which is Gregory Peck’s worst movie
C. As a child, your parents forced you to shut your eyes during Julie Newmar’s nude waterhole scene
I would strongly suggest that you do not soil your perception of McKenna's Gold as a ‘classic’ and give this one a total miss. But I would say that it’s worth a watch for how much it makes you respect the rest of the movies of that age.

 Mysteriously, as the sun rises, the shadow lengthens

MacKenna’s Gold actually makes you realise how underappreciated most Westerns are. Working with the static and desolate deserts as backdrops requires great skill from a director to induce life into a shot. The climax in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly followed only the eyes of the three men in the gun duel. It was not only stylised direction, but was also done with a purpose to introduce dynamism. And the prime example of dynamism going horribly wrong is watching a buzzard fly around the screen for five whole minutes.

The movie also makes you value the amazing direction and photography skills required at the time, when modern tricks like CGI were nowhere to be found. This is one of the saving graces of MacKenna’s Gold. The movie is replete with trick shots and wide-angle frames. There are scenes where a camera was fixed to a horse to give the audience the horse’s perspective, and one where it was attached to Gregory Peck’s back as he is dragged around the desert carpet by a horse. And it was among the first few movies to boast of helicopter shots!

MacKenna’s Gold is full of trick photography and wide angles

If you can forget all the flaws, then the movie is good to watch as a lesson in the history of Westerns and inventive camera-work: The trick photography, camera angles and the fantastic imagery of the Canyon d’Or are all breath-taking.

P.S. – If you don't believe what you have just read and think I’m being too harsh, here’s the YouTube clip of the opening title credits with the smash hit Ol’ Turkey Buzzard. I dare you to watch it…

Ol’ Turkey Buzzard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRA3SrkqDSE



Rating: 4.5/10