MacKenna's Gold

Director: J. Lee Thompson
Writers: Heck Allen, Carl Foreman 
Stars:  Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif, Telly Savalas
Runtime: 128 minutes

PLOT: The gangster Colorado kidnaps Marshal MacKenna. He believes that McKenna has seen a map which leads to a rich vein of gold in the mountains and forces him to show him the way. But they're not the only ones who're after the gold; soon they meet a group of "honorable" citizens and the cavalry crosses their way too - and that is even before they enter Indian Territory.

REVIEW: Oscar winning lead actor Gregory Peck, from the screen adaptation of Harper Lee's classic "To Kill a Mockingbird", appears in a western classic as Marshal MacKenna in an adventurous journey during the Gold Rush.

The film remains a forgotten western to this day, overshadowed by the likes of High Noon (1952), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) and Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), despite the interesting visuals by director J. Lee Thompson, not much seen at that time. The aerial views of the vast canyons and the POVs of the action sequences set it apart from the scores of western films of that time. The inclusion of the narrator helps in keeping track of the plot through sequences which may seem too rushed and the Grammy nominated score is worthy of its recognition as it seems to harmoniously blend the whole experience to one.

The film may forever remain an unsung western classic, but for viewers appreciating venturous film making techniques in an Old West setting despite a rather horizontal and clichéd storyline, it is a good one to watch.

Reviewed by Mohaiminul Islam