Mackenna's Gold (1969)

An old legend about a fortune in gold in a hidden canyon guarded by Apache spirits stirs gold fever in a group of people including a Mexican outlaw (Omar Sharif) and a sheriff (Gregory Peck) who has a map memorized in his head after he burned the original map he took from a dying Apache (Eduardo Ciannelli). Based on the novel by Heck Allen and adapted for the screen by Carl Foreman (HIGH NOON) and directed by J. Lee Thompson (GUNS OF NAVARONE). There isn't much love for this film, not when it was first released and not now but I'm quite fond of it myself despite its shortcomings. Shot in Super Panavision 70 millimeter, it was intended to be a prestigious roadshow production (including overture and intermission) running around three hours. But it ended up cut by almost an hour and released in standard 35 millimeter. A flop in the U.S., it did terrific business overseas including Russia and India, where it out grossed JAWS and STAR WARS. The cinematography by Joseph MacDonald (SAND PEBBLES) of the Utah and Oregon locations is quite impressive despite some appalling rear projection work. The rousing score is by Quincy Jones. The huge cast includes Edward G. Robinson, Eli Wallach, Telly Savalas, Keenan Wynn, Raymond Massey, Burgess Meredith, Julie Newmar, Lee J. Cobb, Camilla Sparv and Anthony Quayle.