Mackenna's Gold is a 1969 western film directed by J. Lee Thompson, starring Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif, Camilla Sparv and Julie Newmar. It tells the story of how the lure of gold corrupts a diverse group of people.
The film was photographed in Super Panavision 70 by Joseph MacDonald, with original music by Quincy Jones. The story is very loosely based around the legend of the Lost Adams Diggings.
Plot
An old legend talks about a fortune in gold hidden in the 'Canyon del Oro', guarded by the Apache gods. A man named Adams found it, only to have the Indians capture and blind him and kill all his companions. Years later, Marshal MacKenna kills an old Indian shaman who tried to bushwhack him and comes into possession of a map that supposedly shows the way to the treasure. Though skeptical, he memorizes the directions before burning the map.
Meanwhile, notorious Mexican outlaw Colorado and his gang had been tracking the old man for two weeks to get the map, all while being chased by the U.S. army. He takes shelter in the house of the old judge of the town of Hadleyburg, stealing horses, mules and food for his journey. He kills the judge and kidnaps his daughter, Inga Bergmann, as a hostage in case the cavalry catches up with him.
He finds MacKenna digging a grave for the Indian chief. When he finds that Mackenna has destroyed the map, he takes him captive and forces him to lead them to the gold (Colorado knew that in addition to being a marshal, MacKenna was a good card player with a good memory). Colorado and one of his companions have a past history with MacKenna. Colorado was driven out of the state by Mackenna, while a fiery Indian woman, Hesh-ke, had been his girl. Mackenna later had to arrest her brother, who was hanged, and it is unknown if she still holds a grudge. Colorado's main henchman is a hulking Indian warrior, Hachita, as well as a few other Apaches and outlaws.
On their trek, they are joined by a posse of townsmen who become infected by gold fever, among them a newspaper editor, a storekeeper, a preacher and old Adams himself. They are trailed by the cavalry, under the leadership of Sergeant Tibbs. All, except for MacKenna, Colorado, Inga, Hesh-ke, and Hachita, plus perhaps a few others whose fates are unknown, are killed in an ambush by the cavalry or by other Apaches who are trying to protect the gold from outsiders. Tibbs periodically sends messengers back to his commanding officer, supposedly to keep him informed. Eventually, the patrol is whittled down to just two men. At that point, Tibbs kills them and joins the outlaws for a "share" of the gold.
After more adventures they finally reach the place specified in the map, where a tall rock tower, 'Shaking Rock', stands. As the sun rises on the specified day, the shadow of the pinnacle grows longer (in violation of basic optics) until it points to the hidden entrance to the canyon. Seeing this, MacKenna, who had been skeptical until then, begins to believe in the legend.
When they enter the canyon, they find that the sides are interlaced with rich veins of pure gold. The jealous Hesh-ke tries to kill Inga and falls to her death. Then, while the rest are celebrating their great fortune, MacKenna escapes with Inga to an Indian dwelling high up the canyon wall. Meanwhile, Colorado and Hachita kill Tibbs. Then the Indian turns on Colorado; he is one of the treasure's guardians and has summoned a band of Apaches. However, Colorado manages to kill him and pursues MacKenna. The Apaches attack but all of the shooting has shaken loose a balanced rock. It falls with a tremendous boom. After a moment's pause large cracks appear in the walls and the crust heaves up as the sound waves trigger a massive collapse. As the survivors flee the walls of the canyon fall burying the gold beneath massive tons of rubble, followed by the crash of 'Shaking Rock'. In the rising dust the image of old Prairie Dog, the Indian shaman who MacKenna killed at the beginning of the movie, appears over the scene. Obviously Prairie Dog is relishing the action of the old Apache Gods who were guarding the treasure.
Colorado leaves in disgust, believing the gold has been buried beyond reach. Mackenna and Inga ride off together. In the final scene, a saddlebag on the horse Mackenna took in the mad scramble is shown to be full of the gold Tibbs had been loading into it.
Cast
Theme song
The opening song, "Old Turkey Buzzard", is a recurring background theme. It was sung by José Feliciano and was composed by Quincy Jones with lyrics by Freddie Douglas.
The theme was used on the Late Show with David Letterman in 2007 as a random running gag. A 13-second clip would be played after Letterman threw his blue index cards through the "glass" window behind his desk, and was often combined with a video clip of the turkey buzzard soaring in the sky during the movie's opening sequence. Letterman would gradually show increased mock irritation with the clip in discussions with bandleader Paul Shaffer, while at the same time calling it "exciting, moving, inspirational" and "stirring, haunting, beautiful". The running gag ultimately resulted in Feliciano making a guest appearance on the Late Show on October 16, 2007, singing a longer version of the song (with the buzzard video clip superimposed over him).
The bird shown flying during the song is not a Turkey Vulture or Turkey Buzzard but an American Black Vulture. The two species of birds have overlapping ranges but are not even in the same genus.
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