BLOOD BROTHERS: THE TRUE STORY THAT INSPIRED THE JOHN WAYNE WESTERN "THE SONS OF KATIE ELDER"

1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries Podcast

Jon Hagadorn

Society & Culture, History

4.4 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 18 February 2016

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

"Blood Brothers: The True Story That Inspired the John Wayne Movie "The Sons of Katie Elder". On the evening of January 19th, 1889, two wagons and a buggy slowly crossed Dry Creek, two miles east of Graham, Texas. The lead wagon held six prisoners, four of them being the Marlow Brothers, chained together in pairs by manacles attached to their ankles, and a guard named Phlete Martin. The second wagon carried Deputy U.S.Marshall Edward Johnson, three guards, plus spare weapons and ammunition, while four more guards followed behind, two in a buggy, and two on horseback. Suddenly, from the darkness, came s shout saying "Hold Up!", and guard Phlete Martin shouted "Here they are, take all six of the sons of _itches". A wild gunfight followed that left five men dead, an act that was only a part of a long series of tragic events that included misinformation, wrongful persecution, mob attacks, lawsuits, killing, a famous Texas Ranger, a Colorado lawman, and the U,S. Supreme Court. The Marlow Brothers were innocent. A lot of people wanted them dead. Their story inspired the 1965 western "The Sons of Katie Elder", starring John Wayne, which rendered a version in total much different than the real story, which was much more dramatic. Credits: Jim Pettingill "The Marlow Brothers-Their Texas Ordeal and Their Lives in Colorado" The Fighting Marlows-The Men Who Wouldn't be Lynched, Glenn Shirley A Story of Frontier Life of Early Days, William Rathmell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	At Eon Next, we believe life's better when you know you can get your hands on discounts across a range of home energy solutions, like boilers and solar panels, so you can treat your home to a bit of future proofing. We think that makes energy a little
0:14.5	bit better. And that's why we're always working towards helping you get more out of
0:19.2	your energy. So visit eon next.com today. Discounts available to EonNex customers and 31st of December
0:25.2	2023. Tease and C's eligibility criteria and geographical restrictions apply.
0:29.5	This episode is brought to you by ITVX.
0:33.0	Whatever is you're looking for from hard-hitting drama to side-splitting comedy, ITVX marks the spot.
0:41.0	There's so much to discover like the Total Comedy Genius Show Changing
0:45.6	End starring little old me Alan Carr or the groundbreaking new relationship
0:50.9	show My mom your dad hosted by Devina McCall stream free with ITX the
0:57.3	UK's freshest streaming service.
1:00.3	Welcome to another episode from one thousand one heroes, legends, histories, and mysteries.
1:06.0	This one titled The Marlow Brothers is from our history series and tells the bigger than fiction true story of the real Marlow brothers, five Texas brothers born
1:16.0	and raised in the heart of the American frontier who ended up fighting to survive the slow moving
1:21.0	wheels and sometimes corrupt system of frontier justice.
1:25.2	If you're a fan of old Westerns, you'll remember the 1965 movie The Sons of Katie
1:30.4	Elder directed by Henry Hathaway, starring John Wayne and co-starring Dean Martin and
1:35.8	George Kennedy, a movie which contained all the elements of a Good Western, but which
1:40.7	strayed far from the original story, which was titled Life of the Marlows and picked up by William H. Wright in a Los Angeles California bookstore originally in 1953.
1:52.0	The story told of a frontier doctor and his wife who raised a family of nine
1:57.0	while constantly moving through South Central United States
2:00.0	and even across the Rio Grande to Old Mexico, then northward along the Chisholm Trail to Indian Territory, to Colorado, and to Texas, seeking a place to finally settle.
2:11.0	The Marlow brothers grew up behind a Winchester, fighting off Indians and learning how to survive, and the family story became a documentary of frontier life in the late 1800s. Thinking that it would make the basis of a good Western,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jon Hagadorn, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Jon Hagadorn and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.