OLD TURKEY BUZZARD ~ MACKENNA’S GOLD THEME

Jose Feliciano sings Old Turkey Buzzard, the theme from MacKenna’s Gold Mackenna’s Gold is a 1969 American western film directed by J. Lee Thompson, starring an ensemble cast featuring Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif, Telly Savalas, Ted Cassidy, Camilla Sparv and Julie Newmar in lead roles. It was photographed in Super Panavision 70 and Technicolor by Joseph MacDonald, with original music by Quincy Jones. Mackenna’s Gold is based on the novel of the same name by Heck Allen using the pen name Will Henry, telling the story of how the lure of gold corrupts a diverse group of people. The novel was loosely based on the legend of the Lost Adams Diggings, crediting the Frank Dobie account of the legend (Apache Gold and Yaqui Silver) in the author’s note. An old legend tells of a fortune in gold hidden in the “Cañon del Oro“, later called “The Lost Adams“, guarded by the Apache spirits. A man named Adams is said to have found it when he was a young man, only to have the Indians capture and blind him after killing his companions. Years later, Marshal MacKenna (Gregory Peck), a one-time gold prospector himself, wounds an old Indian shaman named Prairie Dog (Eduardo Ciannelli) who tried to ambush him. Prairie Dog subsequently dies despite MacKenna’s attending to him. MacKenna thereby comes into possession of a map that supposedly shows the way to the treasure. Though skeptical, he memorizes the directions before burning the map. Cast Gregory Peck as Marshal Sam MacKenna Omar Sharif as John Colorado Telly Savalas as Sergeant Tibbs Camilla Sparv as Inga Bergemann Keenan Wynn as Sanchez Julie Newmar as Hesh-Ke Ted Cassidy as Hachita Lee J. Cobb as The Editor Raymond Massey as The Preacher Burgess Meredith as The Storekeeper Anthony Quayle as Older Englishman Edward G. Robinson as Old Adams Eli Wallach as Ben Baker