Back in September 1964, John Wayne was set to re-team with Rio Bravo director Howard Hawks and co-star Dean Martin in The Sons of Katie Elder, which marks its 59th anniversary this week.

The Western saw four brothers, with Duke playing the eldest, return home to their mother’s funeral before avenging their father’s murder and winning back the family ranch.

However, the shoot was delayed until January 1965 so that the Hollywood cowboy star could have a cancerous lung and two ribs…