Charro!

source: Charro!

Been viewing a lot of Elvis' movies of late, and I must say this is one of his best. Certainly heads over most of his "dumbell" musicals he made in the mid 60's. Somehow his first few films are much better than his later ones. CHARRO has in interesting story line and is done in a professional fashion. By that I mean real locations for the exteriors, which is a switch from the cardboard and rear projection effects of his earlier films. Elvis looks very good here, better than some of his previous efforts. He seemed a bid pudgy in a lot of his musicals, but in this one he's trim and looks great in a beard. He does seem to "sleep walk" thru some of his scenes, and there could have been more action, but it's certainly a better film than some of the video guide books make it. Compare this film with FRANKIE AND JOHNNY; KISSIN' COUSINS; PARADISE, HAWAIIAN STYLE; and especially horrible films like HARUM, SACARUM, and CHARRO looks pretty damn good. If you like Elivs, and why would you be reading this if you weren't then CHARRO is a must see. Too bad he didn't make more like this. His next two were pretty bad. Oh, and the actor who played Billy Roy was a "tad" over-the-top.

the fans know the story...Elvis wanted to make a real WEstern, no songs. he got it with CHARRO...which could have *used* 2-3! What an embarrassment. what went wrong? we know the Director/Writer tried to make a Western with Elvis Presley but was forced to do an Elvis Presley Western. hate to say it, friends...it was Elvis...not that he didn't act well...he didn't act, didn't emote. I'm a big fan but this time I felt sorry for his co-stars, esp. Ina Balin. She plays the Angie Dickinson part. maybe I gotta sit thru it again. I've seen VIVA LAS VEGAS, TICKLE ME, JAILHOUSE ROCK, KING CREOLE, BLUE HAWAII, FOLLOW THAT DREAM many times..this one, maybe 1.5 times. right now, I gotta say, it's awful. along with PARADISE, HAWAIIAN STYLE I can say they shoulda shelved it.

I got a chance to view this flick recently on a local cable channel,and to my surprise since this was an western in utmost sense of the word,I came to like it tremendously. Great acting in all parts,and it was the ONLY movie where Elvis Presley didn't get up on a stage surrounded by lots of girls and sing a lot of songs,but NO siree,here is "the king" finally in a role where he plays a tough guy who gets even with a bunch of rowdies who set him up for something he didn't do. He really does get even here and it shows! It may have been good but here Elvis is damn good and probably the best flick he ever did that was surpassed his career. Even though its is a western it is violent,I mean violent to the core but you gotta love it! This was my all-time Elvis flick and I really enjoyed it! Worth seeing. And if you thought that Elvis was more than a singing and prancing personality with a guitar who is surrounded by lots of girls and its just the music within the whole picture, then you are sadly mistaken!!!! "Charro"! gave Elvis that chance to improve on his acting abilities and here it shows it in grand detail. The ONLY song that he sings is in the beginning of the credits.

Charro! (1969) * 1/2 (out of 4) Elvis plays a gunfighting outlaw who decides to go straight but his old gang pulls him back in to steal a cannon, which is a priceless gem from the Mexican Revolution. I was really excited to see this title since it was said that it was unlike any other Elvis movie. That's certainly true as there's only one song, which is over the opening credits and even Elvis is made to look ugly with an ugly beard and dirty appearance. That, however, is as far as things go because while it was interesting to see a different type of film from Elvis this is still a pretty poor movie when looked at as a straight Western. We've seen this "one last time" thing in thousands of movies and it isn't any fresher here. We've also seen countless gunfights and the ones here come off very laughable and silly. Elvis gets his shot at doing a straight film but sadly he doesn't do too much with it. During the scenes where he's suppose to be a dangerous gunfighter, you can't help but laugh. The direction is also very poor and I usually don't mention the work of extras but they are incredibly bad here as well. Victor French is pretty good in his role but that's about all the film has to offer.

The only singing you will hear from Elvis Presley in Charro is the title song over the credits at the beginning. After that Elvis is all business in Charro!. He even wears a scraggly beard to emphasize this film won't be your usual Elvis funfest. I liked the idea that Elvis was expanding his range as an actor and maybe he might have done more westerns after this if Charro! had been good. Presley had done two previous westerns Love Me Tender and Flaming Star and he acquitted himself well in both. But this one was plain ridiculous. Victor French and his gang which includes his idiot brother Solomon Sturges steal a solid gold cannon from the museum in Chapultepec near Mexico City and then schlep the item to the border where French then proceeds to pin the crime on former gang member Elvis Presley. He even brands him across the neck with a running iron to simulate a bullet wound the leader allegedly got. Now that little journey is about 2/3 the length of Mexico. Never mind, Elvis captures Sturges and holds him in a jail and gets himself appointed deputy sheriff to make it all legal. Never mind that, French threatens to use the cannon to level the town because he was smart enough to bring powder and shot and has in James Sikking one of Stonewall Jackson's old artillery men. In that other film about a cannon, The Pride And The Passion the weapon was symbolically a phallic symbol and the illusion is drilled into our heads, especially with the ridiculous ending that Charro! has. Colonel Tom Parker whose instincts for film properties were pretty good and knew Elvis's type of films were going out of vogue in the late Sixties, tried to take him in a new direction cinematically with Charro!. It was just the wrong western to do.

One of Elvis' better films. Charro! Actually has a pretty good story and it doesn't have all the sexy girls dancing around Elvis as he sings. It's a fairly good spaghetti western film even if you are not crazy about Elvis. I will say that Charro! Is right up there with the movie Flaming Star (another western Elvis film). I cannot say that Charro! Is an outstanding film - it does not have the quality of The Magnificent Seven or The Good, The Bad and the Ugly but Charro! Is not unwatchable... it's not that bad of a movie. Elvis' acting in the movie Charro! Is quite good. He seemed to have his heart into making this film and it shows. Elvis only sings the opening credit song - there is no sing from Elvis otherwise in this movie. Side note: Elvis hated the beard. And the movie took less than two weeks to film. 9/10.

Elvis Presley plays an ex-gunman who has decided to reform. His decision is not well-received by his old gang. They beat him up, and enforce a grisly revenge - they "brand" him, to give him a scar identical to a man WANTED in two countries (Mexico and the USA). The "branding" is, possibly, the most gruesome scene you'll see in a Elvis movie. This film has a classic Western Plot: Elvis is the representation of the Law - Badman gone good, friend of the Sheriff, and rival for a woman (Ina Balin). Elvis has imprisoned the brother of the Badman (Solomon Sturges, son of Preston). Head Badman Victor French is big brother to the jailed one. Mr. French has a deadly cannon - he says, "Release my brother, or I will blow up your town!" This movie is too rough-around-the-edges to be extraordinary; and, it doesn't tread on much new ground. It does, however, create a world of its own; if you let yourself into this world, you will be entertained for the run of the film. In that way, it's like many westerns - and as good as several "classic" John Wayne films. Again, this is a rough-around-the-edges film - my vote for the roughest edges are: The background music is too hokey and repetitive; and, I found the Sheriff's wife's betrayal too abrupt to be believable - it is interesting in that it shows the relationship between Elvis and the Sheriff is stronger than the relationship between the Sheriff and his wife; although Elvis' first intent is to meet the Badman's demands by releasing the prisoner, he decides to honor the Sheriff's wishes. The title song is very good; appropriately, there are no additional songs. The performances are fine - I would taken a little more time creating this film; still, everything about it ranges from adequate to professional. It sounds like an apology (because Elvis Presley made so many awful films), but I enjoyed "Charro!" ******* Charro! (1969) Charles Marquis Warren ~ Elvis Presley, Ina Balin, Victor French

After 30 films of watching Presley sing to everyone including the guy he just beat up, can you imagine trying to take Presley serious in a western? Not for fans like me. This film could have been a hit for Clint Eastwood or John Wayne but Presley...no way. Presley sings only the title song and only a fan with more time on his hands than brain power could sit through the first 30 minutes. Presley was showing obvious signs of extreme boredom during this film and you can tell his movie contracts were close to being finished. The unshaven, dirty western appearance of Presley was not tolerated by fans in 1969 and fans have not changed, So even from the biggest fan, Charro does not come with a recommendation.

The movie Charro tried to save Elvis' acting career,unfortunately it was a case of too little too late. the movie had a lot of promise, a great musical film score,good supporting cast,and even a tolerable script, but you can see the interest has gone from Elvis'acting. Had he made this in the early '60's I am sure it would have made for a better film . It is obvious they based a lot of this on the successful Clint Eastwood "spaghetti" westerns but it lacks the sparkle of Sergio Leone direction.Compare Elvis' acting in this to Flaming Star and the difference is sadly noticable.