Chisum

"No matter where people go, the law follows, and no matter where people go, they find God has been there first." Thus utters The Duke in the title role of this typical product of John Wayne's waning years. He utters this after a considerable body count has accumulated in the course of recounting some of the events of the Lincoln County War in New Mexico in the 1870s. God was passive as all that corruption and killing, including some who were unarmed, was going on. Mysterious ways... The Chisum depicted here is the Wayne character that developed in the decade after Rio Bravo put him back in the saddle after excursions into non-Westerns: tough but fair; ready to do what it takes to make things right, i.e. be extremely violent; amiable but something of a loner (too many personal connections might compromise one at some point). Wayne wears the same togs he wore in all his Westerns from this period: vest, red or blue shirt, bandanna, high-crowned Stetson. He was already enshrined as the personification of the Old West, or the Old West by way of Hollywood. Next stop, Madame Tussaud's. The screenplay actually has some details here and there that are supported by the history of the events, but this is mostly a warped and inflated version of the story. For instance, in this telling, Billy the Kid rides into town, big as you please, shoots Sheriff Brady in front of Chisum and co., then rides out without anyone so much as reaching for their six-shooter. In the actual incident, Billy the Kid (aka Henry McCarty) and his accomplices ambushed Sheriff Brady, a much wiser tactic. McCarty was wounded in the thigh when he broke cover to retrieve something (a warrant or a rifle) from Brady's body. The height of the ludicrous is reached, fittingly, at the film's climax, the shootout at McSween's store. A slew of bad guys are slain, even though they are barely visible (there were perhaps a half dozen casualties on both sides in the actual confrontation) and the whole shebang is wrapped up when The Duke and his boys come with guns blazing amid a herd of stampeding cattle. The Duke then dukes it out with the Murphy character (Forrest Tucker); they both fall from a balcony and Murphy is...impaled on steer horns. Wow! The real Chisum was a couple of days ride away on his ranch when that action was taking place in Lincoln. In fact, Chisum himself never fired a shot in the Lincoln County War. Murphy was ill with cancer by time the conflict in Lincoln County reached a fever pitch; he died a few months after the Battle of Lincoln. This is simply an excuse to make another Wayne Western, and dress it up as Something That Really Happened. The efficient director, Andrew McLaglen, assembled a passel of familiar faces — Forrest Tucker, Bruce Cabot, Ben Johnson, Christopher George (he had been a bad guy in El Dorado), Richard Jaeckel, all of whom could be depended on to give unsurprising performances. Wayne's house cinematographer (he did 21 films for Wayne's Batjac production company), William Clothier, keeps things in focus and the contrasts in the bright sunlight of the Durango, Mexico and other Southwestern locations well-balanced. The whole thing is a product of pros in the process of "keeping on", as the lyrics of the film's song say, without any urge to do much more. Filming was done in the late fall, which must have made for a nice working vacation for all involved.

(6.5/100) One of the few films the Duke made that was based on true events. Its nowhere near his top films, but the film itself is solid and has enough memorable moments to separate itself from Wayne's later westerns. Although having his character's name in the title, the movie actually plays out as an ensemble giving equal time to Pat Garrett and William Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid. However, Corbett and Deuel were mediocre and unable to pull their own weight in scenes with Wayne. On the flip side, Christopher George played a good, villainous gun-for-hire while Ben Johnson gave one of his best supporting performances that I've seen out of him. Has a pleasant amount of humor with a good final shoot out and a catchy, yet borderline annoying theme song. The film is carried down with a strikingly large cast for a sub two hour movie, but has a number of memorable moments.

Inevitably, a western cinematic legend like John Wayne had to make a movie about the relationship between Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett, and "Chisum" is the Duke's version of the infamous Lincoln County War. Wayne plays the New Mexico patriarch who had a vested interest in these tumultuous events. This Technicolor oater is memorable for the knuckle-busting fistfight finale between Wayne and villainous Forrest Tucker who plays his chief adversary Lawrence Murphy. Murphy and Chisum spar with one another throughout this 111-minute cattle empire sagebrusher. Caught in the middle of this fracas is a sympathetic British cattleman, John Tunstall, who gave Billy the Kid a job on his ranch. Murphy's dastardly henchmen bushwhack Tunstall and Billy launches a one man crusade against him. Andrew V. McLaglen, who had directed Wayne earlier in "McLintock!," "The Hellfighters," "The Undefeated," and "Cahill U.S. Marshal," helmed this tolerable western that qualifies as a potboiler. Aside from the fisticuffs at the end, Wayne only has one good confrontation scene at a river with a gang of rustlers. Geoffrey Duel, Pete Duel's younger brother, plays Billy, and he wears his six-gun in a holster on his right hip rather than his left like Paul Newman did in Arthur Penn's "The Left-Handed Gun." Several actors who appeared as regulars in Wayne's movies showed up, principally Ben Johnson as his foreman, Bruce Cabot as a slimy lawman, Glenn Corbett as Pat Garrett, along with John Agar, Christopher George, Hank Worden, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, and Edward Faulkner. Co-producer Andrew J. Fenady penned the historically inaccurate script, and William H. Clothier photographed this western with his characteristic aplomb. "Chisum" ranks as one of Wayne's lesser efforts. The action is pretty straightforward. "Hang'em High" composer Dominic Frontiere provided a good soundtrack, and the film has an authentic western flavor to it.

Few of the movies made late in John Wayne's were particularly outstanding (except for THE SHOOTIST). Instead, the stories often were interchangeable with many of his prior films and the supporting cast seem unable to keep up with Wayne. Well, this one isn't any better, though he has a little bit better support (such as Forrest Tucker and Ben Johnson). The plot and dialog is just too familiar and I HATE movies that feature real-life bandits (in this case Billy the Kid) because the way they are portrayed is so fictionalized and stupid. Billy (just like films that portray the James brothers and other real-life low-lifes), is noble and decent down deep and you see how he goes wrong,....yeah right! What a lot of hooey. I want to see a film where one of these guys comes along and shoots people in the back, commits a rape and then shoots all the witnesses. The real-life bad guys of the old west OFTEN did this, but I guess it doesn't make for a good movie. Instead, we get another clichéd portrayal that just bogs this movie down--without it, it would have gotten a score of at least 8.

Typical product of Wayne's Batjac productions from this period. Routine characters and casting with the sort performance Wayne would seem able to phone in by this time. Better were the roles where Wayne was required to stretch himself a bit, such as "The Cowboys". Don't get me wrong, there are those viewers who just love Wayne in this sort of production and role, but for this viewer, they were well down the scale of Wayne's better films. One could tune into a season of "Gunsmoke" from this period and find many episodes that worked better than this film. But there you had a Western saga truly firing on all cylinders. Many familiar faces from Wayne's production company and TV from the period.

Some people are saying John Wayne didn't make any good movies in his later career between TRUE GRIT (1969) and THE SHOOTIST (1976). IMO one of the better movies in this period is THE COWBOYS (1972) another CHISUM (1970). If you know the true story of Billy the Kid with all the details and facts please forget it when you watch CHISUM. This more fictional story is about the Cattle Baron John Chisum (John Wayne) and only a little bit about Billy the Kid. The movie starts with a great song and some pictures of cowboys and cattle's. During the song you hear Duke's Words about the Cowboy Life. Then after the opening credit you see John Wayne sitting on his horse and looking absorbed in thoughts on to a green and pictographic valley. What do you need more as a Duke Fan? I don't know what John Wayne was doing in his free time but maybe this was one of his things. After this climatic beginning the audience get what it's deserved. John Wayne rides through beautiful places, drinks, shoots and punches at the bad Boys. In a way his role reminds me on "McLintock!" but now more serious. Not so many typical action scenes with him as in other movies but well done. Duke has some great lines to speak, funny, cynical and sometimes philosophical about the end of the frontier. Next to him there is a mumbling Ben Johnson as funny Side Kick. Of course there are all the other actors as supporting cast you know from John Wayne Movies in it. Interesting about it this time John Wayne isn't the only one with action scenes and good lines. Next to him there are several young actors which have some screen time. Glenn Corbett as Pat Garret, Geoffrey Duel as Billy "the Kid" Bonney, Andrew Prime as Alex McSween, two gorgeous ladies Linda Day Gregor as his wife and Pamela McMyler as Chisums Nephew Sallie. These young actors are all doing good performances but I wished the Role of Billy the Kid would have played a more popular Actor round the beginning of the 1970's. Christopher George has a memorable role as scary Bounty Hunter Dan Nodeen. He looks like one of the unshaved characters of a Spaghetti Western. Most of the action scenes didn't include John Wayne but these young actors. There are more action scenes with Duke at the second half of CHISUM. One fight scene of the Duke makes me smile. It's obliviously a Stuntman who looks quite different as John Wayne. I was surprised that the violent shootouts didn't look like any fair duel as Western Buffs knows from former flicks. As I stated before the song in the opening credit is very good and there are several climatic music themes during the movie. The music was pretty fine and fit to the Movie. The action scenes are well done and the photography of the western world shines bright and cupful. In fact it's again a good example of the artful work of the great photographer William H. Clothier. He is one of the reasons why most of Duke's Movies looks so good. I was curious about CHISUM because it's one the last great commercial successes of John Wayne. The formula seems to be easy. A climatic western with John Wayne but he is more like a clever punching grandfather who takes care of the young. IMO this formula works best in THE COWBOYS (1972) but IMO CHISUM (1970) comes close.

As much as I like this movie what its storyline does, especially as it gets further along, is simply to re-tell the story of Billy `The Kid' Bonney. It supposed to take place after Chisum has made that famous cattle-drive and shows the start of the Lincoln County war. Towards the end, the battle between Chisum and Murphy (the war) is completely set aside and we end up seeing all the same things happen to Billy that we've already seen in all the other movies about him, i.e., his relationship with Tunstall, meeting Pat Garrett and becoming friends (at first, then their falling out, well, kinda), him getting revenge on everybody, and the ol' shootout at McSween's store. The movie alters history in some interesting ways, though, like instead of the U.S. Army helping the sheriff (a fictitious character that replaces Brady) during the McSween's store shootout, Chisum becomes the cavalry and he and Pat Garrett help Billy out. The movie ends rather abruptly, never letting us know what happens to Chisum, Billy or the Lincoln County war.

This is a disservice and insult to history, the facts, the viewer not to mention William Bonney, who is wrongfully demonized and turned into a cartoon character cliche simpleton outlaw which he never was. Whoever wrote this piece of crap didn't spend a second researching the much more interesting and shocking true story and showed a total disregard for the truth. The truth is so trampled I don't know where to begin correcting all the outrageous lies portrayed in this laughably horrible excuse for a Western. Neither Garrett nor Chisum were in the Regulators nor with the posse of lawmen who killed Morton and Baker reportedly when they tried to escape-nor was Billy the only one firing on those two killers. Tunstall wasn't an old man and wasn't killed alone in a carriage by two deputies accusing him of stealing cattle. Murphy wasn't there at the Battle of Lincoln; he was dying of cancer. Jimmy Dolan (nit even portrayed in this stupid film), Murphy's psycho killer young partner, was the one hounding Tunstall and his associates. The Santa Fe Ring (not ever mentioned or implicated), of which Murphy and Dolan were a part, were the evil men directing the war on Tunstall and his business enterprise, and they included the officials appointed by the White House to run the Territory of New Mexico. Sheriff Brady wasn't killed by the Kid on horseback but by unknown members of the Regulators hiding in ambush as Brady and Deputy Hindman walked down Lincoln's one and only street. Brady - holding the Winchester '73 rifle he'd stoken from the Kid - had blood on his hands as did deputy Hindmann, also killed in that ambush (Hindman's killing ignored by the film). Brady sealed his fate by ordering the posse that killed Tunstall (a fact not shown in the film) and other abuses of power, including the illegal torturing of one of the Kid's friends, respected rancher George Coe, the event that directly sparked Brady's execution. Top Territory officials were later removed from office by President Hayes, for their heinous roles in the so called Lincoln County War (of which Tunstall's murder was a small part), including too federal prosecutor Tom Catron and Gov. Axtell, both members of the Santa Fe Ring -- an inconvenient truth totally ignored by this piece of crap movie. And on and on... Sadly- if truth be told - though there have been many movies about "The Kid," not one is worth a damn. Perhaps it's too dangerous even now to tell the truth about those days, when the bad guys were the men in office.

This was pretty good overall. Here's what I liked: Wayne's very good as usual here. It's nice to see him finally drop the love interest that was so inappropriate in most of the movies he made after the age of 55. Some good supporting cast performances, especially Ben Johnson and Forrest Tucker. Pretty good story, based pretty solidly on real events of the Lincoln County range war in New Mexico. Tunstall's mentoring of Billy the Kid was very similar to "The Left Handed Gun", the 1958 film where Paul Newman played Billy. I wonder if this is based in fact? Christoper George isn't bad here, reprising his henchman role from "El Dorado". Here's what kept it from being better: A critical character in this movie is Billy the Kid. He is horribly miscast here by an actor with zero charisma. Because he has no personality, it's a little hard to understand his contradictory behavior in the movie. This almost leads to serious plausibility issues. The whole thing is a little too much by the numbers. Sometimes feels like a big budget episode of Bonanza.

This excellent film concerns the real-life land baron living in New Mexico and dealing with the Lincoln County Wars of 1878 . Wayne as the mighty cattle baron Chisum is magnificent . It's one of very few John Wayne Westerns based on historical deeds . The movie is plenty of action , thrills , shootouts , adventures and being pretty entertaining . Casting is frankly awesome with usual Andrew McLagen , John Ford's actors (Wayne , Ben Johnson , John Agar and Hank Worden) . Furthermore , habitual Ford cameraman William H. Clothier (Cheyenne Autumm , Man who shot Liberty Valance , Horse soldiers) giving a colorful cinematography , as well as evocative musical score by Dominic Frontiere , including enjoyable leitmotif . The motion picture was well directed by Andrew W. McLagen , John Ford's known disciple , and he called the film one of his favorites . The real events were the following ones : This powerful cattle king of New Mexico , John Simpson Chisum (1824-84) living in New Mexico governed by governor Lew Wallace (Ben Hur's author) , he started with a few head of stray longhorns and became one of the biggest individual cattle owners in North America, with between 60.000 and 100.000 head . In 1854 he entered the cattle business , selling beef to Indian reservations, making friendship with Chief White Buffalo (Abraham Sofaer's last film) . In 1867 he moved to New Mexico and established a large spread at South Spring in Old Lincoln County where he prospered greatly . He became involved in the Lincoln County war of 1878-79 in which he opposed the Murphy (Forrest Tucker) and Dolan (Edward Faulkner) faction and backed cattleman Tunstall (Patrick Knowles) , whose gunfighters-cowboys included the handsome Billy the Kid (Geoffrey Deuel's film debut). It is said that Chisum was instrumental in making Billy the Kid an outlaw killer , he used his considerable influence in getting Pat Garret (Glenn Corbett) elected Sheriff of Lincoln County in 1880 and it was Garrett who hunted down and killed the young outlaw . Chisum's cattle brand was the Long Rail , a long , straight mark extending from shoulder to flank . Chisum , who never married, died at Eureka Springs , Arkansas , leaving an state of some 500.000 dollars .