Chisum, rey de Oeste

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 .

Although a few notches below classic Wayne westerns like "Stagecoach" and "Rio Bravo," this film was a masterful return to form for Wayne. This was the first film Wayne did after gaining weight and donning an eye-patch for his work on "True Grit." In this film, Wayne plays an honest, straight talking man of action, not too different from the type character on which he built his career. The supporting characters are very well drawn and the villains resourceful enough to keep the action moving. In a way, this character, though based on an actual rancher, is similar to the character of Dunson in the superior "Red River." Both characters gambled on a long cattle drive from Texas and although "Red River" is about the drive itself, "Chisum" is about what happens to a similar character twenty years after the drive succeeds. At the time the film was released, at least one critic commented on how improbable it was for John Wayne, at the climax of the movie, to have done that much riding, fighting and falling all within the same sequence. As far as I am concerned, that sequence helped prepare me for later action sequences of 1980's action stars like Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger and action directors like James Cameron and John Woo. The film is no "Red River" but it is fine western nonetheless.

The odd thing about this western is that it has the notorious murderer, Billy the Kid, as a good-guy vigilante. This break in history adds some questionable moments in the film. Also the movie relies heavily on The Kid character, more so than does the character of John Chisum(Wayne). This aside, it is still a great film, as John Wayne plays the traditional role of Justice vs. Tyranny. Forrest plays the role of "the villain you love to hate" completely, but does not over do it. One of the most memorable lines of the show is the confrontation of the "Duke" and the town boss. The town boss had relied on a puppet sheriff, as well as a weak governor to promote his control of the town. When Chisum confronts the boss, he mentions,(something to this effect) [When you try to take over my land], "...I won't call the Rangers, I won't call the Governor, I won't send a letter to the President, I come after you myself!" Traditional line of the Duke, but never so passionately delivered. This scene alone makes the movie worthwhile. It also has the traditional western action, but don't be surprised if you question yourself at the end, "Was I actually rooting for Billy the Kid?

For those of us who love him, there's something about a John Wayne movie that kind of makes it immune to criticism. You can fault his no-frills acting style, the pious patriotism, the oft-uneven supporting cast, the predictable fight scenes, But even a lesser Wayne film still has John Wayne, and for his fans, that's nine-tenths of the battle in determining whether it's a good film.

"Chisum" is not going to convert non-Duke fans. On its own merits it's a serviceable western with good action sequences, some incredible vistas of the Mexican countryside (supposed to be Lincoln County, New Mexico) by cinematographer William H. Clothier, and an interesting if not always coherent storyline that places Wayne's title character, John Chisum, as more of a remote icon than active player in the proceedings, especially in its second half. Much of the film focuses on young William Bonney (Geoffrey Deuel), a former gunman better known as Billy the Kid now trying to live "clean and forward, all the way" with the help of a fatherly rancher named Tunstall (Patric Knowles, Will Scarlet to Errol Flynn's Robin Hood some 32 years before).

Geoffrey Deuel didn't go on to much of a career after this, and it's not hard seeing why. In "Chisum" his shallow characterization exudes no visible menace even after Bonney, well-provoked though not well-reasoned, turns against the law. I'm not sure how much of it was Deuel's fault. The script works against him, setting Bonney up as a decent, humble guy to the point of boringness, and director Andrew V. McLaglen only adds to the emasculation by showcasing Deuel's shy smile and his character's rote romancing of Chisum's niece. One scene freezes on Bonney holding a gun in one hand and a Bible in the other. I don't think Marlon Brando could have acted his way out of Deuel's bind.

Other actors come off better, especially Forrest Tucker as the chief heavy, Lawrence Murphy, who showcases an affable menace that makes him a good foil to Wayne's straightforward Chisum; Glenn Corbett, who plays drifting gambler Pat Garrett, hard but decent, who joins Chisum and befriends young Bonney until he turns into The Kid again; and Christopher George, whose Dan Nodeen is a nasty bounty hunter obsessed with killing the Kid. One nice thing about this film is seeing these actors, all best known for TV series work, stretching out beyond their popular identities of the period. George makes the strongest impression as the cold-eyed Nodeen.

"You just had to kill him," asks a sheriff when Nodeen brings in the body of a wanted man.

"No, less trouble that way," Nodeen replies.

Ben Johnson and Richard Jaeckel also have their moments as companions to Chisum and Murphy respectively, as does Andrew Prine as a lawyer who switches sides halfway through. There are many other performances, too, most good and all detracting somewhat from Wayne at the center, though Chisum does assert himself from time to time.

"Chisum" may be too busy a film that way, with too rambling a focus even when its on Wayne. There's one scene where Chisum looks after an old Commanche chief which should have been cut, while others need trims. But director McLaglen keeps a firm rein on things most of the time, and the story does move. His mentor was John Ford, but while McLaglen lacked Ford's nuance and depth, he was better at delivering action sequences, both in terms of frequency and originality. "Chisum" gives you plenty of action, none better than the final battle at the Lincoln general store between Billy and the baddies with Chisum riding to the rescue.

The first time I saw "Chisum," I was stuck at a sleepaway camp and hating life in general. Something about seeing John Wayne on a horse made the world seem right again, even if the film was kind of hokey with that silly title music and all. Years later, I still relish this film, in some ways more than I did then, despite its flaws. "Chisum" is not a showcase for Wayne's greatness, like "The Searchers" or "Rio Bravo," but it's a nice film to have around for those of us who don't need him justifying our love every time out.

Cattle ranchers John Chisum (John Wayne) and Henry Tunstall (an almost unrecognizable Patric Knowles) face off against villainous Lawrence Murphy (Forrest Tucker). Murphy has the corrupt law on his side, but that's okay because Duke has Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid! Fairly by-the-numbers western very loosely based on the real life Lincoln County War. A decent supporting cast, headed by Ben Johnson playing himself. There's also Bruce Cabot, Richard Jaeckal, Christopher George and soon-to-be wife Lynda Day, Andrew Prine, Glenn Corbett, and Geoffrey Deuel as Billy the Kid. All in all, not a bad bunch. It's all enjoyable enough but not one of Duke's best.