Chuka le redoutable

That's for me one of the best Gordon Douglas' western, besides RIO CONCHOS of course. And Rod Taylor is purely magnificent in this awesome role, as excellent as in THE MERCENARIES, which he made the same year. It is a superb story, adapted from a novel by Richard Jessup that I have not read. It is action packed, moving, poignant concerning characters relationships, even the sub characters are terrific. John Mills, the British famous actor, gives here one of his most brilliant performances. It is an Indian wars, military western, not an outlaw one, a fort under siege scheme, an underrated film for my taste, but I repeat, an excellent one. And an unforgettable ending which may leave you unsatisfied. But that's a matter of opinion.

I caught this film on a cable channel specialising in older films from the 'Golden Age of Hollywood'. It shows a wide range films from famous classics to well made but dated "B" features and, frankly, some weird and eccentric efforts ("Fire Maidens From Outer Space" being an example!). There is however an advantage in this policy for we film buffs as a wider range of films can be seen than are to be found on the regular mainstream entertainment channels. So it was that I decided to watch Chuka on the strength of the big names in the cast.

It is worth seeing this film to just experience how strange it is. As others have said it is a Western version of Beau Geste, which I did not mind.

The first oddity of this film for me was some contrived and intense scenes squeezed in between longer periods of boredom. The cast are excellent and the acting is on form but I could not help but be reminded of some of the actors past performance successes. I am thinking here of John Mills as the highly strung Colonel in "Tunes of Glory", and Ernest Borgnine reprising his fighting menace as in "From Here to Eternity".

However the biggest problem with this film is that this it is almost entirely studio bound. For modern eyes, used to CGI and subtle and realistic lighting, it is glaringly obvious. Whether it is day or night, the characters all walk around with four shadows and implausible up-lighting. Sadly the matte effects even look amateurish and cheap. There are only a couple of outdoor scenes that appear to be realistic and are probably actually second unit work.

In conclusion, its not bad - just odd. The last gasp of Hollywood Westerns let down by its pervading TV movie atmosphere.

Chuka is directed by Gordon Douglas and adapted to screenplay by Richard Jessup from his own novel. It stars Rod Taylor, John Mills, Ernest Borgnine, Luciana Paluzzi, James Whimore, Louis Hayward and Victoria Vetri. Music is by Leith Stevens and Pthe Color photography by Harold E. Stine.

1876 and Fort Clendenon is host to a bunch of army misfits and a lovelorn gunslinger, hardly a group capable of defending the Fort against an impending Arapaho attack...

A super cast and a rather gorgeous colour print can't avert this being a distinctly average Siege Oater. Prodution wise it's a hodgepodge, an uneasy blend of stuffy looking studio bound sequences, matte paintings and airy locales, while the acting, sparse characterisations and general reliance on non meaty chatty filler scenes, all make it an odd viewing experience.

The chat angle is most frustrating, not so much because there is so much of it so as to make this a 90% talky piece, but in that there are moments of great dialogue, where interesting character arcs are dangled, but alas they are threads that are never pulled to the benefit of all. Action is sparse but what there is is competently staged, with the siege itself - while not worth the wait - has enough moments of excitement and intelligence so as to not annoy.

A very good and intriguing ending further adds to the strange mix of poor and good of it all, but ultimately it's average and hardly essential for fans of Westerns and the stars involved. 5/10

This is a strange western that I think owes some inspiration from John Ford's classic Cheyenne Autumn. Like the Ford movie it's concerning starving Indians on the reservation, in this case Arapahoe who resolve not to starve any longer.

Especially when post commander John Mills has plenty of army supplies in his fort and won't feed the Arapahoe or give them guns to hunt. His fort is a last chance outpost where apparently the army sends all its misfits from the commander on down. Holding some kind of discipline together is Sergeant Ernest Borgnine.

Into the mix rides gunfighter Rod Taylor in the title role together with Luciana Paluzzi and her niece Victoria Vetri. Paluzzi and Taylor had a little something something going back in the day.

In any event the Arapahoes have them boxed in with a massacre impending. Our sympathies are completely with the Indians on this one. This post contains some of the worst specimens of human being ever gathered together in one spot. Mills is a frightening spectacle with Borgnine enforcing his edicts on an unruly post. Of course there's a reason he's a drunken shell of a man which we learn near the end of the film.

Chuka misses being a classic because of the pedestrian direction it got from Gordon Douglas. Someone like Delmar Daves or John Huston could have made it a classic. The cast is a good one.

John Ford would never have directed it though, no way he would have portrayed his beloved United States Cavalry like this.

Among the films of Rod Taylor, one is hard pressed to single any which stand out as wrong for him. This particular film called " Chuka " is right up his alley. The rugged, good looking rough and tumble action hero is right at home in a run down Army post surrounded by frigid miles of empty winter desert. The year is 1876, the place Fort Clandenen, home to an odd collection of misfit soldiers, deserters and questionable officers. The post is commanded by an aging Ex-British Colonel called Stuart Valois. Although disliked by his small command, only one has respect for him. That man is professional soldier Sgt. Otto Kahnsbach. (Ernest Borgnine) Into the shabby excuse of an outpost, looking for a bed is an experienced gunfighter called Chuka. (Rod Taylor) Accompanying him is the overland stage with two Beautiful Spanish women. Senora Veronica Kleitz (Luciana Paluzzi) and (Angela Dorian). With a gathering and ever encircling force of Arapahoes, led by Hanu ( Marco Lopez) a young warrior Chief, his people, ill fed and starving, need the supplies of the fort. The action in the movie is convincing as are the supporting cast. Seasoned actors James Whitmore who plays Lou Trent, the Chief scout, Louis Hayward and Lucky Carson all give fine performances. Despite the interesting stories of the characters, it is Rod Taylor who warrants most of the attention on the screen. Although lacking in cinematic promotion, this story earns the status of Classic western and is therefore recommended viewing. ****