JLRVancouver A typical star-driven late 60's Hollywood-oater, "Chisum" was entertaining but it's easy to see the rising appeal of grittier, harder Westerns like 1969's "The Wild Bunch" (a film reportedly disliked by John Wayne). Other than the iconic Wayne as the titular character and the always great Ben Johnson as his muttering sidekick, most of the cast looked like Hollywood actors and actresses playing at 'old-west' – hairstyles seemed anachronistic, women had tight fitting dresses, everyone had perfect teeth etc. Billy the Kid was portrayed as a pretty nice guy with his on-screen killings always justified (at least by him) and lots of references to him learning to read, do sums etc., and again, his mentor Tunstall is portrayed as an older British father-figure (he was actually less than 10 years older that The Kid). After watching John Wayne play a lot of 'larger-than-life' heroes like John Chisum, it's not surprising that some people were surprised by his actual acting ability when he finally played a more complex and ambivalent character in "True Grit". What I most disliked about "Chisum" was the music, especially the clichéd opening Ballad of John Chisum and the intrusive "Sally" song. All-in-all, an OK old-school western from an era when the genre was moving away from white hats vs. black hats story lines to more realistic (at least as realistic as a highly-fictionalised era can be), dirtier, and bloodier films.

vorkapich "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.

wes-connors It's 1878 in Lincoln, a small village in the Territory of New Mexico. The big man in town is horse 'n' cattle rancher John Wayne (as John Simpson Chisum). When bandits try to steal Mr. Wayne's horses, a shoot-out ensues. Wayne is helped by handsome young newcomer Geoffrey Deuel (as William "Billy the Kid" Bonney). Due to the latter's gun-slinging reputation, Wayne regrets his initial invitation for the infamous Mr. Duel to meet pretty niece Pamela McMyler (as Sallie Chisum). However, the young'uns meet and are mutually attracted. Meanwhile, wicked capitalist Forrest Tucker (as Lawrence "L.G." Murphy) begins buying up all the businesses in town. He wants to take over the area and drive Wayne out of business. It looks hopeless when Mr. Tucker installs steely-eyed bounty hunter Christopher George (as Dan Nodeen) in the sheriff's office...Of course, Wayne is not going down easily..."Chisum" seems cluttered, at first. The opening shoot-out appears to be merely attention-getting, and there are a superfluous amount of characters. However, the introduction does allow us to see the importance of Deuel's character; note, for example, how the camera zooms in on the young actor's face. Very much Wayne's co-star, Deuel finally threatens his brother Pete Duel as the biggest star in the family. And, while there are many characters to keep track of, they do each have a reason to be there. Wayne troupe member John Agar has a meaningful cameo (as the grocery store owner leaving town) while Ben Johnson (as Pepper) is part of the chorus; it's nice to see them all...Director Andrew V. McLaglen and writer Andrew J. Fenady combine the western legends Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid with the legendary Hollywood actor John Wayne very effectively. John Chisum was a real person, too, but is less remembered. The specifics and historical inaccuracies aside, John Wayne and Billy the Kid coexist quite comfortable in the same story. It's a little unnerving to see Wayne, given his health problems, smoking. But he swaggers appealingly on screen, and looks tough in spite of an added toll in weight and age. Stay tuned because it all builds to an exciting climax, with everything and everyone falling into place. Directed with some majesty by Mr. McLaglen, "Chisum" is a bang-up western.******* Chisum (1970-06-24) Andrew V. McLaglen ~ John Wayne, Geoffrey Deuel, Forrest Tucker, Christopher George

tieman64 Andrew McLaglen directs "Chisum", a film based loosely upon the Lincoln County War of 1878. It stars John Wayne as John Chisum, a wealthy land owner who owns huge swathes of New Mexico Territory. Encroaching upon Chisum's domain is Lawrence Murphy (Forrest Tucker), a millionaire racketeer who uses gangs, violence and old-fashioned monopolistic tactics to undercut Chisum's businesses."Chisum" was publicly praised by US President Richard Nixon, so right away you know it's a moronic flick. McLaglen's audience is asked to accept Chisum as a "good capitalist" and "good land baron", who runs "good banks", "good farms" and "loves minorities". Murphy, in contrast, is presented as a "bad capitalist" who uses underhanded tactics, buys politicians, bribes sheriffs, runs "bad banks" and uses his clout to exploit others. That the real Murphy was a Republican Party leader is an irony missed by Nixon. That Chisum is a guy who wiped out Native Indians, hires thugs of his own, is himself monopolistic, that all land grabs are exclusionary and that all banks and 18th century private property laws exert the same negative knock-on effects, is likewise completely oblivious to McLaglen. The film's false dichotomy ends with our Good Capitalist Patriarch and Bad Capitalist Partirarch in a literal fist fight, John Wayne, of course, eventually emerging victorious. With fists and six-shooters, and in the name of God and Law, he cleans up town.Ultimately stupid, "Chisum's" first hour nevertheless cons you into expecting complexity. The film initially feels revisionist, feels expansive, feels like its genuinely attempting to sketch the realities of 19th century New Mexico. In the end, though, most of "Chisum's" interesting avenues are derailed by John Wayne himself, and the ancillary baggage he brings with him. 5/10 – Better westerns: "McCabe and Mrs Miller", "Sitting Bull's History Lesson", "Broken Lance", "Ulzana's Raid", "Hud", "Bad Company", "The Long Riders", "Hombre" and "Ride with the Devil".