Chisum

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Chisum
Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen
Produced by Andrew J. Fenady
Written by Andrew J. Fenady
Starring John Wayne
Forrest Tucker
Ben Johnson
Geoffrey Deuel
Music by Dominic Frontiere
Cinematography William H. Clothier
Distributed by Warner Brothers
Release date(s) June 24, 1970
Running time 111 min.
Language English
IMDb profile

Chisum is a 1970 Warner Bros. western motion picture starring John Wayne, Forrest Tucker, Christopher George, Ben Johnson, Glenn Corbett, Andrew Prine, Bruce Cabot, Patric Knowles, and Richard Jaeckel.

Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, the story was adapted for the screen by Andrew J. Fenady from his short story, Chisum and the Lincoln County Cattle War.

Although this movie is historically inaccurate in many details, it is loosely based on events and characters from the Lincoln County War of 1878 in New Mexico Territory, which involved Billy the Kid among others=.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

John Chisum (played by Wayne), a virtuous, ranch-owning patriarch, locks horns with greedy Lawrence Murphy (played by Tucker), who will stop at nothing to get control of the trade and even the law in Lincoln County.

Chisum is an aging cattle baron with an eventful past and a paternalistic nature towards his fellow ranchers and the local community. Murphy, a malevolent land developer, however, plans to take control of Lincoln County for his own personal gain. The film starts with Murphy's men tipping off Mexican rustlers who plan to steal Chisum's horses. Chisum is able to stop the bandits, with help from a newcomer to the area, Billy Bonney, also known as Billy the Kid (played Geoffrey Deuel). Billy is a notorious killer, but has been given a chance to reform by Chisum's philanthropic ranch neighbour, Henry Tunstall (Patric Knowles). Billy, however, soon draws Chisum's ire when he falls for his newly arrived niece Sallie (Pamela McMyler).

Meanwhile, Murphy is buying up all the stores in town and using his monopoly to push up the prices. He appoints his own sheriff and deputies, and brings in a lawyer, Alex McSween, (Andrew Prine), but McSween's principles lead him to switch sides and seek work with Chisum and Tunstall. The two ranchers set up their own bank and general store in town under McSween's control in an attempt to foil Murphy's plans, but Chisum's land and cattle are also a target for Murphy. His men attempt to steal Chisum's cattle the night before he is due to sell them to the Army, but Chisum's ranch hands are warned by a passing buffalo hunter, Pat Garrett (Glenn Corbett). Garrett agrees to help Chisum and soon befriends Bonney. Together they foil an attack by Murphy's men on the wagons bringing in provisions for the new store.

Fed up with Murphy's underhand activities, Tunstall rides off to seek the intervention of the governor in Santa Fe, but on the way he is intercepted by Murphy's deputies who accuse him of cattle rustling and shoot him dead. Chisum and Garrett hunt down the deputies and ride them back towards town for trial. Bonney, seeking revenge for the murder of his mentor, overpowers Garrett and shoots dead both deputies. Before the sheriff can organise a posse, Billy rides into town and kills him too.

Murphy appoints bounty hunter Dan Nodeen (Christopher George) as the new sheriff, and orders him to hunt down Bonney. Nodeen has a score to settle, as a previous encounter with Bonney has left him with a permanent limp.

Billy's plans for revenge, however, are only just beginning. He breaks into McSween's store looking for dynamite, but is spotted by Nodeen who gets Murphy's men to surround the store. McSween comes out unarmed but is shot in cold blood by Nodeen. Chisum is alerted by McSween's wife and rides into town. The main street is blocked, but Chisum stampedes his cattle through the barricades. He tracks down Murphy, and takes him on in a fist fight which ends with both men falling from a balcony, Murphy ending up impaled on a buffalo horn. With his paymaster dead, Nodeen flees with Billy in pursuit.

The film ends with Garrett taking over as sheriff, and settling down with Sallie, while Chisum resumes his iconic vigil over the Pecos valley.

[edit] Background

Michael A. Wayne, executive producer, took on the project of making Chisum because he felt the story summed up well his father's political views. The sizeable cast is packed with familiar faces from earlier John Wayne films, as well as friends such as Forrest Tucker. It was filmed in 1969 in Durango, Mexico. The picturesque vistas of the area are beautiully captured by cinematographer William H. Clothier. Released in June 1970, it was a relative success, grossing over $12 million at the box office.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Trivia

  • John Wayne was on the set of Chisum when he heard of his nomination for an Academy Award in 1970 for True Grit.
  • During the making of the film, John Mitchum, brother of Robert, introduced John Wayne to his patriotic poetry. Seeing that Wayne was greatly moved by the word, Forrest Tucker suggested that the two collaborate to record some of the poetry, which resulted in the Grammy nominated spoken word album America: Why I Love Her.
  • President Richard Nixon saw the film in the Whitehouse on July 31, 1970. He professed it to be one of his favorite movies, going so far as to use the context of it to explain his views on law & order.
  • Christopher George, who played the bounty hunter Dan Nodeen met his future wife Lynda Day George while making the film.

[edit] External links

Chisum at the Internet Movie Database
Chisum at Rotten Tomatoes

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