Chuka (1967)

While Indians besiege a U.S. Army fort in 1876, residents of the fort a gunfighter, a stagecoach driver, two Mexican women, and a motley company of soldiers try to come to terms with their pasts.

Director:

Gordon Douglas

Writers:

Richard Jessup (novel), Richard Jessup (screenplay)

Stars:

Rod Taylor, Ernest Borgnine, John Mills

Cast

Cast overview:
Rod Taylor	...	Chuka
Ernest Borgnine	...	Sgt. Otto Hahnsbach
John Mills	...	Colonel Stuart Valois
Luciana Paluzzi	...	Señora Veronica Kleitz
James Whitmore	...	Lou Trent
Victoria Vetri	...	Señorita Helena Chavez (as Angela Dorian)
Louis Hayward	...	Major Benson
Michael Cole	...	Spivey
Hugh Reilly	...	Captain Carrol
Barry O'Hara	...	Slim - Cook
Joseph Sirola	...	Jake Baldwin
Marco López	...	Hanu (as Marco Antonio)
Gerald York	...	Lieutenant Daly
Herlinda Del Carmen	...	Indian Girl
Lucky Carson	...	Stage Driver

Storyline

While Indians besiege a U.S. Army fort in 1876, residents of the fort a gunfighter, a stagecoach driver, two Mexican women, and a motley company of soldiers try to come to terms with their pasts.

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Plot Keywords:

fort | revolver | military | quick draw | carbine | 

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Taglines:

Of his kind Chuka's the best there is. At fighting. At loving. And when it had to be - at killing!

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Genres:

Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 July 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chuka: The Gunfighter

Filming Locations:

Lake Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Art Film Company, Paramount Pictures, Rodlor

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Helena Chavez: Tell me Señor, are you as bad as they say?
Chuka: No man is as bad as they say, Señorita.

User Reviews

Unsatisfying oddity

Chuka is an unusual and unsatisfying Western with a plot that several times reminds one of Beau Geste. It starts with the US Cavalry retrieving their comrades' bodies at a fort that has been overwhelmed by Indians and then flashes back to portray the events that led up to the massacre.

John Mills usually plays a sympathetic character but as Colonel Valois he has no redeeming feature at all, even at the end he stands apparently helpless as his ragtag soldiers fight off the Indian attack. (One wonders why a colonel commands such a small command, which seems to total barely 40 men, and the fort itself is small enough to fit conveniently into a studio.) It is hard to find much to like about most of the cast, but then the members are paying unlikeable people. Rod Taylor as the gunslinger Chaka shows his good side in the opening scenes when he offers his food to starving Indians but drives a hard bargain when his scouting expertise is needed. Louis Hayward, looking a bit like the British character actor Terry-Thomas, pays for the services of an Indian girl. Only Ernest Borgnine, appearing larger than one usually visualises him, makes much of a screen impact, and his character is one of the few who seems not to have an unfortunate past.

The two Mexican ladies marooned at the post after rashly travelling across country in a stagecoach are an intrusion into the plot (but then I often groan at the contrived introduction of glamorous women into an environment that in real life would be all-male).

All in all, a disappointing oddity.