Chisum (1970)

Director:

Andrew V. McLaglen

Writer:

Andrew J. Fenady (written by)
(more)

Release Date:

29 July 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Western

Tagline:

THE HERO - John Wayne is "Chisum"

Plot:

Cattle baron John Chisum joins forces with Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett to fight the Lincoln County land war.

Plot Keywords:

Cattle Baron | Pat Garrett | Bank | Billy The Kid | Cattle

Awards:

1 win

Cast

John Wayne	...	John Chisum
Forrest Tucker	...	Lawrence Murphy
Christopher George	...	Dan Nodeen
Ben Johnson	...	James Pepper
Glenn Corbett	...	Pat Garrett
Andrew Prine	...	Alex McSween
Bruce Cabot	...	Sheriff Brady
Patric Knowles	...	Henry Tunstall
Richard Jaeckel	...	Jess Evans
Lynda Day George	...	Sue McSween (as Lynda Day)
Geoffrey Deuel	...	Billy 'The Kid' Bonney
Pamela McMyler	...	Sallie Chisum
John Agar	...	Amos Patton
Lloyd Battista	...	Neemo
Robert Donner	...	Bradley Morton
Ray Teal	...	Justice J.B. Wilson
Edward Faulkner	...	James J. Dolan
Ron Soble	...	Charley Bowdre
John Mitchum	...	Baker
Glenn Langan	...	Colonel Nathan Dudley
Alan Baxter	...	Gov. Sam Axtell
Alberto Morin	...	Juan Delgado
William Bryant	...	Jeff - Head Wrangler
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	Ben (as Pedro Armendariz Jr.)
Christopher Mitchum	...	Tom O'Folliard
John Pickard	...	Sgt. Braddock
Abraham Sofaer	...	Chief White Buffalo
Gregg Palmer	...	Karl Riker
Hank Worden	...	Stationmaster Elwood
Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez	...	Mexican Rancher
Jim Burk	...	Trace - Wrangler
Eddy Donno	...	Cass
Bob Morgan	...	Pegleg on Street
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
William Conrad	...	Narrator - Opening Credits (voice) (uncredited)
José Ángel Espinosa 'Ferrusquilla'	...	Governor's Aide (uncredited)
Ron Fletcher	...	Doctor (uncredited)
'Chico' Hernandez	...	Boy on Town (uncredited)
John Kelly	...	Minister (uncredited)
Cliff Lyons	...	Wrangler (uncredited)
Josh McLaglen	...	Young Boy Loading Wagon (uncredited)
Mary McLaglen	...	Young Girl (uncredited)
Chuck Roberson	...	Trail Herder (uncredited)
José Torvay	...	Mexican Blacksmith (uncredited)
Trinidad Villa	...	Blacksmith (uncredited)
Ralph Volkie	...	Blacksmith (uncredited)
Henry Wills	...	Extra (uncredited)

Directed by
Andrew V. McLaglen

Writing credits
Andrew J. Fenady		(written by)
Andrew J. Fenady		(story "Chisum and the Lincoln County Cattle War") uncredited

Produced by
Andrew J. Fenady	....	producer
Michael Wayne	....	executive producer (as Michael A. Wayne)

Original Music by
Dominic Frontiere

Cinematography by
William H. Clothier		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Robert L. Simpson		(as Robert Simpson)

Art Direction by
Carl Anderson

Set Decoration by
Ray Moyer

Makeup Department
Dave Grayson	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Joseph C. Behm	....	unit production manager
Joel Chernoff	....	executive in charge of production (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fred R. Simpson	....	assistant director
Emilio Fernández	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Harry S. Franklin	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Joe Nayfack	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Ray Thompson	....	property
Russ Vickers	....	artist: paintings
Irwin 'Eppy' Epstein	....	drapery (uncredited)

Sound Department
John Ferguson	....	sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Howard Jensen	....	special effects

Stunts
Dick Bullock	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jim Burk	....	stunts (uncredited)
Joe Canutt	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tap Canutt	....	stunts (uncredited)
Eddy Donno	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jim Feazell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Hayward	....	stunts (uncredited)
Cliff Lyons	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Cliff Lyons	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gary McLarty	....	stunts (uncredited)
Hal Needham	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Bob Orrison	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Roberson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Henry Wills	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Dave Sutton	....	stills
Richard Barth	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Carl Gibson	....	key grip (uncredited)
George Gordon Nogle	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Frederic J. Smith	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
James V. Vajana	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Luster Bayless	....	wardrobe
Michael J. Harte	....	wardrobe (as Michael Harte)

Music Department
Sonny Burke	....	music supervisor
Dan Wallin	....	music scoring mixer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
George Coleman	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Larry Bees	....	title designer: main titles
Art Shinbo	....	title designer: main titles
Marshall J. Wolins	....	script supervisor
'Chema' Hernandez	....	livestock coordinator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros (presents) (as WB A Kinney National Company)
• Batjac Productions (as A Batjac Production)

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1970) (USA) (theatrical) (as Warner Bros.)
• Warner Bros. (1970) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Finland (1970) (Finland) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1973) (USA) (TV) (original airing) (pan/scan)
• Warner Bros. (1970) (France) (theatrical)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1996) (Finland) (TV)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2003) (Finland) (DVD)
• Scanvideo (????) (Finland) (VHS)
• TV3 (1989) (Finland) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Canada) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1994) (USA) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Norway:16 (theatrical rating: 1970) | USA:G | UK:PG (video rating) (1988) (1999) | Australia:PG | Singapore:PG | West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-11 (new rating: 2001) | Finland:K-12 (original rating) | France:U | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Century Ranch, Malibu Creek State Park - 1925 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros

Trivia:

Although they met some time earlier Christopher George and Lynda Day George fell in love and later married after working on this project.

Goofs:

Continuity: At 11:20 two workmen on ladders knock down the sign to Amos Patton's General Store. Chisum and Pepper ride up to talk ton Patton, who's getting into his wagon which is stopped just under the sign is back up. In addition, the work men are down the sidewalk, behind the wagon, with one climbing down a ladder. As Chisum and Patton talk, the workmen come up with their ladders and set them up, climb up and take down the sign again.

Quotes:

Jess Evans:That man there, he's meaner than a gut shot grizzly.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Big Jake (1971)

Soundtrack:

Ballad of John Chisum

Wayne Rides Again

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.