Charley-One-Eye (1973)

A black, Union Army deserter and his crippled American Indian hostage form a strained partnership in the interests of surviving the advancing threats of a racist bounty hunter and neighboring bandits.

Director:

Don Chaffey

Writer:

Keith Leonard (original screenplay)

Stars:

Richard Roundtree, Roy Thinnes, Nigel Davenport

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Richard Roundtree	...	The Black Man
Roy Thinnes	...	The Indian
Nigel Davenport	...	The Bounty Hunter
Jill Pearson	...	Officer's Wife
Aldo Sambrell	...	Mexican Driver
Luis Aller	...	Mexican Youth
Rafael Albaicín	...	Mexican Leader (as Rafael Albaicin)

Storyline

A black, Union Army deserter and his crippled American Indian hostage form a strained partnership in the interests of surviving the advancing threats of a racist bounty hunter and neighboring bandits.

---

Plot Keywords:

racism | civil war | african american | 

---

Taglines:

Somebody told the black man he wasn't a slave anymore. Somebody told the red man this land was his. Somebody lied. Somebody is going to pay.

---

Genres:

Western

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1974 (UK)

Also Known As:

Charley, el tuerto

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

David Paradine Productions, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min 107 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Massage Parlor Murders! (1973)

User Reviews

The American Indian

*Plot and ending analyzed*

Charley-One-Eye (1973) is one of those odd films that come across the TV late at night. I really enjoyed it, since it was a new take on the Western. It has a black man, of recent from the Union Army, now a deserter, and his injured American Indian hostage. I didn't recognize Roy Thinnes as the Indian and Richard Roundtree as the black man. Richard Roundtree shot some Union officer and seems to be on the run. A mean-spirited Bounty Hunter is on his trail, played by Nigel Davenport (Sands of the Kalahari (1965), A Man for All Seasons (1966)).

There's a lot of oddness in the interaction between the black man and his injured American Indian hostage, who are fighting for survival in the desert. It was filmed in Almería Spain, the locale for so many Spaghetti Westerns in the 1960's.

It is interesting to note how the relationship develops when they are by themselves are threatened by an outsider group. The ending was very melancholy. There is also a similar film, Eagle's Wing (1979) , where Sam Waterston plays an American Indian. Grayeagle (1977) also has Alex Cord as an American Indian.

Charley-One-Eye, like Eagle's Wing (1979), were both British productions.

Charley-One-Eye is a chicken that the American Indian has taken a fancy to and perhaps is symbolic of how American Indians were treated.