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 Lopez	...	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 | screenplay adapted by author | arapaho indian | native american attack | indian war | 

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Taglines:

They called him saddle-bum...desert rat...pistolero...but where would they have been without Chuka on that bloody summer's day.

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

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?

Trivia

[All trivia items for this title are spoilers.]

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Goofs

When Chuka (Rod Taylor) takes a lance to his side during the Indian attack, he momentarily grabs the tip of the spear and then suddenly the entire lance is gone. It would be impossible in his condition to remove the lance so quickly.

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Quotes

Col. Stuart Valois: It will be wonderful to dine instead of to feed. It seems to be the routine when men in a country like this are isolated. I miss the conversation... the eloquence of dining in mixed company.

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 has 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 playing 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.