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.

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Plot Keywords:

racism | civil war | african american | 

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Taglines:

Somebody sold out the black man and the red man. Somebody's going to pay.

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Genres:

Western

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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

British Western with a good cast and completely set in the sunny desert of Tabernas , Almeria , Spain

An African-American deserter (Richard Roundtree , known for Shaft) and and his crippled American Indian hostage (Roy Thinnes , known for The invaders) form a strained comradeship and partnership in the interests of surviving against enemy attacks . A bit later on , they take on the advancing threats of some Mexican bandits (Aldo Sambrell , Rafael Albaicín) and later on , there appears a ruthless bounty hunter (well personified by Nigel Davenport) who attempts to reckoning on the escaped soldier . 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.

The flick has undeniable tendencies to symbolic events that overkill the nimble developing of the story . The film is slowly paced and spite of setting on exteriors , it feels itself some claustrophobic . The plot is plain and simple with a few roles , a strange duo faces off neighboring bandits and a racist , brutal bounty hunter . Director copes well this thrilling Western helped by the Spanish desert from Almeria where in the 60s and 70 were shot lots of Pasta/Chorizo Westerns . The picture draws magnificent acting from Richard Roundtree as the black , Union Army deserter and Roy Thinnes as the Indian outcast , both of whom encounter common ground in oppression eventually incarnated by Nigel Davenport as a cruel bounty hunter . Furthermore , brief appearances from Spanish actors as Aldo Sambrell and Rafael Albaicín , both of them usual to Spaghetti/Paella Westerns . This one results to be a British Western film along with ¨Hunting party¨ by Don Medford , ¨Catlow¨ by Sam Wanamaker , ¨Eagles's wing¨ by Anthony Harvey , ¨Shalako¨ by Edward Dymitryck , most of them starred by great players and shot in Almeria .

The motion picture was well directed by Don Chaffey , though results to be a little bit boring . Don began directing in 1951 , often working on films aimed at children , as he directed various kiddies films as ¨Magic of Lassie¨ , ¨Greyfriars Bobby¨, ¨The horse without head¨, ¨3 lives of Thomasina¨ , ¨Pete's dragon¨ , ¨Ride a wild Pony¨. He branched out into television in the mid-'50s, turning out many of the best episodes of such classic series as ¨Danger Man¨ (1960), ¨The prisoner¨ (1967) and ¨The avengers¨ (1961). Although he worked in many film genres , such as Romance/drama : ¨The gift of love¨ , ¨Four wishes¨, Prehistorical : ¨Creatures of the world forgot¨ , ¨One million years B.C.¨ , Thriller : ¨Casino¨, Comedy : ¨Dentist in chair¨ , ¨A matter of Who¨, his best work is generally acknowledged to be the crackerjack fantasy ¨Jasón and the Argonauts¨ (1963). On the other hand, he was also responsible for the lugubrious, box-office disaster ¨The viking queen¨ (1967), one of the few productions from Hammer Films that lost money. In the late 1970s Chaffey traveled to the US and worked primarily there, often in made-for-TV movies .