Chisum

From the Editors

Chisum showcases John Wayne in the twilight of his remarkable 200+-film career. As John Chisum, a real-life cattle king determined to protect his empire against a land-grabbing developer (Forrest Tucker). Wayne's no-nonsense persona snugly fits this lively reworking of the events of New Mexico's 1878 Lincoln County War. "Directed in fine sagebrush style by Andrew V. McLaglen and beautifully photographed by William H. Clothier" (The Warner Bros. Story), Chisum is the kind of sweeping, brawling Western that made Wayne endure as a star.
Description

Customer Response

Classic John Wayne Western
An under-rated overlooked John Wayne classic. This is "the Duke" at his best as a no-nonsense cattle baron who doesn't back down from trouble. This movie is loosely based on the Lincoln County range war which involved Billy the Kid.

The best of the movie - Great (if predictable) acting. Really fun watching the interaction between the characters.

The worst - If you are a history buff, some historical inaccuracies may bug you (e.g. the real William Bonney was left-handed).

Overall - Great story. Lots of action with Forrest Tucker as the bad guy. Great supporting actors (especially Ben Johnson as "Pepper" and Glenn Corbett as "Pat Garrett". You just can't go wrong with this one.

Chisum
Simply a great classic Western. John Wayne plays John Chisum, a cattle baron. Typical Wayne character in which he portrays toughness but fairness. Love this movie!

Exciting and Fun
The Duke is always great, but in this particular film one of his frequent sidekicks standouts. Ben Johnson steals several scenes with his mumbling sarcasm.

Amazingly close to history
The first few times I saw this movie, I hadn't read the history of the Lincoln County Land Wars.

However, in recent years, with the convenience of the internet at hand, I read the histories along with watching the movie. Compared to the amount of factual change that most movies based on a history put on film, this movie is not far from being spot on.

In fact, the amount of direct action that John Wayne's character, Chisum, took in the film, is probably the element that is the most out of place.

Billy the Kid really did work for an English rancher involved in the dispute. His boss really did fund a rival general store with a lawyer. Both the English rancher and the lawyer were murdered by the faction controlled by the rival general store.

Billy the Kid really did get his outlaw career kicked off in seeking vengeance for his boss and mentor's murder. Pat Garret really was supported for sheriff by John Chisum, who somehow managed to stay out of the thick of the feuding even though his use of huge tracts of public grazing land was part of the heart of the dispute.

So history buffs can safely enjoy this movie knowing that history is just bent a little, and not ripped completely asunder as the case would be with most movies. LOL That said, this is a very entertaining western. John Wayne is on top of his game as a cattle baron, and the supporting cast does a fine job. It includes a bit of everything: rustling, gunfights, stampedes, crooked sheriffs, greedy bad guys, heroic good guys. It has more plot surprises than the normal western (and that is precisely because it kills off certain characters approximately when and how they died in the real events).

All in all, an enjoyable and surprisingly informative film about a real "old west" feud.

You know what you are getting
When you watch a western with John Wayne, you know what to expect. If you are a John Wayne fan, it should be in your collection. If you aren't a John Wayne fan, it's not his best, it's not his worst. If you are curious, wait until it's on sale.

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