Charro

[likethebike]

"Charro" is for Elvis and his fans the film that got away. Finally, a role where Elvis does no singing at all and the results are not much better than the worst formula musicals. The failure of the movie is all the more frustrating because you can see in "Charro" the outlines of a much better film and maybe a different future in Hollywood for Elvis.

Written and Directed by Charles Marquis Warren, "Charro" tells the story of Jess Wade a former outlaw turned straight in a Western American near the Mexican Border in approximately the 1870s or 1880s. Jess was formerly a member of an infamous band of outlaws called the "Hackett Gang" run by the nefarious Vince Hackett (Victor French). Jess decided to go straight after hooking up with Vince's girlfriend Tracy (Ina Balin) who convinced him to leave the gang leaving Vince with egg on his face. Vince's humiliation is even more so since the script indicates that Jess was a kindred spirit and kind of like a brother to Vince. Their closeness is exacerbated by the fact that Vince's real brother- Billy Roy- is something of a mental defective unable to control his behavior or his appetites.

The circumstances of the departure leave Vince determined to get Jess. And he comes up with a great plan to ensure both revenge and a profit. He and the gang steal a cannon that was used in a major Mexican war victory and plan to sell it to the highest bidder. The Mexican government doesn't know it was the Hackett gang but one of their soldiers wounded one of the desperados with a shot to the neck during the get away. They believe this man will lead them to the rest of the gang and the cannon. The wounded man actually died after getting away but Vince puts it out that it was Jess who was wounded. As Jess has an outlaw reputation everyone believes it, even Tracy. (This is a big logistical flaw in the story, since Jess, who is mentioned by name in wanted posters, was affiliated with the Hackett gang most lawmakers would link them together and the whole gang would be suspect.)

To further the set up, Vince burns Jess on the neck with a branding iron. Not knowing what to do, Elvis turns up at a nearby town where an old friend of his is the sheriff and Tracy happens to live. In a stroke of movie coincidence (is this the only town in the west) Vince and his gang set up shop outside of town and Billy Roy (Solomon Sturges) goes into town for a good time. He goes to the saloon owned by Miss Tracy. She and Elvis tell him to get out and the sheriff comes in to "help" matters. Billy Roy winds up shooting the sheriff and Elvis carts him off to jail. The sheriff then makes Elvis a deputy setting up a showdown between him and Vince.

Vince promises to blow the town off the map with the cannon if Billy Roy is not released by sundown. Needless, to say Vince does not succeed in blowing the town off the map (although he does kill the sheriff with a cannon blast to his home) as Jess bests him in a showdown where Billy Roy is killed essentially breaking Vince. All this has won back Tracy's respect for Jess (somewhere along the line they parted after leaving Vince because I guess she thought he would never go straight). As he takes Vince back to Mexico, Jess promises to send for her.

Just from this summary of the plot, you can tell "Charro" has problems as the story is burdened by several cliche's including the bad man turned good for a woman, the show down at sundown, the lady saloon keeper. This is very surprising as Marquis Warren (at least according to the box) was the creator of "Gunsmoke", one of TV's most literate westerns and a show that was very unconventional for its time.

Of course the transition from series TV to film may explain many of the movie's deficiencies. Like most great TV series, "Gunsmoke" pulled its true greatness from the sum total of characters built over years of episodes. Series TV frees a writer of shows to skimp on character once in awhile and push story because viewers already have a sense of the characters and how they will act in any given situation. Character can be doled out in bits and pieces over a long period. A movie is a totally different discipline and you have to make your points all in one two hour shot.

Where you can most see this in "Charro" is in Jess Wade's character. He's a cipher given no definining characteristics and while other characters provide us with the insight on his intelligence and craftiness we hardly ever see any example of it. He defeats Vince by the time honored trick of holding a gun to his brother's head to insure an advantage in a shootout. Except for some sadistic taunts to Billy Roy we never see the side of him that pulled him to the wrong side of the law or the thoughtful nature that brought him back. He's rather a cardboard standard western action hero. He's brave of course but that's because he's the lead in a western movie nothing more.

Elvis doesn't add a whole lot to the role. He's professional but other than the flash of sadism he reveals in those scenes I mentioned with Billy Roy any other actor could have played the part with arguably greater success. In scenes, where Elvis is agitated he's very predictable with the same rhythm in his voice to express anger. Plus, he has absolutely no chemistry with Balin. In the scenes where he takes her in his arms his body language is absolutely stiff. It's as if he's never held a woman before or wants to keep her away. (Elvis does register some believable amazement as he watches the cannon roll down the hill into Billy Roy.)

Still, though given lines like "a no good beautiful woman" even Marlon Brando would have struggled.

Balin herself is terrible but she doesn't have much to work either with as her character is the most stock cliche' in the picture. You never sense why this prim upright lady would be involved with either Jess or Vince.

To be fair to both Elvis and Balin, there are plenty of indications in the movie that Marquis Warren didn't know how to handle actors. James Almanzar and Barbara Werle who play the sheriff and his wife are just terrible. Werle looks as if she's in her first high school play. And even the bit players struggle.

The move from TV can be to blame here as well. In series TV, after the first few episodes where the cast finds their characters, the actors are on their own.

The shortcomings of the actors though also emphasize the shortcomings in Marquis Warren's script as French and Sturges come off better because their parts are a more interesting. Sturges overacts but he brings an electricity to the perverted Billy Roy that is sadly missing from the rest of the performances. Perhaps playing a bad guy freed him from the curse of underacting that affects the other members of the cast.

Big brother Vince (French in the movie's best role and performance) is another story. As written and played by French, he's a bad guy who doesn't know he's a bad guy. He's a bully and a killer who will do anything to get what he wants. He also though compensates a bartender for busting up his place in a shoot out with Jess. He apologizes to gang members after arbitrary outbursts. And despite constantly belittling his brother, he clearly loves him passionately. In fact, Vince's end comes largely through sacrifice for Billy Roy. He and the gang could move on and let the chips fall where they may for Billy Roy but Vince won't leave him behind. There is also an indication he loves Tracy and Vince as well. He's what is "Charro" is lacking in all other respects- a three dimensional character.

French brings him power and charisma and humor. You can see why men would follow him.

He also brings him pathos. The look of anguish on his face as Tracy describes Billy Roy's actions that led to his arrest really captures the self-delusion of the character. When Tracy tells him he can't blame their breakup on Billy Roy, we feel for him. This is even more so when Billy Roy dies. Holding back tears, he fires off the remaining shots in his gun as quickly as he can like a child in a tantrum. When he shouts, "Good Friend Jess Wade!" you can feel the wheels coming off his world. He's really a tragic figure who belongs in a better movie. (So does James B. Sikking's "Gunner" who seems to get off on committing crimes and his own prowess with fire arms using fire arms to committ them. He's evil cause it's fun.)

I'm not sure even Vince makes "Charro" worth a look for all but die hard fans though because the rest of the movie throws water on that fine role and performance. First, although Marquis Warren created a good character in Vince Hackett, his script emphasizes the wrong character relationship. The center of the movie is the Jess and Tracy relationship which is utterly predictable. The real heart of the movie should have been the relationship between Jess, Vince, Billy Roy and the gang.

My very favorite scene in the movie is where the gang shows Jess the victory cannon. It's less spite than showing off- "Look what we did without you Jess." You get the impression that the gang would let bygones be bygones if Jess would come back.

There are also holes in Marquis Warren's narrative thrust as well. While the idea of the stolen revolutionary cannon is compelling, Marquis Warren steers away from it and concentrates on the more pedestrian showdown. That the gang uses the cannon to their advantage, while its in their possession, to make them a law unto themselves is a great touch though.

The story also appears to have been hurt in editing as well. Sturges yells in one scene "How am I supposed to look at her when you cut out her face?" and the camera flashes to a picture of a naked woman with her butt cut out. As it's played, it's meant to be line fraught with meaning but the viewer has no idea what it refers to. Later Vince kills a character and Elvis in the big showdown doesn't mention him when he's trying to account for the whereabouts of all the gang members. How does Jess know he's not there?

You can see the difficulties in leaping to the silver screen in Marquis Warren's direction as well. The action in the movie appears to be constrained in most scenes and Marquis Warren seldom uses the wide screen to his advantage. There is no sense of space for the most part, an essential component of a western.

More than anything though the film is brought down by its conventions. The Hugo Montenegro (kind of a minor league Ennio Morricone, his score is ok. The big surging horn moments are bland but there are nice guitar motifs that emphasize the dark side of the film) score and Elvis' bedraggled bearded appearance lead us to believe that this is an attempt at the type of Spaghetti western pioneered by Sergio Leone. However, the movie is lacking any of the mythic elements that made Morricone's westerns. It also lacks their violence and sense of action. It also does not achieve the level of character development on a progressive TV western like "Gunsmoke". Instead, it comes far too close to the conventions of the B Western of the 1940s and 1950s despite some promising elements. So, therefore it was not the opportunity for Elvis that he and we would want.

[bajo]

When I saw this movie the first time in the cinema, I actually liked it!
I liked to see Elvis in a "serious" role!
My children did also love to watch this one and Flaming Star!
Looking forward to a GOOD DVD release of this one!

[ColinB]

LTB -

Nice review !

On paper, at least, this film looked a winner !

Even Elvis got excited !

But the script was savaged even before the cameras rolled...........

They just didn't invest enough cash in these things.

After Elvis was paid, it seems everything else had to be skimped.

[Keith Richards, Jr.]

Haven't watched the film yet - I'm waiting for a proper DVD release - but I trust LTB's review. It probably sucks. At least Elvis looked cool in this movie (in my opinion, he looked FAR from cool in most of his other movies). I'm looking forward to the "Charro!" book by Joe Tunzi.

Keith Richards, Jr.

[Renan]

Looking forward to a GOOD DVD release of this one!

Yes, I´m looking for a decent release.

[Pete Dube]

Haven't watched the film yet - I'm waiting for a proper DVD release - but I trust LTB's review. It probably sucks. At least Elvis looked cool in this movie (in my opinion, he looked FAR from cool in most of his other movies). I'm looking forward to the "Charro!" book by Joe Tunzi.

Keith Richards, Jr.

It doesn't suck Keith, it's at best better-than-fair in my opinion. But compared to the likes of Harum Scarem; Paradise Hawaiian Style; Clambake; it's enjoyable enough. At least he doesn't break out in song to his horse or jump up on the bar and sing "I wanna whiskey, I'm feelin' frisky." The problem is that it comes across as a padded out episode of a t.v. western.

[likethebike]

Man Pete you got across in one sentence most of what I wanted to get across in my review.

For you folks that have seen the movie, do you have any idea what that line about cutting the girl's face out the picture means?

[Pete Dube]

Man Pete you got across in one sentence most of what I wanted to get across in my review.

It's a gift Bike.

[YDKM]

Charro is 'ok' but it easily and should have been 'good' however with very watered down scenes and violence censored etc it's to weak when compared to megga sucess movies around the same time such as 'The Good Bad and the Ugly' pity as the original script offed a very sound movie and Elvis looked just right in it. however i have this on dvd and it's one of my favourites to watch...except i cringe when a scene has either been 'censored' or changed from the original idea

[Scott Haigh 781990EP]

this script originally had the movie open with women showing their whole body, no wonder Elvis was originally excited about it

i quite like the movie. its a fantastic departure from those B grade musicals, and Elvis shows some serious acting

[Rob]

One of my favorite Elvis films. For those of you who haven't seen it (even in bad quality) you're cheating yourselves of a pretty good film. For those who haven't seen it, wait to buy a good DVD release if you must, but watch the film now using any means possible.

[Keith Richards, Jr.]

One of my favorite Elvis films. For those of you who haven't seen it (even in bad quality) you're cheating yourselves of a pretty good film. For those who haven't seen it, wait to buy a good DVD release if you must, but watch the film now using any means possible.

Well, I hear the DVD was so bad that the company eventually had to withdraw the whole thing! I have actually seen a letter from the company (can't recall its name) where they apologize for the horrible quality. So, I'll wait.

Pete:

Good to know that the film has some merit at least! I'll be the first one to buy it whenever it comes out.

Keith Richards, Jr.

[Renan]

I have seen this film many times. I even think this is one of the best Elvis did.
Just waiting for a better image.

[Gregory Nolan Jr.]

LTB, that's a great review of a flawed but still-intesting outing for Elvis. I'll have more responses later, but here's hoping the (silent) "nude scene" from "Charro" is stitched into any future DVD release!

See link below, courtesy of Keith Flynn's site:

http://www.keithflynn.com/video/Charro%20nude%20scene.wmv

[likethebike]

Do you mean the scene of Elvis and the naked women? From what I've heard that was just an idea on the drawing board. I wasn't able to access the link.

[Gregory Nolan Jr.]

The link is working for me. It's a woman getting out of a bathtub, sans clothing.

[ColinB]

Do you mean the scene of Elvis and the naked women? From what I've heard that was just an idea on the drawing board. I wasn't able to access the link.

No, that wasn't filmed !

There was a brief glimpse of Ina Balin's breasts & bum as she got out of the bath that got cut out of the film for tv.

[Gregory Nolan Jr.]

Actual nudity in an Elvis film would have been a step forward. Although considering that 1969's Midnight Cowboy garned an "X" rating, perhaps they knew it was trouble. His image could have used the controversy to "wear off" the goop of his earlier films, though.


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As for the writer / director Charles Marquis Warren of "Gunsmoke" fame, perhaps he was also not at his prime.

After all, the show ran from the 1955 all the way to the '75! By '68, he probably was a bit worn out on horse operas.

[likethebike]

It was a good show. My father watches it frequently still. There's a lot of ambiguity in character on the show. It also dealt with themes like racism before they were common place on TV.

It could be possible that Marquis Warren was worn out. Fans of the show consider the later episodes as lesser. As I pointed out, series TV and moviemaking are separate disciplines. There are very few people who have been successful in both. Every venture Steven Spielberg, for example, has made into television has flopped and he's one of the top movie directors around.

[Gregory Nolan Jr.]

Yes, I tend to agree it's more about that.

I've seen the show, albeit years later. I still have to warm to it in comparison to a few other westerns I watched (long after they were cancelled) such as "The Rifeman" which I used to think packed a wallop.

I think his last few films all showed signed of "growing up" and out of the formula and for that reason are unique. Too often , they are just dismissed as something he was just "finishing out" as Vegas and touring loomed, but i think you can see how a mid-'70s career in cinema could have resumed.
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Related thread alert:
http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21249&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

[likethebike]

I agree it was an interesting point on which to end his movie career. It's frustrating because in all three 1969 movies you can see him either grow or try to as an actor. It's not the most popular film in Elvis circles but in "Trouble With Girls" you can really see him try and create a character. By the way, that film for whatever reason plays very well outside Elvis circles. I recently picked up critic Danny Peary's "Guide For the Film Fanatic" and it was one of his personal recommendations. Plus, one of the new film guides has very positive review. The Steven H. Schuer guide from the early 1980s gave it three and a half stars out of four.

[Rob]

As I said before, I have always liked Charro. There are some very good scenes in the movie. Elvis getting branded is something else. I wish that they would have had a one on one showdown (fist fight) between Elvis and Victor French at the end though.

One of my favorite scenes is the "bump on the head."

[ColinB]

LTB -

Yes, there was some improvement in Elvis' films right at the end of his movie career.

But a case of too little, too late !

In the public's eyes, the 'Elvis' film had become a joke.

And not a very funny one, either.

If those three '69 films had come 5 years earlier..................

Who knows ?

[Pete Dube]

There was a brief glimpse of Ina Balin's breasts & bum as she got out of the bath that got cut out of the film for tv.

Colin -
Who was this bum? Who was the actor who played the part? What is the subplot on this bum? Why did Ina Balin's character sink to such a low level as to resort to taking bath's with bums? Did he soap her down? Were he and Ina Balin ballin' in the tub?

More info please!

[Rob]

There was a brief glimpse of Ina Balin's breasts & bum as she got out of the bath that got cut out of the film for tv.

Colin -
Who was this bum? Who was the actor who played the part? What is the subplot on this bum? Why did Ina Balin's character sink to such a low level as to resort to taking bath's with bums? Did he soap her down? Were he and Ina Balin ballin' in the tub?

More info please!