Charro!

Charro! (1969)

Runtime: 98 minutes

Directed by: Charles Marquis Warren

Starring: Elvis, Ina Balin, Victor French, Barbara Werle, Solomon Struges

From: National General Pictures

Why this has such a toxic reputation in some circles, I am not quite sure:

Recently, a mutual liked the list I have up of all the Elvis movies I've seen so far; it made me realize I hadn't seen one in too long so that is a mistake I should fix. I decided to go with an atypical movie from him, one that is serious (only a few jokes are heard), has The King sporting a beard, and he doesn't even sing in the movie; the only one is the title tune over the opening credits. I rate this the same as most of his movies but I do appreciate how this wasn't the usual cornball feature from Elvis.

The plot has him as Jess Wade; the gang he used to run around with (led by the dastardly Vince) finds him and sets him up for the theft of a cannon allegedly used to win Mexican independence. He also gets branded on the neck. This does not turn into a mad chase where everyone is after him; what is done instead isn't half-bad as Wade sees some old friends again and has to prove he's a changed man and those accusations are untrue. I saw someone compare this to a Randolph Scott Western (presumably one of the Ranown Cycle) and I get it. After all, the King makes a big decision and sticks to his convictions even if the demands of a town's citizens seems logical from their viewpoint.

The movie could have been pretty good but does not rise above being average and competent; Elvis is not challenged here when it comes to acting; at least his performance was decent. Vince was memorable as the villain as he was a real A-hole; however, the most memorable character (not to mention the most OTT performance) was from Solomon Sturges, who yes was Preston's son. He played Vince's brother Billy Roy, a real weasel, a sh*thead who even annoys his brother by being such a slimeball. He literally jumps around like a chimpanzee at a few points, so it was not a nuanced portrayal by any means.

The score suggests “Spaghetti Western” but that was not what this was; like I said it's at least competent and average, and not ungodly bad like some have said.