Chisum, by Andrew Fenady - 9 out of 10

Chisum, by Andrew Fenady
9 out of 10


John Wayne used to be the most popular American actor and one of the best known and appreciated in the whole world.

He seems to have been a rather nice man outside the movie studios, a remarkable thing in a world where second rate celebrities behave as if they were gods, although Wayne has uttered some phrases that show he was far from perfect, at the very least.
One statement referred to the American Indians and the occupation of their land.

Wayne was such a legend that his presence in war films helped with the enrollment in the Armed Forces and there are quite a few anecdotes with and about him.
One features a snake which he wanted to use to scare Henry Fonda, but the prank turned on him, for he was the one scared of snakes and not Fonda.

You can search on YouTube and find the story told by Michael Caine, who has received advice from John Wayne, which suggested that:

'You talk loud and slow and never wear swede shoes, for you will be recognized in the toilet and the man pissing next to you would turn when he sees you and say 'you're Michael Caine' and thus would ruin your shoes with his urine.'

When people form the Screen Trade came under attack for being leftist or at one stage, outright communist, Wayne took a very conservative, right wing stand and seems to have affected the situation of some of his colleagues.
Nevertheless,  he remains a legendary artist, one that has contributed immensely to the creation of some of the best motion pictures ever made.

Chi sum is one formidable western, although it may not be one the very best.
John Wayne is John Chisum, a cattle baron and land owner, with property bigger than some American states or indeed, other countries, as one character puts it.

He has to fight with one villain, Lawrence Murphy, who is a greedy personage, interested in getting the land of Chisum and making huge profits out of the water on the property, on which multitudes depend.
One scene from the film has been included in American Cinema, a documentary, in which Chisum confronts the antihero and makes it clear:

'I will not tolerate any move against the bank, the property...
Is that a threat?
Wrong! Says Chisum and punched Murphy, sending him to the ground...
Fact!'

Nonetheless, the villain gathers many acolytes and it is a hard won battle, in which cattle are stolen and good and bad people killed.
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid appear and play important roles in this western.

Indeed, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid is the name of another western, with James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson.
The duel between the good and the evil camps is intense, the result is in doubt and there are victims on both sides.

Chisum, as other remarkable westerns, is laudable in that it offers lessons in valor, resilience, loyalty, manhood, grit, bravery, morals and ethics.