Charro! (1969)

Elvis Presley was a hugely influential performer with one of the most distinctive singing voices of anybody. He embarked on a film career consisting of 33 films from 1956 to 1969, films that did well at the box-office but mostly panned critically (especially his later films) and while he was a highly charismatic performer he was never considered a great actor.'Charro' was not a success financially and was and still is critically derided. Seeing it for myself with no prejudice, and as someone who enjoyed most of his earlier films and considered Elvis a very capable actor when the material allowed it (which his early films did but quality dipped significantly in the mid-late 60s), to me 'Charro' is not as bad as its reputation. At the same time, although its departure from the fluff of his later films and its return to the grittier approach of his best films is to be applauded, of his westerns (this, 'Love Me Tender' and 'Flaming Star') it is by far his weakest.Not his worst film, 'Harum Scarum' and 'Stay Away, Joe' are far stronger contenders for that title and it is better than 'Paradise Hawaiian Style', 'Double Trouble', 'Kissin' Cousins', 'Frankie & Johnny' and 'Easy Come Easy Go' too. At the same time it is no 'King Creole', 'Flaming Star', 'Jailhouse Rock', 'Viva Las Vegas' and 'Loving You' either.Granted, the scenery is lovely and hardly cheap-looking. Songs are few here, which may be sad for fans but considering how bad a good deal of the songs in some of his later films have been it wasn't a big issue for me. The title song is very good and catchy, and there are some nice moments in the music score. Not everybody likes Elvis' performance here, he does have some uncomfortably stiff moments and he is criminally under-utilised but he is nowhere near as bored-looking or non-trying as most of his late 60s period and he looks great. Victor French is suitably menacing.On the other hand, Solomon Sturgess shouts his way through his role and overacts embarrassingly. Ina Balin struggles with a very poorly written and misused character. The music score mostly is repetitive and sounds like it belongs better in a low-budget film riffed by Mystery Science Theater.Characters are underwritten and underused, with some very abrupt situations that don't ring true. The dialogue is stilted and not gritty enough (the atmosphere feeling somewhat safe and bland) with one too many impregnated pauses, the scenery is not done justice by the static photography and slipshod editing and the direction is far too made for TV. The story started off pretty good, but drags badly in the middle and becomes more and more ridiculous until the awfully anti-climactic and insultingly bone-headed ending.In summary, not that bad but Elvis deserved far better than this. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Released in 1969, "Charro" stars Elvis as Jess Wade, an ex-outlaw whose former gang seeks to pin the blame on him for stealing a gold cannon from a Mexican shrine. Wade ends up trying to protect the Arizona town that holds one of the gang members in jail from the gang's cannon assault.If nothing else, "Charro" shows that Elvis could've easily been a Western hero in Eastwood's league if he chose to keep with it and got better scripts. Obviously influenced by the rise of the Spaghetti Westerns of the mid-late 60s, this is easily Elvis' best Western of the three he did, the others being 1956' "Love Me Tender" and 1960's "Flaming Star." These prior Westerns had too much of what made Westerns in general laughable before the 60s. There are many exceptions, like "The Last Wagon" from 1956" but -- generally speaking -- the downside of Westerns before the 60s include contrived plot elements, an unrealistic vibe, bad music, white actors playing Natives and dumb Indian dialogue. "Charro" is the least guilty of these sins of Elvis' three Westerns."Charro" has a good first and last act, but a weak mid-section. The score and Arizona locations are great, the cast too, but the movie's hampered by the lame second act and a TV-production vibe.The movie runs 98 minutes and was shot in Apache Junction and Gold Canyon, Arizona, with further studio work done in California.GRADE: Borderline C+/B- (or 5.5/10)

I like Elvis as much as the next person and enjoy watching his movies more for his music than anything since most of them were so bad (yes there are exceptions that were fairly acceptable, King Creole being my favorite) but this movie was just bad - plus no singing. Stiff acting, poor dialog, thin plot. Just when you think something exciting is going to happen, it doesn't, and then it's 15 minutes until the next almost exciting thing. A better script would have gone a long way in helping this move along. There were just so many blank spaces where you were expecting someone to say something but there was just this long pregnant pause. Sorry but I have to chalk this one up on my least favorite Elvis movies.

Elvis Presley plays an ex-gunman who has decided to reform. His decision is not well-received by his old gang. They beat him up, and enforce a grisly revenge - they "brand" him, to give him a scar identical to a man WANTED in two countries (Mexico and the USA). The "branding" is, possibly, the most gruesome scene you'll see in a Elvis movie.This film has a classic Western Plot: Elvis is the representation of the Law - Badman gone good, friend of the Sheriff, and rival for a woman (Ina Balin). Elvis has imprisoned the brother of the Badman (Solomon Sturges, son of Preston). Head Badman Victor French is big brother to the jailed one. Mr. French has a deadly cannon - he says, "Release my brother, or I will blow up your town!" This movie is too rough-around-the-edges to be extraordinary; and, it doesn't tread on much new ground. It does, however, create a world of its own; if you let yourself into this world, you will be entertained for the run of the film. In that way, it's like many westerns - and as good as several "classic" John Wayne films.Again, this is a rough-around-the-edges film - my vote for the roughest edges are: The background music is too hokey and repetitive; and, I found the Sheriff's wife's betrayal too abrupt to be believable - it is interesting in that it shows the relationship between Elvis and the Sheriff is stronger than the relationship between the Sheriff and his wife; although Elvis' first intent is to meet the Badman's demands by releasing the prisoner, he decides to honor the Sheriff's wishes.The title song is very good; appropriately, there are no additional songs. The performances are fine - I would taken a little more time creating this film; still, everything about it ranges from adequate to professional. It sounds like an apology (because Elvis Presley made so many awful films), but I enjoyed "Charro!" ******* Charro! (1969) Charles Marquis Warren ~ Elvis Presley, Ina Balin, Victor French