Charro! (1969)

Elvis Presley stars as Jess Wade, a man trying to go straight.

Problem is, Vince Hackett (Victor French), leader of the gang he used to belong to, figures he has a score to settle with Jess.

You see, no one leaves Vince Hackett’s gang alive. And certainly not someone who’s aiming to go straight to build a life with Tracey Winters (Ina Balin), his former lover.

So after the gang steals a gold-plated victory cannon in Mexico and one man is shot in the neck and killed getting away, Vince sees his opportunity.

He tracks down Jess Wade. He has him branded on the neck as though wounded there. Now he’ll be the only identifiable member of the gang who stole the cannon.

Jess has one chance to clear his name — stop the gang and recover the cannon.

He knows the gang’s weak link is Billy Roy (Solomon Sturges), Vince’s half-witted brother. So he captures him in Tracey’s bar and throws him in jail.

But Vince and the gang still have that cannon.

And they won’t hesitate to fire it at the town of Rio Seco if that’s what it takes to convince the good folks there to turn on Jess Wade and set his brother free.

Elvis Presley as Jess Wade, trying to break free from the outlaw life in Charro! (1969)

Victor French as Vince Hackett, the man who won’t forgive Jess Wade for leaving his gang in Charro! (1969)

Review:

The weakest of Elvis’ three Westerns, this film was savaged by critics. In truth, it’s not all that bad, though there’s little spark between Elvis and his leading lady, Ina Balin, and a better actor in the role Victor French plays could have gone a long way toward improving the film.

As for Elvis, he plays the strong and silent type, determined not to give in to the outlaws’ blackmail even when the town begins to turn against him.

This marked the only film Elvis made in which he didn’t sing a song over the course of the movie. It’s also the only film he made wearing a beard. According to imdb.com, his $850,000 salary for making the movie accounted for half of its budget.

Ina Balin as Tracey Winters, unsure whether Jess Wade has fulfilled his promise to go straight in Charro! (1969)

Solomon Sturges as Billy Roy Hackett, Vince’s half-mad, trouble-making brother in Charro! (1969)

Directed by:
Charles Marquis Warren

Cast:
Elvis Presley … Jess Wade
Ina Balin … Tracey Winters
Victor French … Vince Hackett
Barbara Werle … Sara Ramsey
Solomon Sturges … Billy Roy Hackett
Lynn Kellog … Marcie
James Almanzar … Sheriff Ramsey
Paul Brinegar … Opie Keetch
Tony Young … Lt. Rivera
Charles H. Gray … Mody
Harry Landers … Heff
Duane Grey … Gabe
James Sikking … Gunner
John Pickard … Jerome Selby
Garry Walberg … Martin Tilford
Rodd Redwing … Lige

Runtime: 89 min.

Title tune: “Charro”
by Elvis Presley

James Almanzar as Sheriff Ramsey, an old friend unsure whether he should welcome Jess Wade back to town in Charro! (1969)

Barbara Werle as Sara Ramsey, blaming Jess Wade for a tragic turn of events in Charro! (1969)

Memorable lines:

Billy Roy Hackett to Jess Wade: “Well, Mr. Traitor to All Causes, you’ve been as silent as a cricket with its throat cut.”

Gunner: “Let’s see what we got here. Powder. Fuses. Long sticks. Beautiful. Beautiful. You know, the woman at the store who sold me this must have thought I was prospecting at the bottom of the earth.”

Billy Roy Hackett, to Tracey Winters: “You are, without doubt, the most beautiful girl I wasn’t allowed to look at.”

Jess Wade, as he makes a pass at Tracey Winters: “Billy Roy. Stay clear everybody.”
Billy Roy, looking at a saloon painting in which the girl’s bottom has been cut away: “How am I supposed to recognize her when somebody cut out her face?”

Elvis Presley as Jess Wade, getting his first glimpse of the victory cannon he’s going to be blamed for stealing in Charro! (1969)

Ina Balin as Tracey Winters, the woman who came between Vince Hackett and Jess Wade in Charro! (1969)

Solomon Sturges as Billy Roy Hackett, demanding his brother get him out of jail in Charro! (1969)

Victor French as Vince Hackett, brandishing the iron he uses to give Jess Wade a neck wound in Charro! (1969)

James Sikking as Gunner, a member of Vince Hackett’s gang in Charro! (1969)

Duane Grey as Gabe, a member of Vince Hackett’s gang in Charro! (1969)

Paul Brinegar as Opie Keech, operating on the sheriff after he’s shot in Charro! (1969)

Lynn Kellog as Marcie, a saloon girl fending off the advances of Billy Roy Hackett in Charro! (1969)

Tony Young as Lt. Rivera, a Mexican officer hoping to recover the victory cannon in Charro! (1969)

Solomon Sturges as Billy Roy Hackett using Tracey Winters (Ina Balin) as a human shield in Charro! (1969)

Elvis Presley as Jess Wade, treated to an unwelcome reunion with former outlaw buddy Vince Hackett (Victor French) in Charro! (1969)