Monday, March 07, 2011

Movie review – Elvis#29 - “Charro!” (1969) **

The only film in which Elvis didn’t sing on screen – although he only sung a little bit in Flaming Star, which, like this, is a Western. He plays a former outlaw who clashes with his old gang, and ends up capturing the psychotic brother of the gang's leader, causing Rio Bravo-style problems: the brother steals a cannon and threatens to blow up the town.

That's not a bad premise for a Western, and they throw in a sexy dame (Ina Balin) and a sheriff who is an old friend of Elvis - plus the star is in good form, surly and bearded, obviously interested in what's going on for a change. But the handling is incredibly slack from director Charles Warren - it feels, looks and smells like an episode of a TV show, done on a similar budget. Plus the guy who plays the crazy brother is allowed to overact and mug disastrously. You wished they'd taken this premise and given it to someone who actually cared, or was talented. Elvis seriously is the best thing about it.

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