Chisum

Wayne & McLaglen tackle the Lincoln County War
Based upon historical fact, this film follows the famous range war in which Billy the Kid made his name, but chiefly from the viewpoint of aging cattle baron John Chisum (Wayne in the title role). It's 1878 in New Mexico Territory, and Chisum rides into the local town of Lincoln to meet his niece Sallie (Pamela McMyler) off the stage. His foreman and long-time Good Right Hand, Pepper (Ben Johnson practically stealing the movie--he should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor), remarks upon the many acquisitions being made by would-be real-estate magnate Lawrence J. Murphy (Tucker in a cheerfully malevolent role), but Chisum isn't looking for trouble. Still, he is inexorably drawn into the escalating situation when lawyer Alex McSween (Andrew Prine), whom Sallie befriended on the journey, finds it impossible to turn a blind eye to Murphy's machinations, and helps stake the idealistic Easterner to a store to run in competition with the one Murphy bought out from under its...

STRONG JOHN WAYNE WESTERN
I've always loved John Waynes westerns of the 60's and 70's. Even in older age he was a commanding presence on the screen. Chisum tells the story of the real-life Lincoln County war between John Chisum (wayne) and L.G. Murphy (Forrest Tucker). Chisum is a cattle baron who has settle this area of New Mexico long ago and a well-respected man of the Community. Murphy is the newcomer. A rich man bent on taking over Lincoln County by buying up everything he can and puttin any competitors out of business. This puts him into direct conflict with CHisum. Chisum soon uses his considerable funds to back a store and bank of his own to compete with Murphy.

Chisum is friends with another rich cattleman, a Northeasterner Henry Tunstall. Tunstall just happens to employ a certain young man named Billy Bonney AKA Billy the Kid. Tunstall is a man of God who tries to get Billy to change his lawless ways. Billy finds himself at odds with Chisum due to a romantic interest that forms...

John Chisum: Cattle Magnate and Attempted "Tamer" of Billy the Kid
The setting of this western is New Mexico in the 1870's. John Chisum (John Wayne) describes his flight from Texas following a period of poverty caused by the war (Civil War), and how he had built up the area, acquired a large herd of cattle, and made the area civilized enough that women would want to live there. He respects the local Indian chief, and calls the Comanches a Nation.

Chisum constantly has to fight against interlopers who try to steal his cattle. These include not only petty thieves but also those who think that they OWN the law (in contrast to Chisum, who simply respects the law).

William Bonney (Billy the Kid) arrives, and Chisum, fully aware of his past, nevertheless welcomes him. For a time, it seems as though Billy has turned over a new leaf. He settles down to a regular job, and expresses a desire to shed his murderous reputation. He even reads the Bible, though ostensibly to maintain what little reading skills he has. But then his friend is...

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