Chuka

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Though I never really understood what Rod Taylor ever had to offer on screen, he does rather better here in this traditional army versus the Indians siege western. Recently arrived on the stagecoach with a disparate group of passengers, “Chuka” finds Fort Clanenden commanded by the bottle-loving “Col. Valois” (John Mills) and supported by his loyal sergeant “Hahnsbach” (Ernest Borgnine). Fairly swiftly, we all learn that this is a facility where then US Army keeps it’s rotten eggs, and gradually we learn just why - from the colonel down - these officers are now charged with holding this dead-end post against some menacing Arapaho who are dead-set on wiping them out and seizing what weapons and supplies they can. Just to add to his problems, there were two ladies amongst his party and with him taking a shine to the “Señora” (Luciana Paluzzi) he must keep spinning the plates as the war-drums suggest an imminent attack on their vulnerable position. On the face of it, this is all fairly standard fayre but thanks to Mills and his untrustworthy officer corp we get a sample of just what the army consisted of - and of the fact that many were just crooks and thugs in dark blue uniforms. This also gives us a sense of just why the natives were rebellious. These weren’t vengeful and power-crazed people, more those who had been driven from their traditional hunting grounds and reduced to foraging and scavenging to feed themselves and their families. Their resentment of these interlopers would seem entirely justified. Louis Hayward is almost unrecognisable as “Maj. Benson” and there is a decent effort in support from the usually reliable James Whitmore to help keep the pace moving well, and as a story with a decent amount of sub-text, it works better than I was expecting.

We're the scum of the United States Army. Colonel. Chuka is directed by Gordon Douglas and adapted to screenplay by Richard Jessup from his own novel. It stars Rod Taylor, John Mills, Ernest Borgnine, Luciana Paluzzi, James Whimore, Louis Hayward and Victoria Vetri. Music is by Leith Stevens and Pthe Color photography by Harold E. Stine. 1876 and Fort Clendenon is host to a bunch of army misfits and a lovelorn gunslinger, hardly a group capable of defending the Fort against an impending Arapaho attack... A super cast and a rather gorgeous colour print can't avert this being a distinctly average Siege Oater. Prodution wise it's a hodgepodge, an uneasy blend of stuffy looking studio bound sequences, matte paintings and airy locales, while the acting, sparse characterisations and general reliance on non meaty chatty filler scenes, all make it an odd viewing experience. The chat angle is most frustrating, not so much because there is so much of it so as to make this a 90% talky piece, but in that there are moments of great dialogue, where interesting character arcs are dangled, but alas they are threads that are never pulled to the benefit of all. Action is sparse but what there is is competently staged, with the siege itself - while not worth the wait - has enough moments of excitement and intelligence so as to not annoy. A very good and intriguing ending further adds to the strange mix of poor and good of it all, but ultimately it's average and hardly essential for fans of Westerns and the stars involved. 5/10