Sunday, September 18, 2011

1973 - CHINO, nearly plotless Charles Bronson western.


Bronson's a loner raising horses when a kid rides up looking for work.  Bronson takes him in and they sort of have a father son relationship.  Bronson's wife Jill Ireland shows up as usual and they fall in love, but Ireland's mean brother doesn't want her to marry a low life like Bronson, end of plot.


John Sturges produced and and directed but according to the IMDB it was co-directed by some Italian which would indicate some sort of problem during production.  In any case Chino ain't much of a film.  It takes over an hour before Bronson starts shooting guys as it marches to it's pointless conclusion. 


This is the period in Bronson's career where he was able to parlay the success of Death Wish into large paychecks for himself.  The problem for Bronson was that he associated himself with films that were basically crap.  Bronson's wife Jill Ireland frequently starred in these films in one of the classic examples of nepotism.  Reviewers would criticize her acting, but frankly I've seen a hell of a lot worse.


Chino was shot in Spain with an Italian crew which makes it an official spaghetti western.

98 minutes.

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