Chato's Land

Plot synopsis:
The film opens as the half-Apache Chato orders a drink at a bar. The bartender ignores him and serves the local sheriff who has arrived after Chato. The sheriff calls Chato a "redskin" and tells him the bar is for whites only. He moves behind Chato while hurling a stream of abuse at him. The sheriff's taunts escalate, and he draws his gun while saying that he is going to kill Chato. Chato whirls around and shoots the sheriff in the gut, killing him. He rides out of town on his Appaloosa.
Former Confederate officer, Capt. Quincey Whitmore, gathers a posse to hunt down Chato. As Whitmore rides across the country, the posse grows in number at each stop. It includes local ranchers and townspeople, along with a Mexican who is used as a scout and tracker.
Chato calmly watches the posse's progress, staying one step ahead of them. From a hilltop, he fires on them, drawing them into an ill-advised ascent. As the posse struggles to climb the hill, Chato descends the other side and scatters their horses. He seems generally nonplussed by their presence. At one point, he kills a rattlesnake, chops off its rattle, and wraps the rattle in the snake's skin. He puts the bundle in his coat pocket without explanation.
The posse's motivations are diverse. Some are motivated by a basic sense of justice, while a disturbing contingent seems to merely want to kill someone. As they continue to be outwitted by Chato, their divisions become more pronounced. When they come across a set of empty wickiups, the overtly racist members of the posse gleefully burn them.
In a valley, Chato spies a woman filling a water jug. As they smile at each other, it becomes clear that she is his wife. He greets his son and gives him the rattlesnake toy from his pocket. They enter Chato's hogan, happy to be reunited. Chato resumes his normal life, busying himself with breaking horses during the day.
The posse eventually discovers his home and brutally gang rape Chato's wife. They hogtie her naked outside the hogan. Chato's friend creates a diversion which allows Chato to rescue his wife. During the confusion, Chato's friend is shot and wounded. The sadistic members of the posse hang him upside down and set him on fire while he is still alive. Disgusted by such barbarity, Whitmore shoots the burning man through the head, putting him out of his misery.
As he prepares to avenge his dead friend and his violated wife, Chato abandons his European dress and dons his native moccasins and loin cloth. He lures the posse members into individual traps, killing them one at a time. The posse grows more fractious until the more sadistic members murder Whitmore and the peaceful holdouts. Chato picks off the rest, right down to the last remaining man.

Tags: revenge, murder, violence

Review:
Michael Winner's "Chato's Land" of 1972 starring the great late Charles Bronson and the equally grand Jack Palance, who also passed away recently, is a tough-minded and violent English Western which should not be missed, and a must-see for every Bronson fan.
Director Winner, who is most famous for his violent 1974 cult classic "Death Wish", is certainly one of the masters of uncompromising revenge cinema and "Chato's Land", Winners first collaboration with Bronson, is one of the movies which have rightly earned him this reputation.When half-breed Apache Pardon Chato (Bronson) shoots a racist Sheriff in self defense in a Saloon, local men form a posse to catch him, in order to hang him as soon as possible.
The posse is lead by former Confederate Captain Quincy Whitmore, who is more keen on the manhunt just for the good old times than out of hate towards Chato.
The film is very well photographed in the Spanish Almería, certainly the best location for European Westerns."Chato's Land" is a brutal, tough-minded and great Western, which should not be missed by anybody who likes revenge movies.
A must-see for Charles Bronson fans, Chato's Land is a great film.
A tale of western revenge, "Chato's Land" has a cast of many well known actors including Jack Palance, Richard Basehart, Simon Oakland, Ralph Waite, Victor French and James Whitmore as well as Bronson in the lead role as Pardon Chato.Chato is a half-breed Apache who makes the mistake of visiting a town that is hostile towards Indians.
Being set upon by the sadistic town Marshall, Chato kills the lawman in self defense and must run from a posse of the town's people led by Jack Palance as Quincy Whitmore.
Simon Oakland also does a fine job as Jubal Hooker, the vicious elder of the degenerate Hooker clan who takes control of the posse from Quincy and ultimately cause the death of several of the posse members.This movie has some beautifully set scenery that captures the harshness of the desert land that Chato takes refuge in.
Bronson definitely looks and acts like he is an Indian living off the land, he does a superb job and I defy anyone to think of another actor who could play this role.
Did anyone notice that Charlie made 2 of his best (maybe his best) pictures one after another, both directed by Michael Winner (who did some more nice entries in the Bronson catalog), both scored by Jerry Fiedling (superbly, if I may add), "CHATO'S LAND" and "THE MECHANIC" (from whom Tarantine chose to quote in "Kill Bill II") ??!!
Released in 1972, "Chato's Land" is typically written off as lame Spaghetti Western with Charles Bronson but, actually, it's a UK production shot in Spain, Mexico and Arizona.
And, secondly, there's more depth here than the one-dimensional racist-revenge plot might first lead you to believe.I'll admit that I was turned off to this movie for years due to Brian Garfield's scathing review in his excellent book "Western Films," where he called it "cheesy, dreary, phony," but an open-minded and honest viewing proves him wrong.
It's true that the desolate Spanish locations are phony, in that it's not the American Southwest, but other than that the characters and dialogue ring true.The plot is simple: Chato, a half-breed Indian (Charles Bronson), shoots an arrogant, racist lawman in a saloon and a large posse is assembled where they chase Chato in his own element, which is why it's called "Chato's Land." Bronson's role is taciturn, one-dimensional and almost invisible, until the end where he's a stunning example of masculine strength.
Another reviewer commented that, if he were 6'5", he would've made a perfect Conan the Barbarian.Bronson's striking presence and solemn performance is key to the success of the movie, of course, but the film's true strength is the writing/directing and the stellar cast that make up the posse, including Jack Palance, Richard Basehart, James Whitmore, Simon Oakland, Ralph Waite, Richard Jordan and more.
There's a little in-joke that's included in Pardon Chato's (Charles Bronson) only line spoken in English; and that occurs in about the second minute of this savagely entertaining story about vigilantism running amok somewhere in the Old West.We see Chato, at the saloon bar, waiting to get his whiskey when in comes the local Marshall Endersby (Jacob Meade), looking to kill himself an uppity mestizo.
It's a joke, because the director, Michael Winner, in 1971, had already filmed a story called Lawman (by the same screen writer, Gerald Wilson) in which a Marshall hunts down a group of men – relentlessly, mercilessly and legally.
(Note that Lawman is more highly regarded, at IMDb, than Chato's Land.)Anyway, the story of Chato is double joke: here, the Marshall is out of the picture (no pun intended) immediately, and the hunters – the Posse Commitatus, a mixed bunch of misfits headed up by either ex-Captain Whitmore (Jack Palance) or Jubal Hooker (Simon Oakland), depending on how the plot unfolds – become the hunted when Chato begins the task of killing them – relentlessly, mercilessly...but, illegally, in this story.
Charles Bronson and director Michael Winner made the first of several films together in this western that was shot in Spain.
Chato's Land boasts a fine cast of players most of whom don't make it through the end of the film.Bronson plays Pardon Chato a mixed blood Apache just in town for supplies and a racist U.S. Marshal puts the prod to him.
Their brand of justice includes raping his wife and killing his child in the bargain.Jack Palance plays the nominal leader of the group, but he's got no control over the meanest of the bunch, a trio of brothers Simon Oakland, Ralph Waite, and Richard Jordan.
Elements of this same plot are also to be found in a particular favorite Bronson film of mine, Mr. Majestyk.Chato's Land is a good western with an impeccable cast.
A laconic Apache is pursued by a posse to solve a sheriff's death , dead in self-defense showdown by Chato (Charles Bronson) .
A veteran confederate officer (Jack Palance) leads the posse (Victor French , James Withmore , Lee Patterson) along with three brutal brothers (Richard Jordan , Simon Oakland , Ralph Waite).
Pretty good Charles Bronson in his ordinary tough role , this film is one of Charles Bronson's 70s westerns ; his westerns made during the 1970s include Red sun (1971), Chato the Apache (1972), From noon till three (1976), Nevada Express (1975) and The White Buffalo (1977) .
Chato is a half-breed Apache Indian who shoots a sheriff in self-defense while in town and finds himself the target of a head hunting posse led by a former Confederate soldier Quincy Whitmore.
This was the first feature to bring the pairing of director Michael Winner and actor Charles Bronson together (in which they would go on to make another five films).
A terrific Jack Palance gives a classy stable depiction of Quincy Whitmore and Charles Bronson was in ripe condition and form as Chato.
To be honest this isn`t much of a tribute down to the simple fact that Bronson has very little dialogue and only a few scenes in a film that concentrates more on the posse than their pray .
A far better tribute would have been that Bronson movie that contains the classic line " Put down those melons " On its own merits CHATO`S LAND is a fairly entertaining and intelligent film featuring a ( White ) posse on the trail of an ( Apache ) fugitive .
Michael Winner is hardly the greatest film maker who`s ever lived ( Check out the very obvious day for night filming ) but he does deserve some credit for casting someone who actually looks like an Indian in the title role and it`s not often you see a couple of Scottish characters in a western who give a very , very accurate description of rain soaked Greenock.
It stars Charles Bronson, Jack Palance, James Whitmore, Simon Oakland, Richard Baseheart, Ralph Waite and Richard Jordan.
Plot finds Bronson as half Apache, Pardon Chato, who is forced to kill the local sheriff in self defence and finds himself being hunted by a town posse led by Captain Quicey Whitmore (Palance).
However, as the posse trail him into the wilderness it becomes apparent that the tables have been turned, with Chato given further cause to inflict harm upon his pursuers.The first of six collaborations between Charles Bronson and Michael Winner, Chato's Land finds the pair setting the marker for what would define their work.
Chato's Land is more than just a revenge Western; a film about white men out of their usual terrain being pursued by a man of a different ethnicity, it wants to, and does quite well, be a picture dealing in racism, violence and the folly of hypocritical justice.
However, the group dynamic is a good one, with the inevitable character differences creating a tinderbox waiting to ignite, while Winner doesn't skimp over the violence, puncturing the narrative with savage thrusts.Bronson was 50 years old when making the film, his physicality here is very impressive.
Chato's Land is not going to be for everybody, it's very gritty and violent(some of it being not for the faint-hearted, the most memorable of it actually being very brutal) and Michael Winner's films are the kind that will entertain some and not be others' cup of tea.The film is a touch overlong and gets a bit draggy in spots, while the ending is rather abrupt and rushed- sure it was intended to be ambiguous but for me there was the feeling of uncertainty of how to end it- and the day-for-night lighting/shooting is awfully obvious.
For an action/Western film, what was really impressive about Chato's Land was the way the characters are written.
James Whitmore, Richard Basehart, Simon Oakland and Ralph Waite give solid support but best of all is Jack Palance, who is superb in one of his better and more layered performances.Overall, far from perfect and not for everybody's tastebuds but a pretty good film.
In 1972, Winner and Wilson again paired for Chato's Land, in which Charles Bronson's Chato hunts down a group of men.
Had the movie been accurately billed as a film starring Jack Palance and Simon Oakland, with Bronson in a small role, few would have paid to see it.
Charles Bronson, in extraordinary physical shape, plays a quiet Apache in an apparently hate-mongering Old West town who kills the despicable white sheriff in self-defense; he doesn't stick around to explain his actions, of course--and the bartender who witnessed the shooting certainly isn't talking--prompting a prejudiced posse made up of hard-bitten locals to go after the Indian over rough terrain on horseback.
Being a western-revenge movie, its story isn't full of surprises but Michael Winner did his best -like each time- and he made a wonderful but serious movie.
Finally, I would like to thank Robert Paynter (camera-man) for the amazing panorama, sure he hadn't forgotten to have a look around.Taking it all round, I think Chato's Land is not just one of Bronson's best pictures but it is one of the best westerns I've ever seen..
Chato's Land is the second of two westerns directed by Michael Winner in the early 70's, the first being Lawman.
Chato, played by Charles Bronson, is pursued by a vengeful posse after killing a lawman, who provoked him.
Although not as action-packed as Director Michael Winner's other projects featuring Charles Bronson like The Mechanic or the classic Death Wish, Chato's Land is an interesting Western.
6 out of 10 stars, not the best Michael Winner/Charles Bronson film combo, but definitely worth watching..
A character named Quincey Whitmore (a rock solid Jack Palance) gets together a fairly large posse to hunt Chato down, but they are led into forbidding territory where their quarry seems to hold all the cards.Fear, ignorance, lust, and hatred rear their ugly heads in "Chato's Land", as good as any an examination of the poor attitudes that white men harbored towards Indians.
Charles Bronson plays Chato a half-breed(as they used to say) Apache/White, who finds himself a hunted man when he kills a racist sheriff in a saloon.
They pursue Chato into his territory in the mountains, only to discover that they have vastly underestimated him, and that he is determined to get rid of them in any way he can...Charles Bronson is not given much dialogue here, but is in amazingly good shape, as he is seen shirtless for the film's duration.
Sympathy is clearly for Chato, who was wronged, but is also quite ruthless himself(justified though.) Allegorical to Vietnam in the sense of a group of Americans thinking their quarry an ignorant savage, but learn that it was foolhardy to pursue him on his own ground.Though quite grim, it is realistic; Bronson has incredible screen presence, and director Michael Winner presents this story in taut fashion, with a striking ending..
This Western is beautifully and graphically filmed, and Michael Winner brings his trademark intensity to the project, but his "Lawman" (also 1971) with Burt Lancaster is a much better film.The problem with this film is that none of the characters have any redeeming qualities, not even Bronson's "Chato."  Since this film was made in 1970-71, one may expect the white guys to personify evil and the Indians to personify goodness, but here, the cruelty on both sides is relentless and obsessive.
I was really into that film, living and breathing and feeling for the characters, while CHATO'S LAND on the other hand feels like a somewhat stodgy, uninteresting version of the story.The film is notable for being the first pairing between Charles Bronson and Michael Winner, who of course would go on to find popularity with the DEATH WISH franchise.
The Dialog is Shaped with Sharp Old West Speak with Sub-Humans Spouting Redneck "Insights" about Indians, the Land, and God's Folly in Creating these "Aberrations" to the White Man.Jack Palance as the Leader of a Posse on the Trail of a "Half-Breed" who had the Audacity to Shoot the Sheriff in Self-Defence, into "Chato's Land", is as close to a "Hero" the Whites can Muster in this Lynch Mob of mostly Inbred Scum.
It Smacks of Hacks that are better at Mimicking than making Art. Winner's Direction is more than Competent with a Firm Hand at the Intent of being Entertaining as well as Messaging.Overall, an Underrated Western that is Worth a Watch Showcasing an almost Mute Charles Bronson (trademark) that does His work with little to say on the Subject except that Deeds are more Important than Words.
We all know Charlie isn't exactly the most eloquent acting star, so Michael Winner instantly knew the character of silent but deadly (Chato only mumbles a few lines in Apache language throughout the entire film) Indian would be ideal for him.
Chato's Land (1972) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Charles Bronson plays an Apache Indian who kills a racist sheriff and then takes off into the wilderness while Jack Palance forms a posse to go after him.
"Chato's Land" was well suited to Bronson's evolutionary screen persona, that of the strong, relatively silent avengera solid figure of firm intention but few words As Pardon Chato, the vengeful Apache half-breed, Bronson enjoyed the most vocally reticent role of his starring career, speaking but few linesand most of those in Apache!Again, Spanish locations represented the American frontier West for this post-Civil War tale about a white posse's search for Chato, who, in self-defense, had killed the sheriff of a small New Mexico town As the pursuers forge deeper into Apache country, the situation shifts around, with hunters becoming the hunted Failing out among themselves, the posse members gradually become victim either to each other's violence or to Chato's well-justified vengeance, after they rape his womanIn the non-U.S. countries where Bronson enjoyed his greatest popularity, "Chato's Land" was well met and highly successful.
Pardon Chato (Charles Bronson), instead of being hunted by a determined posse, looks more like the hunter in this revenge Western filmed in Spain.
As the tale unfolds, it becomes clear who the real savages are – and it's not the taciturn half-breed Indian Chato (Bronson) but his hateful and spiritually ugly posse of pursuers led by ex-confederate veteran Quincey (Palance).Throughout the first half of the film, Chato provides his enemies with the means to relinquish their quest, turn back, give up and go home with their lives intact.
A posse, led by a former Confederate soldier, Captain Quincey Whitmore(Jack Palance) decide to head out to find an "Injun" responsible for the murder of a no-good sheriff, the hunted(or, more appropriately, the hunter) an Apache named Chato(Charles Bronson).
The director Michael Winner puts together a terrific film, supported by first class actors such as Jack Palance, Simon Oakland, Ralph Waite, and James Whitmore, who are all members of the posse chasing Chato.
Chato's Land is another in a long line of entertaining Charles Bronson movies, featuring a host of great supporting actors and a simple but powerful storyline.
Bronson plays Pardon Chato, an Apache who kills a prejudiced sheriff in self-defense.
A posse led by former Confederate Captain Quincy Whitmore (Jack Palance) is formed to hunt down and hang the Indian.
The rape of Chato's woman and the shooting, hanging and burning of a tribesman reflect the terrible treatment of the Indians in the American Frontier West.Although this is a Charles Bronson film, the supporting cast drives the movie.
Synopsis: After Pardon Chato (Charles Bronson), a mestizo, kills a US marshal in self-defense, a posse pursues him, but as the white volunteers advance deep in Indian territory they become more hunted then prey, leading to internal strife.
Charles Bronson is a Half-breed Apache who kills a nasty sheriff in self defense and takes off to the badlands, but that's not what the film is really about.
End of racist sheriff.Bronson takes off while the local community organizer, Jack Palance, organizes a posse to hunt him down and hang him.