Chisum (1970) on Netflix
Cattle baron John Chisum, a founder of the town of Lincoln, watches Lawrence Murphy take over the local stores, bank and land. Chisum and Henry Tunstall turn to the law.
- Netflix3.9/5
- IMDb6.9/1012,122 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes83%
Trailer
Plot summary
In 1878, John Chisum runs cattle in Lincoln County, New Mexico. Lawrence Murphy and his partner James Dolan take over the land and businesses around Lincoln and bribe Sheriff Brady, who hires the bandit Neemo; Neemo's men steal a herd of Chisum's horses. Chisum keeps clear of the trouble at first, but he lets ranchers Murphy has forced out water their herds on his land, and his men ride after the thieves, joined by Billy Bonney, a notorious killer hired by Chisum's British neighbor Henry Tunstall. Chisum's niece Sallie comes to Lincoln, and Billy courts her. Alexander McSween, invited to serve as Murphy's lawyer, reaches town with his wife Sue. At Sallie's welcome party, Murphy's gang rustles the cattle being driven to the Army, and a shootout follows.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Chisum (1970)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- On set, co-star John Mitchum, brother of actor Robert Mitchum, shared his patriotic poetry with a visibly moved John Wayne. Forrest Tucker then suggested the two record it together, which led to their Grammy-nominated spoken-word album, America, Why I Love Her, released in 1973.
- Chisum dramatizes the real 1878 Lincoln County War, and despite altering many details, it keeps actual historical figures from the conflict, including John Chisum, John Tunstall, Alexander McSween, Lawrence Murphy, Sheriff Brady, Jess Evans, Pat Garrett, and Billy the Kid, all of whom were really in New Mexico Territory at the time.
- John Wayne was actually on the set of Chisum when he learned he had been nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for True Grit, an award he went on to win.
- Chisum was John Wayne's 200th starring role, and the filmmakers filled out the large supporting cast with actors who had appeared alongside him in earlier films, including Sands of Iwo Jima co-stars John Agar, Forrest Tucker, and Richard Jaeckel.
