As a youngster i was never a jw fan but through the years i've come to admire him as a real people person...lots of cast members in his film are loyal to him and some are down on their luck friends he gives honest work to allow them some dignity...this film is a typical jw western...it never lacks for action and he always gets in the last word...and its usually important...i think he's been long under rated ...maureen ohara was his love interest in a lot of films and she pretty much echoed what i've said in her memoirs...to a cowboy that hated horses and loved to sail

A typical star-driven late 60's Hollywood-oater, "Chisum" was entertaining but it's easy to see the rising appeal of grittier, harder Westerns like 1969's "The Wild Bunch" (a film reportedly disliked by John Wayne). Other than the iconic Wayne as the titular character and the always great Ben Johnson as his muttering sidekick, most of the cast looked like Hollywood actors and actresses playing at 'old-west' – hairstyles seemed anachronistic, women had tight fitting dresses, everyone had perfect teeth etc. Billy the Kid was portrayed as a pretty nice guy with his on-screen killings always justified (at least by him) and lots of references to him learning to read, do sums etc., and again, his mentor Tunstall is portrayed as an older British father-figure (he was actually less than 10 years older that The Kid). After watching John Wayne play a lot of 'larger-than-life' heroes like John Chisum, it's not surprising that some people were surprised by his actual acting ability when he finally played a more complex and ambivalent character in "True Grit". What I most disliked about "Chisum" was the music, especially the clichéd opening Ballad of John Chisum and the intrusive "Sally" song. All-in-all, an OK old-school western from an era when the genre was moving away from white hats vs. black hats story lines to more realistic (at least as realistic as a highly-fictionalised era can be), dirtier, and bloodier films.

Andrew McLaglen directs "Chisum", a film based loosely upon the Lincoln County War of 1878. It stars John Wayne as John Chisum, a wealthy land owner who owns huge swathes of New Mexico Territory. Encroaching upon Chisum's domain is Lawrence Murphy (Forrest Tucker), a millionaire racketeer who uses gangs, violence and old-fashioned monopolistic tactics to undercut Chisum's businesses."Chisum" was publicly praised by US President Richard Nixon, so right away you know it's a moronic flick. McLaglen's audience is asked to accept Chisum as a "good capitalist" and "good land baron", who runs "good banks", "good farms" and "loves minorities". Murphy, in contrast, is presented as a "bad capitalist" who uses underhanded tactics, buys politicians, bribes sheriffs, runs "bad banks" and uses his clout to exploit others. That the real Murphy was a Republican Party leader is an irony missed by Nixon. That Chisum is a guy who wiped out Native Indians, hires thugs of his own, is himself monopolistic, that all land grabs are exclusionary and that all banks and 18th century private property laws exert the same negative knock-on effects, is likewise completely oblivious to McLaglen. The film's false dichotomy ends with our Good Capitalist Patriarch and Bad Capitalist Partirarch in a literal fist fight, John Wayne, of course, eventually emerging victorious. With fists and six-shooters, and in the name of God and Law, he cleans up town.Ultimately stupid, "Chisum's" first hour nevertheless cons you into expecting complexity. The film initially feels revisionist, feels expansive, feels like its genuinely attempting to sketch the realities of 19th century New Mexico. In the end, though, most of "Chisum's" interesting avenues are derailed by John Wayne himself, and the ancillary baggage he brings with him. 5/10 – Better westerns: "McCabe and Mrs Miller", "Sitting Bull's History Lesson", "Broken Lance", "Ulzana's Raid", "Hud", "Bad Company", "The Long Riders", "Hombre" and "Ride with the Devil".

While historically inaccurate concerning Billy Bonney (Billy the Kid) and Pat Garrett this is a very good movie. The plot is good. The acting is way above average, and the scenes and scenery are all very good. John Wayne as Chisum plays one of his most memorable characters in this movie. He seems to actually be playing himself to some extent. The fight scene between him and Forrest Tucker is memorable, especially with Tucker dying on the bull horns after falling from the second story. The bad guys generally act like bad guys and the good guys act like good guys. Of course good wins out in the end. The only problem I had with this movie was the slaughter of the attorney by the ugly fake sheriff.