adrian-43767 I will always look back on CHUKA as a B movie with a stellar cast, including Oscar winners Borgnine and Mills. The latter, and lead Taylor (not to mention beautiful Paluzzi) were not known doing Westerns, and all look rather uncomfortable, even if Taylor looks physically fit and does his best to make the most of a not particularly desirable role.Direction is unimaginative and unable to extract anything close to the best from the cast. One of the highlights of the movie, the fight between Borgnine and Taylor, is unconvincing, with poor stunts. The script is limited, and predictable in its attempts to shock the viewer with revelations about the characters' dark sides. I kept thinking that I was watching a British production with Indians for color and atmosphere which, surely, was not what Director Douglas intended. Photography is in keeping with the low budget and the ultimate pointlessness of the entire project.

doug-balch This is a movie that constantly teeters on the brink of being awful, yet somehow continually proves itself to be interesting and entertaining. Here's what I liked:Rod Taylor pulls off the role of charismatic "pistolero" loner quite well.I don't know how plausible it is for a former British army officer to be commanding U.S. troops, but John Mills character adds a unique texture to the Western setting.The characters in the movie were very well developed in terms of complexity. Ernest Borgnine and James Whitmore provide excellent supporting acting.I liked the fact that a strong Mexican theme was introduced through the love interest. It was nice to see a Mexican aristocrat portrayed and not the usual ragged, barefoot street vendor/flunkie.Although the Indians were presented as stereotypical murderers threatening the heroes, they were given legitimate cause for their extreme actions.I enjoyed a couple of "super macho" scenes, one involving a extended fist fight between Taylor and Borgnine and the other involving an extended Tequila drinking bout by Taylor and Whitmore.A shout out to lovely Bond girl Luciana Paluzzi. She's very effective as a complex love interest for Taylor.Here's some things I didn't like:There's maybe too much time spent developing the back stories of the main characters. The movie needed more action oriented subplots, especially since it was told as a flashback i.e. We already knew the ending.I found the general pacing too slow, starting with Chuka's long pony ride through the snow at the beginning.Maybe the Arapahoes were starving, but Rod Taylor sure wasn't. Hard to imaging getting that pudgy wandering around the desert on a horse. You think the guy could have worked out a little for this part.I don't know how to shoot a pistol, but I'm sure Taylor's firing technique is extremely poor. Hard to believe he never misses.This was shot almost entirely on set. I like Westerns to have significant location shoots in the West, not in Burbank.The Burbank set itself was very cheap and the whole movie had a cartoonish feel. This was dissonant with its rather grim and violent plot.Was it necessary to reveal that Colonel Valois is no longer a "complete man" because he was sexually mutilated by natives in the Sudan? This was a bizarre non-sequitur introduced late in the movie.There is zero comic relief, at least intentional comic relief.

dbdumonteil The director was not allowed to film on location,which ,for a western is perhaps not a very smart idea.But as almost all the action takes place in a fort besieged by starving Indians,the movie does not suffer for it.It's a very dark western,with a murky atmosphere ,unsympathetic characters; in spite of the gorgeous Luciana Paluzzi (one of the best James Bond girl that ever was ) and her niece (portrayed by Angela Dorian,more famous for her small part of Terry Gionoffrio in "Rosemary's baby" ),the dinner becomes a settling of scores.The movie contains very violent scenes in its last quarter ,predating Peckinpah and "soldier blue" and it's one of the rare films of the genre to feature a thoroughly unhappy ending.

CCsito This movie dealt with a fort that was being surrounded by Arapahoes Native Americans as the soldiers were defending supplies and food that the Arapahoes wanted. Rod Taylor plays a man, Chuka, who comes upon this rather dire situation. He helps a former lover of his and a niece who become stranded while traveling on the road. The visitors become stuck inside the fort as the Arapahoes prepare to attack it. There are several scenes involving Chuka and the other fort soldiers that show the personalities of the fort's defenders. There are even a few light moments in the movie as the imminent attack draws near. Rod's character also has a love scene with the former lover (gorgeous Luciana Paluzzi). Chuka tries to persuade the commanding officer of the fort to abandon it and allow the Arapahoes to take the supplies, which he refuses. The concept of following duty appears to be an unconvincing aspect of the situation given that the safety of the fort's occupants should have been paramount. John Mills, who plays the commanding officer, is the guilt driven colonel who refuses to allow the soldiers to abandon the fort as a way out of the situation. The movie reminded me of situations where the number of fighters on one side was way outnumbered by the opposition. There was little sympathy for those that followed the orders blindly. Chuka was one of the few who offered a possible alternative to the impending massacre.