Chuka
Chuka is described as an American adaptation of the classic Beau Geste. I read Beau Geste somewhere in my teens. It stuck in that mental library of favorites. Recently I decided to reread some of them. They aren’t all still in print. Beau Geste is. I enjoyed it this time around. It centers on the theft of a priceless blue diamond, leading the presumptive thief to the French Foreign Legion and the fate of a doomed fort. Chuka doesn’t have anything to do with diamonds; but the doomed fort resonates with the story.
The film opens in the ruins of a fort overrun by a band of Arapaho. The post commander has the Arapaho war chief Hanu in custody to tell the story. Hanu first encounters Chuka (Rod Taylor) when the gunfighter rides into a starving Arapaho winter camp and generously shares his food.
Chuka next crosses the trail of a stage carrying Senora Veronica Kleitz (Luciana Paluzzi) and her niece, Senorita Helena Chavez (Victoria Vetri). Chuka and Veronica have a history. The Arapaho attack the stage. The worst is averted when Hanu recognizes Chuka and abandons the attack. Chuka escorts the stage to a nearby fort.
The fort is garrisoned by malcontents and misfits under the command of disgraced Colonel Stuart Valois (John Mills), seconded by a Major Benson with an Arapaho mistress stashed away on post. Valois, for all his faults, has the allegiance of Sergeant Otto Hansbach (Ernest Borgnine), a good soldier who has no use for the likes of Chuka. Between Arapaho sorties against the fort, Chuka tries to rekindle the flame with Veronica to no avail.
With the Arapaho threat building to a decisive moment, Chuka urges Valois to abandon the fort and its supplies, arguing the supplies are all Hanu wants. Valois refuses. The die is cast when Benson’s Arapaho mistress stabs him to death and sets fire to the stables. Hanu and his warriors overrun the fort. Veronica is killed along with Valois, Hansbach and what’s left of his command. The Indians loot the fort and are preparing to leave when Hanu spots Chuka hiding with Senorita Helena. He rides off in, yet another kindness returned for Chuka’s shared food.
Hanu finishes the story as the post commander wraps up his report.
Next Week: The Tall Men
Return to Facebook to comment
Ride easy,
Paul
The film opens in the ruins of a fort overrun by a band of Arapaho. The post commander has the Arapaho war chief Hanu in custody to tell the story. Hanu first encounters Chuka (Rod Taylor) when the gunfighter rides into a starving Arapaho winter camp and generously shares his food.
Chuka next crosses the trail of a stage carrying Senora Veronica Kleitz (Luciana Paluzzi) and her niece, Senorita Helena Chavez (Victoria Vetri). Chuka and Veronica have a history. The Arapaho attack the stage. The worst is averted when Hanu recognizes Chuka and abandons the attack. Chuka escorts the stage to a nearby fort.
The fort is garrisoned by malcontents and misfits under the command of disgraced Colonel Stuart Valois (John Mills), seconded by a Major Benson with an Arapaho mistress stashed away on post. Valois, for all his faults, has the allegiance of Sergeant Otto Hansbach (Ernest Borgnine), a good soldier who has no use for the likes of Chuka. Between Arapaho sorties against the fort, Chuka tries to rekindle the flame with Veronica to no avail.
With the Arapaho threat building to a decisive moment, Chuka urges Valois to abandon the fort and its supplies, arguing the supplies are all Hanu wants. Valois refuses. The die is cast when Benson’s Arapaho mistress stabs him to death and sets fire to the stables. Hanu and his warriors overrun the fort. Veronica is killed along with Valois, Hansbach and what’s left of his command. The Indians loot the fort and are preparing to leave when Hanu spots Chuka hiding with Senorita Helena. He rides off in, yet another kindness returned for Chuka’s shared food.
Hanu finishes the story as the post commander wraps up his report.
Next Week: The Tall Men
Return to Facebook to comment
Ride easy,
Paul
No comments have been added yet.
