Chisum

THE LEGEND - John Wayne is 'Chisum'

1970 • 111 min • Western

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Synopsis

Cattle baron John Chisum joins forces with Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett to fight the Lincoln County Land War in the New Mexico Territory of 1878.

Our family guide

Best from age 7

Movie Knight Score

209 reviews

100 Reviewers · 2 · 51%
67 Audience · 207 · 49%

Cattle baron John Chisum, alongside allies like Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett, fights to protect his land and livelihood during the turbulent Lincoln County War in 1878 New Mexico.

Violence & peril: 4/10
Language: 1/10
Drinking, drugs & smoking: 2/10
Romance & sensuality: 0/10
Scary moments: 3/10

Heads up

Period-typical gunfights
Some characters are killed

What it models well

Standing up for what is right
Loyalty to friends and community
Justice against corruption

Talk about it after

The real historical figures involved
Why land and water were so important
Different ways to solve conflicts

Written by the Movie Knight editorial team for Chisum. Our own words, our own scoring — always double-check against your family's standards.

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Top billed cast

Director: Andrew V. McLaglen • Crew: Andrew J. Fenady

Trailers & clips

Final Shootout with Murphy's Men

Just Lead

Trailer

Reviewer notes

Recommended
When "Sallie" (Pamela McMyler) arrives at her uncle's ranch, she is immediately impressed by the huge scale of the place. "It'd take a man on a good horse most of the summer to cover it" explains her uncle, it's owner, John Chisum (John Wayne). Together with his weary sidekick "Pepper" (Ben Johnson) they fought pestilence and Indians and now have a cattle empire the envy of many - including the upstart "Murphy" (F...
Geronimo1967, TMDB Community

Recommended
Maybe it is because I grew up with watching John Wayne (my father was a big fan of western movies) but I still really like these old goodies with John Wayne. Actually there are few movies with John Wayne that I do not like even though all of them are rather outdated in this age of overkill action and special effects. This is definitely one of the better ones. John Wayne is doing what he does best. That is playi...
Dark Jedi, TMDB Community