Brad’s “Hero of the Day” – Bernardo O’Reilly (THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN)!

Posted on July 2, 2026 by Bradley Crain

“You think I am brave because I carry a gun? Well, your fathers are much braver because they carry responsibility… This is bravery.”

Bernardo O’Reilly, played by Charles Bronson in the classic 1960 western THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, is not a character that I often hear discussed among the great western heroes. In a film that featured so many movie stars portraying so many memorable characters, O’Reilly may be somewhat overlooked in the annals of film history. But the truth is, the man is a true hero who just doesn’t happen to fit the traditional mold. He’s not the fastest gun, the most charismatic, or the natural leader… rather, his heroism comes from a place of incredible character.

Consider these heroic traits:

Bernardo is motivated more by compassion and camaraderie than money. Bernardo agrees to join the seven because he wants to help the Mexican villagers and ride with men he respects. He’s not chasing money or glory because we find out how much more he’s made in some of his earlier jobs. He knows the reward is small and the opposition is large, but he goes anyway.

He becomes the voice of truth that the village boys need to hear. My favorite storyline in the film concerns Bernardo’s relationship with a few of the boys in the village. These boys idolize the gunfighters and are embarrassed by their own fathers, who they see as cowards. Bernardo not-so-gently teaches them, and by that I mean he takes one of the boys over his knee and spanks his butt, that their fathers possess a courage he could never have, and that is the courage of responsibility. His speech about the true bravery of their fathers is one of the best character moments in the film.

He combines toughness with kindness. Like many of the characters played by Charles Bronson, Bernardo is a physically intimidating man of few words, yet he’s also gentle under that surface. At the very beginning, we see him make the wooden whistle that he then offers to the young village girl with that wonderful Bronson smile. This love for children is most certainly an element of Bronson’s own personal character that shows up in Bernardo O’Reilly. His understated performance lets you see that he’s so much more than just a hardened gunman.

He leaves the greatest legacy. Bernardo doesn’t just preach selflessness. During the final battle, he risks his own life without hesitation to protect the village boys and pays the ultimate sacrifice. While the surviving gunfighters get to ride away, Bernardo has taught the boys the ultimate lesson. He changes how they see their fathers and what it really means to be a man. His acts of heroism outlive him.

For me, Bernardo O’Reilly redefines what it means to be a western hero. He proves that courage isn’t ultimately measured by how many men you kill, but by whether you’re willing to put someone else’s life ahead of your own. Even in a film filled with iconic characters like Chris (Yul Brynner), Vin (Steven McQueen), and Britt (James Coburn), Bernardo is the character that stands out the most. In his words and his final sacrifice, he’s transformed from a hired gun into a genuine hero.

Hero of the Day

Brad reviews KINJITE: FORBIDDEN SUBJECTS (1989), starring Charles Bronson!

Posted on June 29, 2026 by Bradley Crain

Back when I was a teenager, I would always get the entertainment section out of my dad’s Sunday paper so I could check out the movie listings. I was mainly looking for information about my favorite movie star, Charles Bronson. Nowadays, we know about new movies months, even years, in advance, but back then I would learn about them from the entertainment section of dad’s paper. One Sunday in early 1989, when I was 15 years old, I saw an advertisement for a new Bronson film called KINJITE: FORBIDDEN SUBJECTS. It was the first time I had ever heard of it. I knew I wasn’t going to get to see it at the movies because it was only playing in Little Rock, but I was excited anyway because it would be on its way to video soon!

In the film, Bronson plays police Lieutenant Crowe. Along with his partner Eddie Rios (Perry Lopez), he deals with the sleaziest criminals in Los Angeles on a daily basis and it’s starting to take a toll on his personal life. He’s currently invested in bringing down an underage prostitution ring led by Duke (Juan Fernandez) and Lavonne (Sy Richardson). When Japanese businessman Hiroshi Hada’s (James Pax) young daughter is kidnapped by Duke, Crowe decides he must do everything in his power to get her back to her family.

KINJITE reunites Bronson with director J. Lee Thompson for the ninth and final time, bringing to an end what I think is one of the more underrated actor-director partnerships of the action genre. Bronson had first worked with Thompson on the fun mystery film ST. IVES at the peak of his 70’s career. By 1989, Bronson was in his late sixties and understandably slowing down on the action front, but he still possessed that unmistakable presence on screen. He’s more invested in his performance as the prejudicial Lt. Crowe than he’s usually given credit for. There’s one specific scene where he goes off on a group of Japanese businessmen and women who are holding up traffic in front of a large hotel. It’s one of Bronson’s strongest scenes of the 1980’s as he yells various traffic code violations, and obscenities, at the surprised guests. It’s a bad moment for his character, but a well-acted moment for Bronson.

None of Bronson’s ‘80’s action films were based on stories about sunshine and roses, but the subject matter of KINJITE is particularly dark and ugly. Themes of child exploitation, human trafficking, sexual violence, and prejudice are all given screen time in a world that’s so corrupt that only someone as committed as Lt. Crowe is even capable of taking on the evil that’s presented here. Crowe is not necessarily a good man, and his sense of justice goes completely overboard at times. For example, in one scene where he catches a pervert preparing to commit an assortment of depraved sexual acts on a young prostitute (played by Nicole Eggert), Crowe says “I’m going to show you what it feels like to be one of these girls,” and we, along with his partner, hear the screams off-screen as he honors his word. In another scene, he makes the pimp Duke eat a giant Rolex watch, which prompts the trafficker to say, “I’m gonna die…” None too concerned about Duke’s health, Crowe casually tells him, “No you won’t, but you will have to stick your head between your legs to tell the time.” This is not a well-adjusted human being, but with all the evil acts being committed around him, you still can’t help but root for the guy.

The supporting cast around Bronson is quite good. Juan Fernandez is a standout as the despicable pimp, Duke. There’s something about Fernandez that just makes him great as a bad guy, as he had proved a few years earlier in the Oliver Stone film SALVADOR. His character here has this odd energy about him that oozes evil. Veteran character actor Perry Lopez, who had worked with Bronson going all the way back to the 1954 western DRUM BEAT, provides the aging icon a solid partner who helps smooth out his character’s roughest edges. Their scenes together are very strong because they feel like two weary detectives and old friends trying to deal with a world they’re both sick of.

While I think Bronson provides a good performance and that Thompson provides solid direction, I wouldn’t rank KINJITE among the star’s best 80’s films. It tries to juggle a lot of difficult themes and wants to comment on cultural differences, built-in prejudices, and sexual deviance, and it also wants to deliver the kind of action that audiences expected from Bronson’s Cannon films. It’s a well-made film, but the results aren’t completely effective because it can’t find the right balance between the serious dramatic themes and the expected action heroics. In the end, the events depicted on screen are too disturbing for the film to qualify as fun, escapist entertainment, but they’re not handled with enough depth for the film to make any sort of serious statement. The film ends up making you pretty darn uncomfortable, so I don’t revisit it as often as I do other Bronson / Thompson collaborations like 10 TO MIDNIGHT and MURPHY’S LAW.

Based on the dark subject matter I’ve described above, I can’t give KINJITE: FORBIDDEN SUBJECTS an unreserved recommendation like I do so many other Bronson films. But as the final collaboration between Bronson and J. Lee Thompson, it does carry a certain historical significance. And for fans interested in seeing the darker side of Bronson’s film career, it remains a memorable, and unsettling, final chapter in one of action cinema’s most enduring partnerships.

Visiting Charles Bronson’s Vermont… and a chance encounter I’ll never forget – Taking my love of movies on down the road (Part 5)!!

Posted on June 20, 2026 by Bradley Crain

For most of my life, I’ve wanted to visit the state of Vermont. It started because I loved the 80’s sitcom NEWHART when I was a kid. In the show, Bob Newhart and his wife were innkeepers in rural Vermont so I just knew it had to be beautiful. And then, as Charles Bronson’s biggest fan, I learned that his favorite place on earth was his horse farm in Vermont, which was named Zuleika Farm after his daughter with Jill Ireland. This became the place that he would escape to as his filming schedule allowed. He is even buried there at the Brownsville Cemetery at the foot of Mount Ascutney. Visiting that area of Vermont that sits close to the New Hampshire border became the ultimate Charles Bronson “bucket list” item for me. In 2026, at the ripe old age of 52, I was able to mark this off my list, as my wife and I spent a few days in West Windsor, VT.

But first, if we were going to drive all the way to Vermont, I decided we should stop off in Philadelphia and see Eric Todd, the host of the THIS WEEK IN CHARLES BRONSON podcast. Eric’s vision to create a podcast dedicated to keeping Bronson’s memory alive has been so special to me. Thanks to Eric, who has allowed me to be his co-host on multiple occasions, I have met several actors who worked with Charles Bronson, and even some of his own family. Although we talk and text almost every day, this was our first time to meet in person. We had the best time over dinner, and we enjoyed meeting Eric’s wife Tina and his son Noah as well. Eric has truly become one of my very best friends!

*Brad and Eric in our Bronson shirts, and a sweet puppy who just wants to be loved!*

Once we arrived in Vermont the next day, our first stop was at “Bronson Road” in West Windsor, VT. This road went right through Bronson’s farm property. It’s a private road now so we couldn’t drive down it, but we did get a couple of pictures from the corner of Morrison and Bronson!

*Zuleika Farm is no longer there, but it’s memory lives on!*

*My beautiful travel companion took a pose at the entrance of the property Charles Bronson once loved!*

After that, we made our way to the Brownsville Cemetery and paid our respects to the film icon and legendary action star. It’s hard to put into words exactly how I felt that day. I wasn’t there as just a fan. I was there as a person who has spent the majority of his life with a healthy obsession for the man and his work. I’ll just say it was a beautiful experience. On an interesting note, a man from Alabama stopped by to pay his respects while we were there as well. It makes me happy that Charles Bronson is still beloved over 20 years after his death.

*Charles Bronson’s gravesite in the Brownsville Cemetery.*

*The view from Bronson’s gravesite is beautiful Mount Ascutney!*

One of the perks of being a co-host of the THIS WEEK IN CHARLES BRONSON podcast, is the fact that I’ve been able to meet Charles Bronson’s niece, Lindsay Ireland. She used to spend summers in Vermont with the Bronson’s when she was a teenager. She told me about some of Bronson’s favorite places to eat. We were able to eat at The Woodstock Inn, which was kind of fancy for Bronson’s personal tastes, but the food was great.

*The beautiful entrance to The Woodstock Inn. The restaurant there is called “The Red Rooster.”*

The place he really loved to eat was the Skunk Hollow Tavern, which is about 5 miles from the farm. I made us a reservation for “open mic” night at the Skunk Hollow Tavern on Wednesday, June 17th. Little did I know that Bronson’s stepson, Val McCallum, would be sitting in with the band that night. An incredible professional guitar player on his own, Val has been Jackson Browne’s lead guitarist going back to the early 2000’s. He also helped compose the film scores for the Bronson films MURPHY’S LAW, DEATH WISH 4, and ASSASSINATION back in the late 80’s. We got to meet him, and he even played a couple of songs for us, including “Charlie’s Coal,” an amazing song of love and respect for his “daddy.” It was a lucky and unexpected meeting I’ll never forget!

*Val McCallum sitting in with the band on Open Mic night at the Skunk Hollow Tavern!*

*Val McCallum, son of David McCallum and stepson of Charles Bronson, graciously taking a picture with your*s truly!

Our trip to Vermont was truly incredible, exceeding every expectation I had. I can’t wait to see where my next “movie trip” takes us. I just know it will be hard to top this one!

Brad’s “4 Shots From 4 Films” celebrates Tony Curtis!

Posted on June 3, 2026 by Bradley Crain

Today would have been actor Tony Curtis’ 101st birthday!

With a career that spanned almost 60 years, Tony Curtis starred in a whole bunch of classics, especially in the 50’s and 60’s. I’ve always enjoyed watching Curtis, as he could be suave and debonair, hilarious, or even a murderous sociopath, depending on what the role required. Thanks for the memories, Tony!

With Marilyn Monroe in *Some Like it Hot (1959)*

As Albert DeSalvo in *The Boston Strangler (1968)*

With Charles Bronson in *You Can’t Win ‘Em All (1970)*

And one bonus shot…

Just hanging out at a black-tie event with Charles Bronson (sometime in the late 80’s)!

Hero Of The Day: Leo Kessler (Ten To Midnight)

Posted on May 26, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

“Jerry, I’m not a nice person. I’m a mean, selfish son-of-a-bitch. I know you want a story, but I want a killer and what I want comes first!”

— Detective Leo Kessler (Charles Bronson) in Ten To Midnight (1983)

At first, Detective Leo Kessler seems like exactly the type of cop that you would expect to find in a film about a serial killer who knows how to manipulate the system to his advantage. Kessler is tough, plain-spoken, a blue collar warrior who is trying to keep the streets of Los Angeles safe for citizens of every age.

“I remember when the legal meant lawful,” Kessler says, “Now, it means loophole.”

Kessler isn’t thrilled that his new partner, Paul McAnn (Andrew Stevens), is a graduate of Berkley and that he’s got a degree in sociology. Kessler’s doubts are actually justified. One of the first things that McAnn does is drop a wad of chewing gum on the ground at a crime scene. Kessler also knows that Warren Stacy (Gene Davis) is the psycho who has been targeting young women and making obscene phone calls to his daughter, Laurie (Lisa Eilbacher). When McAnn discovers that Kessler has planted blood evidence on Warren’s clothes, McAnn is torn about what to do. “Forget what’s legal,” Kessler says, “and do what’s right.”

But here’s the thing with Kessler. He may say that he’s a mean son of a bitch but he’s not. He’s actually a pretty nice guy. He even discovers that he likes and becomes a mentor to McAnn. Kessler just doesn’t think that someone like Warren Stacy should be wandering around, free to kill. Charles Bronson never gets nearly enough credit for his acting. Leo Kessler isn’t just a touch cop. He’s an old-fashioned guy in a changing world. He’s someone who doesn’t understand why the system is suddenly more worried about the Warrn Stacys of the world than the victims.

He’s also a father.

Leo: “I hate quiche.”

Laurie: “Why did you get it?”

Leo: “I thought it was pie.”

As violent and exploitive as From 10 To Midnight is, I have to admit that I have a sentimental attachment to the film. The difficult-but-loving relationship between Leo and Laurie Kessler reminds me of my own relationship with my Dad. I see a lot of my Dad in Leo and I also see a lot of myself in Laurie. There’s a scene early on where McAnn mentions to Laurie that she’s a lot like her father.

“You think so?” Laurie replies, “I don’t.”

That scene gets me every time because I’ve had people say the same thing to me about my Dad and I used to have the same response. Everyone else picked up on it long before I realized it. For all of Laurie complaints about Leo having always been too busy for her, she’s there to comfort him after he gets kicked off the force. “I’m getting drunk with my old man,” Laurie says. Leo replies that she’s not.

It’s rare to see Charles Bronson cast as a family man. Usually, he played loners, the type of solitary warriors who seemed to have nothing in their lives beyond doing accomplishing whatever their mission happened to be. The Death Wish films did give Bronson a family but they were all dead by the end of the second film. 10 To Midnight features Bronson as not just a tough cop but also Bronson as a father with an independent and intelligent daughter. I think that’s the main reason why 10 to Midnight is my favorite Bronson films.

“No, we won’t.”

— Detective Leo Kessler

Bronson only fires his gun once in 10 To Midnight but he definitely makes a statement with that shot. And after spending 101 minutes watching Kessler trying to stop Warren Stacy, there’s definitely something very cathartic about the simple brutality of the film’s ending. Trying to analyze or understand evil, the film tells us, is pointless.

Sometimes, you just need someone who is willing to say, “No, we won’t.”

Hero of the Day

Brad’s “Hero of the Day” – Vince Majestyk (MR. MAJESTYK)!

Posted on May 16, 2026 by Bradley Crain

“He didn’t want to be a hero…until they pushed him too far.”

One of the reasons that MR. MAJESTYK (1974) is such a great movie is the fact that Vince Majestyk couldn’t care less about being a hero. He has too much work to do. He just wants to get his melons in and be left alone. And when an arrogant gangster tries to bully him, his stubborn ass refuses to be pushed around. That’s all there is to it. This simple character and story results in Vince Majestyk becoming an incredible badass hero.

Charles Bronson plays Majestyk with complete confidence. He’s not scared of Al Lettieri’s hitman, Frank Renda, one bit. The man’s more of a nuisance to him than anything because he’s keeping him from getting his work done. Majestyk feels authentic as a blue-collar, capable, hardworking man. With Bronson’s weathered features, he fits the part perfectly and looks like a man who’s worked outdoors for decades. That gives the film a credibility many action movies lack. You realize almost immediately that Renda has made a big mistake by going after a guy who is a lot smarter and tougher than he seems. The entire story plays out with a feeling of experience and determination beating misplaced arrogance.

Vince Majestyk is a man who has morals that are proven by his actions, not his words. He treats people the way he wants to be treated. He doesn’t posture or scream and threaten people. He’s a man of his word, and when he’s threatened, he simply draws a line in the sand and refuses to budge. That stubbornness becomes heroic as the villains, and the local law enforcement always underestimates him. And when it’s all said and done, you get the feeling that Majestyk will just get back in his truck and go to work.

That’s ultimately why Vince Majestyk is a great movie hero. He’s tough without being cocky, moral but not preachy, and dangerous even though he’s not Superman. Bronson played a lot of heroic characters over the years, but Vince Majestyk is my personal favorite!

Hero of the Day

Brad takes on THE WHITE BUFFALO (1977), starring Charles Bronson and Will Sampson!

Posted on May 13, 2026 by Bradley Crain

Back in 2023, my family visited the Black Hills of South Dakota. The first thing we did was visit Mount Rushmore. The second thing we did was visit the Mount Moriah Cemetery and the final resting place of Wild Bill Hickok. Situated on the top of a hill overlooking the city of Deadwood, it’s a beautiful place that also includes the graves of Calamity Jane and Sheriff Seth Bullock. I insisted that we see the location for possibly the most superficial reason possible… because Charles Bronson played Hickok in THE WHITE BUFFALO.

Based on a novel by Richard Sale, the story opens with Hickok having a recurring nightmare of a snowy showdown with a giant white “spike.” And if he has pistols handy, he wakes up firing them uncontrollably and you’d better not be nearby. Determined to face his fear, he heads out into the hills with his friend Charlie Zane (Jack Warden), hoping to find the albino buffalo, so he can put him down and end the nightmares. Around the same time, the great beast has stampeded the camp of Crazy Horse (Will Sampson) killing his child in the process. Convinced that the child cannot have peace in the afterlife, Crazy Horse sets out to kill the buffalo so he can wrap his child in its white “robe” and free her spirit. With Hickok a prolific killer of Indians, and Crazy Horse a brave Lakota Oglala warrior, the two men seem to be on a deadly collision course in those snowy hills.

Charles Bronson’s final western, THE WHITE BUFFALO has a lot of the scenes you’d expect. With Bronson playing a famous gunman, we get to see several gunfights as he makes his way through various Wyoming towns, featuring well-known actors like Clint Walker and Ed Lauter. We also get to see him visit various saloons, as well as the widow Schermerhorn, played by Kim Novak. When he really “knew” her, she was a prostitute named Poker Jenny. Along with those I’ve already mentioned, it’s an all-star affair as we see such familiar faces as Stuart Whitman, John Carradine, Slim Pickens, and even a young Martin Kove sprinkled throughout the film. And of course, we get to see Bronson take on the gigantic white buffalo of the title, first in his dreams, and then later in reality! Directed by veteran filmmaker J. Lee Thompson, these scenes are staged and executed well, with Hickok’s nightmares given an especially eerie quality.

While the movie has the expected scenes, it’s the unexpected character moments that sets THE WHITE BUFFALO apart as a uniquely strong entry in Bronson’s filmography. Hickok may be a man haunted by dreams of a monstrous white buffalo, but Bronson plays him in such a way that we can feel his exhaustion and literal sickness from too many years of a dangerous and difficult life. The buffalo is more than just an animal… it’s a symbol of guilt, fear and the coming of death itself. Bronson could always underplay a role better than just about anyone else, but here he’s reflective and haunted in way that I’ve not seen before, and he’s really good.

I also think the movie gets better every time Bronson shares a scene with Will Sampson. Sampson brings dignity and intelligence to Crazy Horse. His mission is more noble than Hickok’s, and an unexpected friendship develops between the two men, despite their vast differences. Ultimately, it’s this relationship that provides the film an emotional weight that sneaks up on you by the end, even if it’s not meant to last.

THE WHITE BUFFALO is not a perfect film. The animatronic buffalo may look a little hokey, and the film may seem a little slow at times for those expecting an action-packed western or monster movie. However, Bronson and Sampson are so good in their myth-making performances that the film eventually becomes something more. It’s the idea of watching two aging warriors, bound together through the bravery of confronting death, that I found to be more interesting and compelling than anything else on display.

THE WHITE BUFFALO is currently streaming on Amazon Prime, Tubi, PlutoTV, and The Roku Channel.

*Wild Bill Hickok’s gravesite in Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood, South Dakota*

Did y’all know that Charles Bronson once duked it out with Roy Rogers?!!

Posted on April 27, 2026 by Bradley Crain

How many of y’all can say that you’ve met Dale Evans, the wife of Roy Rogers?! I can. She was in Perryville, Arkansas to watch one of my fellow high school students play basketball. I don’t remember if he was her grandson, nephew or what exactly the relationship was, but she was there, and I went and introduced myself to her. This would have been in the early 90’s and she was around 80 years old or so. She was so sweet to me, and I’ve always appreciated that I got to meet her.

Today I decided to watch the episode of “The Roy Rogers Show, Season 2, Episode 8, THE KNOCKOUT,” where Charles Bronson is the special guest star. In the episode, Roy notices strangers digging on an isolated section of his land. When he investigates, he discovers that the handlers for prizefighter Willie “Killer” Conley (Bronson) have set up a training camp for the champ. However, Roy begins to suspect that quite a bit more than training is going on there. Before long the fists and bullets are flying as Roy and Dale take down the bad guys. Bronson’s character may be called Killer Conley, but he is a decent guy who’s gotten himself in too deep with the bad guys, and he ends up joining the good guys when the rubber meets the road at the end. That made me happy. With that said, Bronson and Rogers punched it out multiple times before everything worked out well in the end!

This was my first ever viewing of The Roy Rogers Show. From what I understand, it’s a pretty standard entry in a series that consistently displays a simple story with clear morals and a dependable resolution. However, when you consider that this episode was one of the early TV appearances of Charles Bronson, billed as Charles Buchinsky at the time, it emerges as a piece of cinematic history. A couple of decades later Bronson would be the biggest male movie star in the world. At this point for me, it’s nostalgia at its finest!

The Roy Rogers Show is currently streaming on Tubi.

Brad takes on THE MOB (1951), starring Broderick Crawford!

Posted on April 25, 2026 by Bradley Crain

In my quest to see every movie and TV show that Charles Bronson ever appeared in, I finally decided to take on THE MOB this morning. I’ve held off for years because this early, uncredited role as a dockworker only gives Bronson a couple of lines. He looks like a natural fixture on the docks, but his screen time only adds up to a minute or two in total.

With Bronson being little more than some temporary dockside scenery, I settled in for a story about Johnny Damico (Broderick Crawford), a tough, no-nonsense cop who’s doing some rainy night ring-shopping for his girlfriend when a man is killed just outside the store. He bungles up the whole situation, and the killer gets away. It turns out the killing was a mob hit and soon Damico is going undercover as Tim Flynn from New Orleans so he can infiltrate and bust the organized crime ring operating on the waterfront.

Broderick Crawford is so good in this role. His Damico / Flynn has a cynical sense of humor that I enjoyed. He thinks fast, he’s rough around the edges, and he even gets to slap some bad guys around a time or two. He’s one of those characters whose mouth should probably get him in more trouble. Well, now that I think about it, his mouth does almost get him killed a couple of times. Crawford and Bronson would work again together a few years later in the prison film BIG HOUSE USA (1955).

With Crawford’s performance anchoring the movie, Director Robert Parrish delivers a tight, efficient and entertaining crime story that clocks in at just under an hour and a half. One of the things that made the film enjoyable for me is the interesting and recognizable supporting cast of actors who pop up throughout the film. I’ve already mentioned Bronson, but actors like Ernest Borgnine, Neville Brand and Frank DeKova all show up to torment our undercover cop at various points throughout the film. It’s always fun for me to see a cast full of familiar faces!

At the end of the day, I enjoyed THE MOB. It doesn’t try to be anything more than a good crime film, and with Broderick Crawford’s excellent performance, it does its job well.

Brad revisits CHINO (1973), starring Charles Bronson, on Jill Ireland’s 90th Birthday!

Posted on April 24, 2026 by Bradley Crain

I remember the first time I ever saw the Charles Bronson western, CHINO. I was probably around 13 or 14 years old and already well known in my school for being obsessed with the actor Charles Bronson, who would have been roughly 65 years old at the time. There was this girl who I guess had a crush on me, so she invited my best friend Chad and I, along with her best friend, over to her house to watch a movie one Saturday. And the movie she chose… CHINO, AKA THE VALDEZ HORSES! I don’t think I watched the movie very close that day. CHINO was treated poorly on VHS in the 80’s, and I was more interested in the DEATH WISH 3s and MURPHY’S LAWs of the world at that time. I was also more interested in trying to make the girls laugh, which was always my main move because I was never good looking enough to smolder.

So, for many years, CHINO was nowhere near the top of my list of favorite Charles Bronson films. I watched it a few times, but I always found it hard to take seriously due to the cheap quality of the video presentation. Well in 2021, Kino Lorber released the film under THE VALDEZ HORSES title in a glorious Blu-ray. CHINO is a revelation with this new release, and I finally saw what I had been missing all these years. For the first time, I felt like I was able to watch it, and judge it, based on its own merits as a film.

CHINO opens on Jamie (15-year-old Vincent Van Patten) riding across the range as the title tune “Freedom Rainbow” plays over the credits. When he comes upon a ranch just as it’s getting dark, a tough-as-nails-looking Chino Valdez (Charles Bronson), emerges from the cabin and offers him a warm fire and a meal. Initially a little scared of Chino, Jamie is looking for work and Chino needs help, so the boy hangs around for a while. Things seem to be going well as the eager Jamie and Chino work the horses at his ranch, but soon issues start popping up. First, it’s the barbed wire that cattle baron Maral (Marcel Bozzuffi) puts up on the range that results in serious injuries for some of Chino’s wild horses. Then, it’s the fact that every time Chino goes to town for supplies, he ends up drinking, brawling, and spending a little time in jail. But those things pale in comparison to the biggest issue… Chino falls in love with the beautiful Catherine (Jill Ireland), Maral’s sister, and Maral will have no part of her falling back in love with the half breed Chino! Maral threatens to kill Chino if he doesn’t quit seeing his sister, and he means it.

Based on the award-winning 1967 novel THE VALDEZ HORSES by female author Lee Hoffman, director John Sturges crafted a movie around a role that seems tailor made for Bronson. Chino Valdez is a loner who reluctantly takes on a fatherly role towards Jamie, and then even more reluctantly falls in love with Catherine. He seemed like the kind of man who would be perfectly fine working the ranch by himself forever until Jamie rides up. A loner in real life who valued his family over anything else, who also purchased his own horse ranch in Vermont the same year of CHINO’s release, it’s hard to know where the character of Chino begins and Charles Bronson ends. This is a particularly strong performance from Bronson, one of his very best.

And you really do need to savor the film for Bronson’s incredible presence, because the film doesn’t have as much action, nor does it lead to the typical showdown that we’ve come to expect in Bronson’s movies. Chino gets into a scuffle when he goes into town, and he shoots some bad guys at the end, but this is first and foremost a character study. As a matter of fact, the film that John Sturges delivered had even less action than what we see in the final product. Disappointed in the surprising lack of action, producer Dino De Laurentiis hired director Duilio Coletti to shoot some additional action scenes for the film after Sturges had left the project. These scenes are incorporated very well into the final product, and I agree that they add value.

Without the typical Bronson action, we’re left with a perfectly cast Bronson interacting with the supporting characters in ways that are atypical for his filmography. Bronson and Vincent Van Patten work well off each other, and Van Patten is phenomenal as the teenage Jamie. I love that their relationship evolves into something meaningful as the movie progresses. Chino learns that he can trust the boy who seems to emerge as a young man right before our eyes. And then there’s the relationship between Chino and Catherine, played by Bronson’s wife Jill Ireland. Not quite as effective as the Chino / Jamie relationship, it’s still character driven and unique. Chino shows a tenderness towards her in a couple of scenes that we’re not used to seeing presented onscreen, even if one of the moments is brought on by the admittedly odd inclusion of the two watching his stud mount a beautiful wild mare. Ireland is extremely beautiful, so it’s not completely surprising that the self-sufficient Chino would fall for her. Unfortunately, while the Chino / Jamie relationship strengthens throughout the film, the Chino / Catherine relationship eventually goes the other way leading to the somewhat surprising, some might say disappointing, finale.

After watching the restored Blu-ray presentation by Kino Lorber, I can confidently say that CHINO is a good Charles Bronson film that features one of his best performances. It’s still not in my personal Bronson top ten, but if you’re a fan of Charles Bronson the actor, then this a must-watch. It’s my opinion, after having read the book and watched the movie, that no other actor could have brought the character of Chino Valdez alive in a stronger way than Charles Bronson. It was the perfect combination of actor and character, and I’ll stand by that opinion to the end.