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Charro!, 2
Elvis Presley's twenty-ninth movie was "Charro!", a western filmed
in Arizona during the late summer of 1968. At the time, Elvis had
just finished taping his 1968 television special, "Elvis", which
would air in December. He was looking great and grew a full beard
for this rugged role. Elvis' entourage, as well as his manager
Colonel Parker, got into the spirit and also grew beards. The
working title of the film was "Come Hell, Come Sundown".
Barbara Werle played Sara Ramsey, the sherriff's wife. This was not
Werle's first time to work with Elvis - she had had roles in the
Elvis films "Tickle Me" and "Harum Scarum". This longtime character
actress played many roles in both film and television productions.
Among her credits are the films "The Battle of the Bulge" and "The
Rare Breed" and television series such as "The Virginian",
"Ironside", and "Laredo".
Paul Brinegar played the town barber Opie Keetch. Although he had a
long career as a character actor in shows like "Perry Mason", "Guns
of Will Sonnett", "Petrocelli" and "Matt Houston", he might be best
remembered for his role of Wishbone in the TV series "Rawhide" with
Clint Eastwood.
A number of other veteran character actors played roles in this
film.
The role of Billy Roy Hackett was played by Solomon Sturges, son of
celebrated film director Preston Sturges.
Billy Strange, whose early career was as as session guitarist in
Hollywood, wrote the song "Charro!". This was not his first time to
work with Elvis. Among his gigs had been to play on the soundtrack
sessions for the Elvis films "It Happened At The World's Fair",
"Viva Las Vegas" and "Roustabout". Strange became a writer and
producer. He often collaborated with Mac Davis, with whom he
co-wrote the songs "A Little Less Conversation", "Nothingville",
"Memories" and "Clean Up Your Own Backyard", all of which were
recorded by Elvis. Strange produced the soundtrack session for the
Elvis movie "Live a Little, Love A Little".
Costumes for "Charro!" were by Robert Fuca, whose work also included
the earlier Elvis film
"It Happened At The World's Fair".
Among his other film credits are "Mutiny on the Bounty", "How The
West Was Won", "The Music Man" and
"Planet of the Apes".
His television credits include the series "Mod Squad" and "Hawaiian
Eye".
Rodd Redwing played Lige, a member of the Hackett gang. Mr. Redwing
was well known as a Hollywood "fast draw artist" and often taught
other actors, including Elvis, how to handle guns for their acting
roles. He also made leather gun holsters. Redwing made the one that
Elvis used in this film. It is tooled inside with an inscription to
Elvis. From time to time, the holster has been on display in
exhibits at Graceland along with the costume Elvis wore in the film.
Promotions for this film included twenty-five Southwestern cities
which held "Charro Girl" contests, with finalists appearing in
Dallas and Austin. In Austin, "Charro! Day" was hosted by the then
Governor Preston Smith.
Likewise, the governors of Oklahoma and Louisiana declared "Charro!
Day" in honor of previews in their states. A number of actors from
the film traveled to appearances at these sneak previews.
The film opened
nationwide on March 13, 1969. |
