There's a little in-joke that's included in Pardon Chato's (Charles Bronson) only line spoken in English; and that occurs in about the second minute of this savagely entertaining story about vigilantism running amok somewhere in the Old West.
We see Chato, at the saloon bar, waiting to get his whiskey when in comes the local Marshall Endersby (Jacob Meade), looking to kill himself an uppity mestizo. So, here's the in-joke: just before the Marshall draws to shoot, Chato says: "Back off, lawman!" Then he spins quickly, shooting from the hip to kill the Marshall. It's a joke, because the director, Michael Winner, in 1971, had already filmed a story called Lawman (by the same screen writer, Gerald Wilson) in which a Marshall hunts down a group of men – relentlessly, mercilessly and legally. (Note that Lawman is more highly regarded, at IMDb, than Chato's Land.)
Anyway, the story of Chato is double joke: here, the Marshall is out of the picture (no pun intended) immediately, and the hunters – the Posse Commitatus, a mixed bunch of misfits headed up by either ex-Captain Whitmore (Jack Palance) or Jubal Hooker (Simon Oakland), depending on how the plot unfolds – become the hunted when Chato begins the task of killing them – relentlessly, mercilessly...but, illegally, in this story. Oh, Chato has the moral high ground, many would argue; but, objectively, any court would find him guilty of manslaughter at the very least. And, man, what a slaughter it is! But, this is the Old West, where just about anything goes.
The story has many antecedents (about which Winner and Wilson would have been well aware): The Bravados (1958) with Gregory Peck as the hunter; Hombre (1967) with Paul Newman as the despised mestizo; and Valdez is Coming (1971) with Burt Lancaster as the hunter, and a Mexican to boot. You could probably add to that list. This film adds to it, of course, as being just another take on the good, ol' American pastime of vigilantes racing off to git themselves a hangin' afore nightfall, if possible. In that regard and if you have seen it, you shouldn't miss watching the heartbreak in The Oxbow Incident (1943) with Henry Fonda, heading up an all-star cast, who tries to stop the west's favorite method of dispensing rough justice.
The best part about Chato's Land is the land: the stark, unforgiving country that Chato uses to his advantage. Winner makes good use of long, wide angle shots to emphasize the harsh, bleak landscape; but, his studied close-ups of the characters are often almost works of art. Of the cinematography, I can only complain of the lighting – a good lot of the shoot was completed in pseudo-darkness, using blue filters, no doubt, and was quite annoying at times. Editing is up to par, though, and Jerry Fielding's music is suitably moody – although, I could have done without the military-type snippets.
After speaking that one English line, Chato sticks to Apache, or is silent throughout, as he gets on with his task. So, it's nice to see a man happy in his work, and who doesn't bother us with useless talk.
Highly recommended for all fans of Bronson and Palance.
