The director, writer, and producer of Charro! was Charles Marquis Warren who had written, produced, and directed Gunsmoke when it debuted in 1955. He also worked on Rawhide starring Clint Eastwood in 1959 and produced The Virginian Western TV series. Gunsmoke is the longest running Western TV series in US television history. Hugo Montenegro wrote the musical score and conducted the recording sessions. He is famous for his recording of the theme from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966) starring Clint Eastwood, which became an international pop hit. Victor French had appeared in Gunsmoke and Bonanza.
The movie uses the pacing and techniques of a television episode or made-for-TV movie because of Warren's background in television. The screenplay is well-written and the plot development is effective in presenting the story or narrative. Elvis Presley, Ina Balin, and Victor French give good dramatic performances. The 2007 Warner Bros. release on DVD presented the movie in a widescreen format and with a restored and remastered picture quality. The movie had been shown on television but suffered due to the full screen format which reduced the size of the image on the screen. Charro! is a good Western movie that deserves greater recognition and wider exposure.
The story on which Charro! was based was written by Frederick Louis Fox, who had written stories for episodes for Western television series such as Bonanza, The Legend of Jesse James, Branded, Death Valley Days, The Rebel, Johnny Ringo, Black Saddle, The Rough Riders, Lawman, and the Zane Grey Theater. Fox also wrote the story upon which the Twilight Zone episode "Hocus-Pocus and Frisby" (1962) was based upon and provided the story idea for another episode of the series, "Showdown with Rance McGrew" (1962).
The title Charro! is derived from the Spanish word for "horseman" and is the traditional term for a cowboy used in Mexico. The working title of the movie had been Come Sundown, Come Hell.
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