Chino's whipping

One of the most memorable moments in this movie is Charles Bronson's whipping. (It ranks 3rd in the book "Lash!" The 100 Great Scenes of Men Being Whipped in the Movies.") However, it differs in details from the account given in Lee Hoffman's book, "The Valdez Horses," on which this movie is based. In the movie Bronson's character, Chino -- after being stripped of his shirt -- is dragged belly-down behind horses by means of ropes tied to his wrists. (A stuntman plays this particular part in the movie.) The ropes are then tossed over a horizontal bar supported by two tall posts and Chino is pulled upward until he's suspended off the ground by his wrists. A cowboy then takes a whip and gives him 22 lashes across his bare back. Chino, needless to say, does not cry out or beg for mercy.

In Hoffman's book, Chino's shirt is stripped off and he's bound to a pine tree with his arms encircling the thick trunk. The angry landowner, named Stanhope in the book, then takes a quirt -- a short riding whip -- and lashes Chino across his back. Hoffman writes: "Chino never hollered, though Stanhope kept on until his whole back was black with blood and his legs had gone limp. Then his head lobbed down on his shoulders and I knew he was unconscious. That was when Stanhope stopped -- when he knew Chino couldn't feel it any more."

Both scenes convey similar information and emotion but the movie scene is more "cinematic."