Chino (1973 film)
Chino is a 1973 Western film starring Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Marcel Bozzuffi, and Vincent Van Patten. The original English language title shown at the beginning of the film was The Valdez Horses, the same title as the 1967 novel by Lee Hoffman on which the movie is based. Hoffman was awarded the 1967 Western Writers of America Spur Award.
It was an Italian-Spanish-French co-production filmed in Spain, with Italian and French funding.
Plot
Chino Valdez is a lonely horse breeder, whose life is thrown into turmoil when a young runaway turns up at his door looking for work and, later, he falls in love with a beautiful woman whose brother hates him.Production
Lino Ventura was originally cast as Maral, but left the project after realizing his role was too small and lacked enough substance. Location shooting for the exteriors took place in Almería, with interior scenes filmed in Rome.Director John Sturges was unhappy with the finished film and considered the casting of Jill Ireland a fatal mistake. Six months after finishing the movie, Producer Dino De Laurentiis gathered the actors and crew to return for re-shoots and inserts. With Sturges no longer available, veteran Italian director Duilio Coletti was hired to complete the work. His name is listed as director on some European prints as a result.