Elvis Presley's 29th feature film, Charro! is a 1969 Western directed by Charles Marquis Warren.
Ex-outlaw Jess Wade (Presley) is lured back to his former gang and discovers that there are wanted posters accusing him of being involved in the theft of a gold-plated cannon. After the gang's leader Vince Hackett (Victor French) brands him on the neck, Jess seeks the help of his girlfriend Tracey Winters (Ina Balin) and sheriff Dan Ramsey (James Almanzar) to prove his innocence and stop Vince from using the cannon to intimidate the nearby town. Vince's unhinged brother Billy Roy (Solomon Sturges) causes trouble in the town bar and gets arrested, with Jess made sheriff after Dan gets shot in the altercation. This leads to a final showdown between Jess, who wants to protect the town, and Vince, who wants to free his brother at any cost.
Tropes:
- Bad to the Last Drop: Jess engages in friendly banter with Dan revolving around the latter's coffee being so terrible that it supposedly serves as a Cool and Unusual Punishment.
- Big Brother Instinct: Vince is very protective of his younger brother Billy Roy, despite the trouble that he causes for him. The rest of the gang would much rather cut Billy Roy loose when he gets arrested, an idea which sends Vince into a rage. And he completely loses the will to fight Jess when Billy Roy gets killed, ironically by getting run over by the cannon that Vince has been using to throw his weight around.
- Clear My Name: Jess has wanted posters all over accusing him of being an accomplice in Vince's gang's theft of a cannon. He goes up against Vince to prove his innocence.
- Horsing Around: Vince takes Jess' horse from him, leaving Jess stranded in the desert. Luckily, Jess finds a group of horses and proceeds to tame one, resulting in a scene of Jess getting bucked around for a minute or so.
- Ms. Fanservice: Ina Balin as Tracey easily qualifies, getting a (very carefully cropped) nude bathing scene and favoring dresses with a healthy-sized Cleavage Window.
- One-Word Title: "Charro" is a Mexican slang term for a cowboy.
- Protagonist Title: An odd example, as "Charro" refers to Jess, but he is only called that by a Mexican bartender in the opening scene and nowhere else.
- Retired Outlaw: Jess used to be part of Vince's gang, but has left and straightened up since and fights on the side of justice against Vince.
- Spaghetti Western: It's not a literal example, but the movie was very obviously inspired by the Dollars Trilogy, with Jess as arguably The Expy With No Name.
- Thematic Theme Tune: The title song, which plays over the opening credits, is a second-person character sketch of Jess. It's the film's lone song, making this the only Elvis movie in which he didn't sing onscreen.
