Not every fella is Undressed Under Duress by gun or knife point. A few meet duress from an encounter with a mighty fist. In the 1970 Warner Brothers' movie, “Chisum,” grimy sheriff deputy William Morton is one such unfortunate. Described as “a shady and unsavory drifter,” he had been hired by Sheriff Brady along with Deputy Baker to run roughshod over the good citizens of Lincoln, New Mexico. In an effort to help take over the town and surrounding ranches by the mayor and sheriff, the deputies accused kindly Englishman and rancher, John Henry Tunstall, of cattle rustling.
When catching Tunstall out by himself they attempted to arrest him for the trumped up charge of cattle rustling. Morton shot him dead thinking Tunstall was going for his gun when actually all he had done was reach for his pipe. Tunstall's murder was one of a number of incidents taking place in the late 1800s' Lincoln County Cattle War (1878-1881).
Morton made the mistake of killing John Chisum's best friend in cold blood. Chisum (played by John Wayne) committed to hunt Morton and Baker down and bring them to justice. They would hang for the murder of Tunstall. And, it didn't take long. Shortly, Chisum and a few trusted men traced the notorious "lawmen" to a saloon. They located Baker having a few drinks and easily found that Morton was in an upstair's bedroom making hay a “sporting” lady. Chisum took his time walking the stairs to Morton's room.
Entering, he slammed the door behind him. Seconds later, Morton came crashing through the door and up against the balcony railing wearing only his red union suit and white socks. He met his match as “a figure ridiculous in dirty underwear.”
Big John Chisum laid into the deputy with a mighty blow sending him up and over the railing and crashing to the floor below.
Grabbing Morton by the neck of his underwear, Chisum pulled him up and pushed him out the door of the saloon, and up on to his horse. No one bothered to go back upstairs to get Morton's clothes or boots. He would travel back to Lincoln in his union suit, hands tied to his horse's saddle horn. The captured Baker was tied to his horse as well.
Just before reaching town Chisum left the group, returning to urgent matters at his ranch. The posse with Morton, still clad in his long underwear, and Baker, fully clothed, continued to Lincoln and a date with the hangman's noose.
Before they made it to town, William Bonney came riding down from the hills to join the entourage. Mentored by Tunstall, he had been struggling to go straight. Up to this point he had had a chance to save his reputation and turn his notorious life around. But when he learned of his friend and mentor's death, the young boy took vengeance by getting the drop on everybody.
Coming Soon the tenth and final posting of "Undressed Under Duress." Don't miss it, it's out of this world!
