Mr. Majestyk (1974) - A fun neo-Western action thriller written by crime writer icon Elmore Leonard and starring Charles Bronson as a farmer in rural Colorado taking on gangsters while trying to get his watermelons picked.
Bloody shootouts, car chases, gruff dialogue, and watermelons: that is essentially the run-down on this neo-Western action thriller film directed by Richard Fleischer, and written by the crime fiction great Elmore Leonard.
It stars Charles Bronson as the titular character, a Vietnam War veteran and farmer in rural Colorado hellbent on getting his watermelons picked with the aid of Mexican agricultural union organizer Nancy Chavez (portrayed by Linda Cristal).
Majestyk finds himself in a conflict with mob hitman Frank Renda (portrayed by Al Lettieri) who wants to kill him and destroy his farm after attempting to turn him in to local law enforcement after a prison bus escape.
This film has been referenced by Gary Oldman's character Drexl in the Quentin Tarantino/Tony Scott venture True Romance, comparing Christian Slater's character Clarence to Bronson in this film.
Filming took place on-location in and around the cities of La Junta, Canon City, Manzanola, and Rocky Ford in south-central Colorado in the fall of 1973.
Fun fact, the iconic pickup truck chase scene apparently used a singular stock Ford F100 pickup truck and shots from it were used by Ford for advertising purposes.