While the main narrative is told as a flashback, Rod Taylor as the title character is first seen riding his horse in the snow. Nature is one of the uncontrollable forces in Chuka, be it snow, sand storms, fire, or the constant wind. Most of the film takes place in a remote fort commanded by John Mills, a last ditch assignment for all of the soldiers. A wagon train with two women finds that the temporary stop has been extended out of concern for an imminent Indian attack. It is revealed early on that the Indian attack has been motivated out of starvation. Chuka's sharing of some meat with a band of Indians encountered in the snow in the beginning of the film temporarily gives him some measure of protection.

As a western, Chuka was part of a general trend of films that challenged some of the genre conventions. While neither as epic as Cheyenne Autumn nor stylized as Welcome to Hard Times, Chuka was one of the films to take steps towards more graphic violence, and less obscure sexuality. The greater drama in the film is not the threat of the Indian attack, but of the characters in the fort revealing their particular truths, their strengths and weaknesses. What also makes Chuka something of a departure in the genre is the deliberately ambiguous ending - someone is buried at the fort, but the identity of the person or persons is never revealed.

The film is helped by the strong casting of Taylor, with John Mills and Ernest Borgnine as the fort commander and his loyal Sergeant respectively. Chuka also provided Douglas the opportunity to work again with James Whitmore and Louis Hayward. Curiously, Luciana Paluzzi and Mills would work together again in the proto-giallo, A Black Veil for Lisa. Chuka came and went at a time when Bonnie and Clyde was the major film of that summer. Gordon Douglas may not have had the ambitions of Arthur Penn, but there is enough visual artistry to remind one that Douglas could display his talent within the right opportunities.