A Fistful Of Raquel
Since I was a teenager growing up in the late sixties, I always thought that Raquel Welch was greater than the sum of her parts (no pun intended) and always gave excellent performances which were few and far between when the public craved the cheesecake rather than the actress. She proved this with 'FATHOM', one of the best female secret agent movies ever made and her trio of westerns ,'BANDOLERO' in which she played a grieving widow with teeth, '100 RIFLES' playing Burt Reynolds girlfriend of the Revolution and could handle a gun and Jim Brown as well as her bandit team, and 'HANNIE CAULDER' the best role of her career and one of the most underrated films in the Western genre. Written and Directed by Burt Kennedy , this was a British, Spanish,co-production which is in the company of Edward Dmytryk's 'SHALAKO' with Sean Connery and Don Medford's 'THE HUNTING PARTY' with Oliver Reed and Gene Hackman and could almost pass as a Spaghetti Western but not quite. Not only does it give...
It's about time!
Obviously this "review" is not for the DVD - it hasn't been released yet. The 5 stars are a kind of "what took you so long" for an official Region 1 release! I bought an import version (Korean I think) of this movie several years ago because I got tired of waiting, but I have no idea yet how it compares to this upcoming release.
This movie is a strange bird. I find it a very enjoyable "revenge" Western. But there IS something jarring about the slapstick way the gang of rapists (Elam, Martin and Borgnine) are portrayed. There is also something stupid about the way the "mysterious stranger" is introduced into the plot towards the end of the movie - I have often wondered if some part of the story line was just left out through bad editing, or if the director was just manifesting contempt for the audience. Maybe this release, if it includes commentary, will clear up the matter.
Anyhow, neither of these two criticisms ultimately detract from my overall enjoyment of...
Hannie Caulder
I'm so glad that this movie is finally to be released on DVD. I have an "imported" copy. Although I have difficulty with the, almost comedic,antics of the villains,as well as the mysterious stranger, this movie is a gem. The late Robert Culp was always one of my favorite actors. As Thomas Luther Price, his courage, integrity and prowess with a gun are unmatched...as is his compassion. Being a shooter and collector of "Old West" firearms, I found that as a teacher, Robert Culp was unbeatable. He showed Hannie the proper form, and approach to shooting a six gun, with a mixture of toughness, understanding, and patience. His advice, at all levels, was both wise and true. Such was Thomas Luther Price's "presence", that something about the movie seemed to die with his absence. For those who value courage and integrity, coupled with compassion,and the "romance" of a love left unspoken, I highly recommed this movie.
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