Revenge movies have been a staple for decades now. The story
set up is nearly identical in all: someone is wronged and they seek revenge on
the person who did wrong against them. While that story can be set up in a
single sentence it is the meat of the story wrapped around it that makes either
a good film or a bad one. Add to that the performances, direction and technical
aspects of a movie and you have more that makes it good or bad. HANNIE CAULDER
is a better film than anticipated.
Raquel Welch burst upon the movie scene as a sexy bombshell,
a woman known for her looks only. If she could act that was just a plus to most
studios. Her back to back hits with 1,000,000 YEARS B.C. and FANTASTIC VOYAGE
secured her more mainstream roles than she’d had up to that point. While her
looks helped her move her career forward they also limited what studios were
willing to put her in. But her acting abilities helped her get better roles and
more leads such as this one.
The film opens in the old west with Welch as the title
character, forced to watch her husband killed by a group of men and raped by
all three. The Clemons brothers, Emmett (Ernest Borgnine), Frank (Jack Elam)
and Rufus (Strother Martin) burn down her house and head out, leaving her to
die but Hannie is tougher than they realized. Setting out to find help she is
rescued by a lone rider.
Fortunately for her the man is Thomas Luther Price (Robert
Culp), a bounty hunter who knows how to handle a gun. At first Price is
unsympathetic to Hannie’s decision to seek revenge, telling her it will solve
nothing. He eventually is persuaded to teach her how to shoot and aids her in
her quest for vengeance. As the two pursue the Clemons brothers they begin to
feel an attraction to one another, something that may not end well once they
catch up to their prey.
The movie offers a nice combination of western and revenge
picture with a touch of humor tossed in. Odd that humor would play a part in a
movie with the themes of rape and revenge but it’s there. The humor is found in
the characters of the Clemons brothers, a complete bungling trio who end up
with more failed plans than you can count. Their constant bickering and
failures don’t make them sympathetic characters though as Hannie relives the
rape over and over in her mind. While this is a disgusting act to deal with in
any film here it is shown to be brutal and yet not so revealing as to offend
the more sensitive. Director Burt Kennedy takes the high road in not giving us
more details than we need.
HANNIE CAULDER doesn’t add much new to either the western or
rape/revenge genres but it does tell the tale in a well-crafted manner. The
script, the photography, the direction, the acting all combine to present us
with a movie that is interesting and builds up a sense of anticipation waiting
for the final confrontation that is bound to happen. Best of all the movie
shows that Welch could actually act. Some may fault her for looking gorgeous in
this film but I would say don’t fault her, fault a studio system that was bent
on making sure that was the focus of the film. Even the original poster shots
emphasized that. But Welch does a great job here as does Culp, an often
overlooked actor who deserved more credit.
This new blu-ray release comes from Olive Films and is part
of their Signature Series. Unlike most Olive releases there are extras included
here that are of some interests. They include an audio commentary by western
expert and director Alex Cox (WALKER, REPO MAN), “Exploitation or Redemption”
an examination of rape/revenge movies by film scholar Ben Sher, “A Very British
Horror Studio” which is an interview with Sir Christopher Frayling on the
history of Tigon Studios and an essay by film critic Kim Morgan.
Well-made with a new high definition digital restoration
this is a must have for western fans as well as Welch fans. The movie looks
great and aside from the distasteful notion of rape is an entertaining film as
well. Olive deserves kudos for the pains they took with this movie. It’s worth
adding to your collection.
Click here to order.
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