Hannie Caulder (1971)

I spit on your Oats!

Ah sue me! I think it's great. Raquel Welch plays Hannie Caulder, a gorgeous cowgirl who is raped and left widowed by three scuzzy brothers played by Ernest Borgnine, Strother Martin and Jack Elam. Hell bent on revenge, Hannie hooks up with smooth bounty hunter Thomas Luther Price (Robert Culp excellent), learns how to fire weapons and pursues her quarry to the day of reckoning.

That is it, it is what it is, Welch is stunningly beautiful and sexy and director Burt Kennedy wastes no opportunities to capitalise on this fact. If we are honest she's miscast, but it really doesn't matter, nor does finding Christopher Lee in the picture as a wily old gunsmith!

The mix of humour with a rape revenge storyline is a little uncomfortable at times, but not insultingly so, while Kennedy has a good eye for action. Edward Scaife photographs (Panavision) pleasingly out of Almería in Spain, and Ken Thorne's musical score trundles along without intrusion.

It's off-beat, even unique, and while it misses the chance to be a feminist Western of some standing, there's a real good time to be had here for those willing to buy into the daftness of it all. 7/10

_**Violent Western with Raquel Welch, Robert Culp and… the Three Stooges**_

After three squabbling scumbags (Ernest Borgnine, Jack Elam & Strother Martin) harass a couple at a remote ranch in the Southwest, the woman (Raquel Welch) hooks-up with an infamous bounty hunter (Robert Culp) to learn gun skills and, hopefully, enact revenge. Christopher Lee plays a gunsmith and Stephan Boyd a mysterious man-in-black.

“Hannie Caulder” (1971) was made by a British company (Tigon), shot in Spain with an American main cast & Director (Burt Kennedy). As such this is essentially a Spaghetti Western even though Italians had nothing to do with it. However, it’s superior to the typical Italian oater from the period. Welch may not be the best actress, but she looks great here, especially early-on with her poncho. Meanwhile Culp provides capable assist with his acting chops and interesting character. Plus the coastal locations where the gunsmith lives are outstanding, reminiscent of “One-Eyed Jacks” (1961).

Unfortunately, the serious events are oddly offset by the bumbling trio of vicious villains who, evidently, were intended to work as comic relief, but don’t belong in the same picture. “Hannie Caulder” was remade-in-spirit as “6 Guns” by The Asylum in 2010. It’s just as good and arguably better since it omits the supposedly-amusing rogues angle.

The film runs 1 hour, 25 minutes, and was shot mostly in Almería, Andalucía, Spain.

GRADE: B-/B