HANNIE CAULDER

US, 1971, 85 minutes, Colour.
Raquel Welch, Robert Culp, Ernest Borgnine, Strother Martin, Jack Elam, Christopher Lee, Diana Dors.
Directed by Burt Kennedy.

Hannie Caulder: Burt Kennedy specialises in Westerns, both serious adventures and parodies. In the late 60s his films became slighter. This one is a blend of grim revenge and skit on stock villains, hero and heroine, the first lady gunfighter, Raquel Welch. Actually story and theme are old but made plausible enough and Raquel herself acts better than usual, very much subdued, so more credible. Ernest Borgnine and Co are scruffy, callous villains whom we laugh at as well as loathe. Robert Culp is a bespectacled bounty hunter and, since the film is British, shot in Spain. Christopher Lee and Diana Dors feature. Bloodthirsty, but not a bad Western.

1. Was this an enjoyable Western?

2. Was it a 'typical' revenge Western? Why?

3. What made the film different from other Westerns or was it basically indistinguishable from many others?

4. Was Hannie Caulder a credible character. heroine? Did Raquel Welch make her convincing? Were too many concessions made to Raquel Welch's "sex-symbol" status and to audience expectation (especially the blanket) or did the film make her stand on her own merits?

5. How repulsive were the Clemens brothers? Were they too repulsive? Were they typical of the West - robbing, bungling, murdering and raping, quarrelling?

6. The terms of justice. who had the right to administer the law on the Clemens brothers for Jin Caulder's death? Did Hannie? Did the bounty hunters? (What rights did the bounty hunters have for their work?)

7. Was Price a sympathetic character? Why? Why could he not dissuade Hannie from her revenge? Why did he teach her to shoot?

8. The Bailey interlude - what did this add to the film? The character of Bailey and his household. some peace and normality. his skill at gunsmith work. Hannie's growing shooting ability? The purpose of the bandit attack - to pad out the film or did it add to the film?

9. Did you expect Price to be killed? How did that alter the tone of the film? In sympathy for Hannie's quest, in dislike of the Clemens brothers?

10. Were their deaths handled well in the film - were they too vengeful?

11. Hannie was wounded - did that keep her down to human size. instead of being superwoman?

12. The film also used some parody. Did this blend well with the revenge-style western? Was this a good Western?