McCABE AND MRS MILLER

US, 1971, 120 minutes, Colour.
Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Michael Murphy, Rene Auberjonois.
Directed by Robert Altman.

Mc Cabe and Mrs. Miller is an unusual western that would not appeal to everyone. It is a frontier story of an early settlement called Presbyterian Church, but traced mainly through the history of its saloon and brothel. The settings are wintry, snow, primitive conditions and the hard life. In this situation, Robert Altman shows and explores something of the origins of the west, the enterprise of the individual and being taken over by moneyed power. The theme is that of U.S. society as a whole.

Robert Altman rose to fame through his irreverent satire, M*A*S*H, which showed two individual surgeons serving the madness of organised war in clowning and lunacy on the isolated Asian war frontier. His next film was Brewster Mc Cloud where the individual hero tried to develop wings to fly above U.S. society but was continually persecuted by power, tradition, manipulation etc. Unlike the heroes of M*A*S*H, Brewster is destroyed by society. So is McCabe?, the victim individual, who is beaten by Mrs Miller and her sophistication (and finally drugged indifference) and by money and power. Dialogue and sound technique are designed to give an authentic air to the film, but may irritate because of difficulty in hearing. Warren Beatty is a good McCabe?. Julie Christie received an Oscar nomination for her Mrs Miller.

1. What was the style of life in Presbyterian Church? What aspects of American frontier life did it typify?

2. How did Robert Altman portray the style of life - comment on the subdued use of colour, darkness, spontaneous conversations that were hard to understand, the weather, the frank and coarse language and manners?

3. How did Sheahan and his house typify Presbyterian Church before Mc Cabe cams?

4. How did Mc Cabe change Presbyterian Church? He brought a basic brothel there - did he bring anything else?

5. How did Mc Cabe see himself as a businessman? did his reputation as a gun-fighter help?

6. What kind of woman was Mrs Miller? How did she show Mc Cabe up as an amateur? Why did she think men needed trappings of luxury and would pay for them? How did she treat her girls?

7. What was the role of the Church building and its steeple in the town? Were the Negro couple typical citizens?

8. What was the relationship between Mc Cabe and Mrs Miller?

9. Why did the profiteers want to buy out Mc Cabe and why did he stand up to them at first? Was he bluffing or foolhardy?

10. Why did the lawyer persuade Mc Cabe to take a stand? Did Mc Cabe think he could win? How did he symbolise the little man against the overwhelming power of the big man?

11. Why did the minister threaten Mc Cabe?

12. What was the significance of the gunfight in the snow, while the Church burnt and the people were busy?

13. What was the significance of Mc Cabe shooting the gunmen, being shot and unable to reach help?

14. What was the significance of the last shot of Mrs Miller and the drugs?

15. Was this a message film and if so what was the message? Was it effectively communicated?