Wer schluckt schon gerne blaue Bohnen?

Supposedly a Western, romantic-comedy, this film fails on most levels. Oh, it's not that it's that bad. It's not terrible. It's even mildly amusing in spots. But it had a great deal of promise, and didn't fulfill any of it. George Segal was trying to come off as the lovable rogue, but succeeded only in the rogue part. His character was crooked and churlish. Goldie Hawn did what she did (and still does) best: peg the needle on the cute-o-meter. Her character was pretty non-admirable as well, a prostitute and a con artist. At least the photography of the Colorado countryside was nice, and the direction was unobtrusive. I remember liking this film in the distant past, but a recent viewing made me wonder why. Check it out to see Goldie look cute, but don't expect anything more.

1976 was probably a crucial year in gauging the status of the Western as a feasible Hollywood film genre: apart from well-regarded titles like THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES and THE RETURN OF A MAN CALLED HORSE, you had to contend with some notorious flops, of both the art-house – Robert Altman's BUFFALO BILL AND THE INDIANS OR, SITTING BULL'S HISTORY LESSON and Arthur Penn's THE MISSOURII BREAKS – and the spoof – THE DUCHESS AND THE DIRTWATER FOX and THE GREAT SCOUT AND CATHOUSE THURSDAY (which I've yet to catch up with) – variety. The star rating I gave to the film in question is an indication that it wasn't, in fact, as disastrous as contemporary (and even more recent, in view of its release on DVD) reviews would have you believe and I'd say it's even worthy of earning a place in my collection…which should, of course, imply that it has rewatchability value.

Goldie Hawn, George Segal and his amiably clumsy horse Blackjack are practically the whole show here and this is clearly one of those movies which rely heavily on the charisma (or lack thereof) of its leads for its success or otherwise. The screenplay does have some good lines – including an amusingly protracted stagecoach conversation (supposedly in French) between the two stars which actually incorporates slangy English, French, Italian, Spanish and some Latin, too – but the plot is rather too thin to sustain the film's length. Hawn is a saloon entertainer/hooker with ideas above her station: she gets to wear tarty outfits, sing a bawdy song in an English accent and board the aforementioned stagecoach to become "The Duchess" of the title, an English governess to a host of kids borne by a wealthy Mormon; on the other hand, Segal is a luckless womanizing cardsharp who keeps getting caught cheating and finding himself at the wrong end of the noose; he eventually manages to abscond with $40,000 in stolen loot to the eternal chagrin of a ramshackle band of outlaws. The bag containing the money changes owners more often than these characters take a bath and, along the way, Hawn and Segal finally make love aboard a canoe approaching some deadly rapids, take refuge in a Jewish wedding ceremony and are bound together and left to roast under the baking desert sun. The change in mood towards the end – where Segal is repeatedly shot in the final confrontation with the gang – is far from smoothly handled but the open-ended conclusion nevertheless manages to end the film on a lighter note.

This movie is a treat from start to finish. Fantastic writing is the main reason why, and terrific character actors at every turn. Not quite as bawdy, but reminiscent of Blazing Saddles in its depiction of the Wild West - I mean, one of the funniest characters is BlackJack, George Segal's loyal steed.

Highly recommended for laughing out loud - a real gem - can't wait for the DVD.

Don't be afraid to show it to the kid's either, just a bit of language to manage, but otherwise, funny for almost all ages. Wish Segal and Hawn had done more work together - a great team!

Enjoy!!

This is a rather naughty little film, with a lot of Goldie Hawn on view at times. It is however done with such a lovely sense of fun and mischief that my kids and I watched it many times with great enjoyment.

Goldie sings some fun songs - including one about fruit, naughty fruit - and goes adventuring across the Old West in the company - at times - of the handsome and talented George Segal. [My favourite GS film, this one!] There are some sidesplitting scenes - for both audience and Goldie's clothes - and there is a very well-trained horse.

Best of all is the running gag! - How many times did you....? - Including this time? Once!

I use it all the time!!!

I liked this movie. It is a bit dated and it does lose the thread a bit at times, but generally is funny and spontaneous. I really wondered if some of the humor was unplanned. For example, when the Fox turns the corner on his horse and falls off. It really looks like this wasn't in the original script but it happened anyway. I particularly liked the song Don't touch my plums and especially when Goldie sings it to the Mormon family. Goldie Hawn is at her finest and suits the role she is playing. Watch it when you want to smile or need cheering up and don't want to think too deeply! We watched this by accident on TV last night and I managed to stay awake all the way through (ask my husband, that's amazing!)