La femme sans loi

Shelly Winters, Joel McCrea and Elsa Lanchester make for a solid and entertaining trio in this slight yet fun western/romance. Some of the scenery is beautiful, Winters looks lovely and most of the various colorful supporting characters all contribute something towards making this a generally fun and easy film to view and enjoy. The pacing is good and quick there's not a dull moment to be found. Sure, the story is slight but continually moving and the cat fight between Winters and Windsor is a hoot. Joel McCrea gives his usual understated performance and in the end loves wins out for Shelly and Elsa and all is good with the west again.

Despite a few gritty story elements, "Frenchie" is clearly a western that never takes itself all too seriously. Because of this, although you may not love the film, it is enjoyable and fun.

Frenchie (Shelly Winters) is a professional gambler and has just moved into a sleepy western town. Soon after buying the dying local bar, she is able to make a huge success of it--turning it into a gambling parlor. This irks some of the locals who want to keep the town clean and trouble-free, though they don't realize that she has ulterior motives. It seems her father was murdered many years earlier and the trail has led to this and an adjacent town. In the meantime, inexplicably romance blossoms between her and the Sheriff--a guy who wants to shut down the gambling establishment. There's more to it than this (including a murder) but frankly none of it ever seemed very serious. It was like the actors did it all with a wink in their eyes and by the end the viewer is left somewhat satisfied but not bowled over.

Strengths of the film include some nice acting, a crazy girl-fight and an unusual plot. The biggest deficit is the homespun comments that come flying from Joel McCrea. If I never heard another "I knew a man once who...." comment from him, I'd be a happy man!

Although most film historians rate Frenchie as at least a partial remake of Destry Rides Again, you look on the film credits and you will see nary a mention of Max Brand and his western novel on which the famous James Stewart-Marlene Dietrich classic is based. It gives someone by the name of Oscar Brodney credit for an 'original story and screenplay. The estate of Max Brand could have sued.

But other than the name of the town of Bottleneck and the name of Shelley Winters title character a whole lot has changed. Joel McCrea is the Destry character renamed Tom Banning who cleaned up the bad elements in Bottleneck, but then left after his girlfriend Marie Windsor decided to marry John Emery the banker. He's coming back now.

But also coming to town is Shelley Winters who as a little girl saw her father murdered by his two partners, one of them Paul Kelly the other a silent partner. She's the notorious Frenchie Fairmount of New Orleans, owner and operator of the most posh gambling palace in that town and she's now come to Bottleneck to take the trade from Paul Kelly who owns a rival palace in nearby Chuck-a-luck. Winters arrives with able assistants Elsa Lanchester and John Russell.

Separate things bring McCrea and Winters back to Bottleneck, but soon they find they've a lot in common. McCrea has the Destry character down pretty good, albeit he's a little older than when Jimmy Stewart and later Audie Murphy played him.

As for Shelley Winters, she's one brassy lassie and she holds her own in the chick fight that Destry is so famous for. Her's is with Marie Windsor.

One thing Frenchie does miss is the sure comedy touch of George Marshall from the 1939 version. Still this one holds up quite nicely and McCrea and Winters and the rest of the cast do just fine.

A wild girl named Frenchie Fontaine (Shelley Winters) comes to town and conducts gambling to the disenchantment of the townsfolk, Joel McCrea, Elsa Lanchester, and Marie Windsor. More melodrama than action--western. Shelley's gorgeous, especially when her dresses are off her smooth pretty shoulders.

Frenchie is directed by Louis King and written by Oscar Brodney. It stars Joel McCrea, Shelley Winters, Paul Kelly, Elsa Lanchester, Marie Windsor and John Russell. Music is by Hans Salter and cinematography by Maury Gertsman.

Frenchie Fontaine (Winters) has sold her successful business in New Orleans and has come West to prosper further - or does she have an ulterior motive?

In spite of some on line sources proclaiming this to be a remake of "Destry", which is a considerably better film as it happens, it really isn't a copy. The similarities are for sure there, but it is its own entity and deserves to at least be judged as such.

We have a wonderful tried and trusted Western genre narrative thread where someone is out for revenge, only in this instance it's a foxy lady. Male suitors get in a tizzy about garnering her attentions, the bad guys potter about trying to avert suspicion - but do so badly, and there's some moral outrage from townsfolk who object to Frenchie's forthright money making success. While of course there's some truths to be born out - can open and worms everywhere type of thing.

It's not very strong on the page, that's for sure, but there's plenty in the production to enjoy regardless. Cast are good value for the roles as written, not that there's any great chemistry between Winters and McCrea, but as she snake hips her way around town, and he fronts up with cool as a cucumber swagger, it's easy to just buy into the frothery of it all. The dialogue is often deliciously suggestive, the costuming is high quality (Yvonne Wood), and when action decides to make an appearance it's competently staged.

Yet it's the cinematography that is the pic's best aspect. Maury Gertsman (Comanche Territory) is not a name that jumps off the page for cinematography notices, he definitely was a better purveyor in monochrome, but his Technicolor filters are excellent here. Then there's the gorgeous locales, where Buttermilk Country/Inyo National Forest please the eyes so much you wonder why these weren't used more often through the Western genre heydays?

As a serious Western genre fan I wouldn't be comfortable putting this forward as a must see for like minded souls. However, for McCrea and Winters fans - and actually John Russell ones as well - this is no waste of time. 6/10