Winchester et jupons courts

9-year-old me wanted to watch this movie in the theaters, but my parents wouldn't take me, though now that Kino-Lorber has release it on blu-ray, I finally get to watch it. Honestly, the main reason I bought this film is I've had a crush on Diane Lane since "Six Pack" and still really wanted to watch this movie. It tells the tale of two teenage girls in the old west falling in love with outlaws and being pursued by the law. That's about it, but what makes the film work is a surprisingly strong cast. Besides Diane Lane, in only her third film, you also have Amanda Plummer ("Fisher King" "Pulp Fiction") in her film debut as Cattle Annie. There's also Scott Glenn ("Silverado" "Silence of the Lambs"), John Savage ("Enter the Dragon" "Nightmare on Elm Street") Buck Taylor ("Tombstone" "Cowboys & Aliens"), and even Hollywood legends Rod Steiger ("On the Waterfront" "In the Heat of the Night") and Burt Lancaster ("From Here to Eternity" "Sweet Smell of Success"). Overall, the film is lightweight fluff, but it's utterly charming and goes down easy like comfort food.

Good old-fashioned Western movie with a good shot of comedy. A great production and fine working cast (Diana Lane and Amanda Plummer are all too gorgeous as drifters) make this one a gem for everyone who like Western movies a la True Grit, Cat Ballou, Waterhole and so on.

This typical early eighties western, shot in the shadow of HEAVEN's GATE, is made in a different way from the Gordon Douglas's version of 1949, DOOLINS OF OKLAHOMA,thirty years earlier, but it matches it. I like both, this one shows tenderness and light heart too. Lancaster is as usual excellent as the aging outlaw.

"Cattle Annie and Little Britches" is, believe it or not, based on real characters. Yes, two weird women, Cattle Annie and her friend, Little Britches, were actually members of the famous Doolin Gang and were responsible for a short reign of terror in the latter days of the old west.

Apart from casting the way too elderly Burt Lancaster as the gang leader, Bill Doolin, the movie is good...though also not especially memorable. The biggest problem is that in the film, these criminals don't do a whole lot and they also aren't very sympathetic. I don't know about most viewers, but I just found I didn't care about anyone in this movie. It's competently made but curiously uninvolving as well.

Amanda Plummer and Diane Lane are perfect complements in the title roles. Cattle Annie, as played by Plummer, is assertive, questioning, and somewhat rambunctious. In contrast, Lane's character is a lot like Barbara i One Day At A Time. The two young ladies get in the middle of Legendary Marshal Bill Tilghman's attempts to take the gang led by Burt Lancaster. The dialogue is sensational, and the acting, including terrific performances by Scoot Glenn and John Savage, could not be better. This is one to savor.