Hannie Caulder

Burt Kennedy who up to this point on the big and small screens worked with established Hollywood legends and in America, goes to Europe for a dish of pasta. A tasty dish at that in the form of Raquel Welch in the title role of Hannie Caulder.

Three fleeing Clemons brothers having just robbed a bank stop at a ranch to water and maybe steal some fresh horses. They shoot the owner and then ravish his wife who is Raquel Welch.

Imagine Nevada Smith where the mother doesn't die but seeks the three men out herself to even the score and you have Hannie Caulder. As Steve McQueen had a mentor in gunsmith Brian Keith she gets a good one in bounty hunter Robert Culp.

Her quarry as the notorious and probably inbred Clemons brothers are Ernest Borgnine, Jack Elam and Strother Martin. They are as nasty as the three who ravaged Nevada Smith's mother and they all come from the same parents. You could also compare them to the Clegg family of outlaws in the John Ford classic Wagonmaster.

Raquel Welch and Robert Culp make a fine pair of heroes, if they're not clean cut like Roy Rogers and Dale Evans they sure do look tall in the saddle.

By 1971 rape and other sexual issues could and were discussed in westerns. Westerns were more adult at that point though fewer were being made. Burt Kennedy whose films lean to the comic like The Rounders, The War Wagon, The Good Guys And The Bad Guys gets quite serious here. He also for the first time uses a woman protagonist.

It's a good film, but Burt Kennedy cheats a bit to give the film an artificial happy ending. But for that it could have been great.

By 1971 the ripples the spaghetti western movement were in full effect in both sides of the Atlantic and Hannie Caulder is definitely a product of those times and the progeny of the films of Leone, Corbucci or Parolini more than the traditional oaters of John Ford or Anthony Mann. It's evident in the bloody gunshots, the sexual violence and the way the revenge plot unfolds.

Undoubtedly part of the genre revisionism that turned the western upside down in the early 70's is the genre reversal tactics that director Burt Kennedy employs. We had seen a woman adopting a traditionally masculine role in the bossy, no-nonsense, gun-totting saloon owner Joan Crawford played in Johnny Guitar. Hannie Caulder however takes a different approach and adopts almost verbatim the narrative skeleton of a typical spaghetti western - the anti-hero, traumatized by a past event, looking for revenge. Then proceeds to cast the beautiful Raquel Welch (and her tanned, well toned thighs) in a role that in Italy would have been exclusive to the likes of Franco Nero, Anthony Steffen or Maurizio Merli.

Three bank robbers on the run from the Mexican Federales stop in a horse station, kill the owner, rape the wife, burn the place down and leave her to die. A passing bounty hunter takes the wife under his wing and travels with her to Mexico to meet a gun maker that used to work for the Confederates. It's there that the typical "training" part of the anti-heroine takes place and where she makes the turn from a "wounded animal" to a woman coming to terms with the path of revenge she has chosen. By the end of the movie Hannie Caulder has transformed to a gutsy, smart and wisecracking antiheroine and in no uncertain terms has embodied the "angel of death" aspect of the black-clad antiheroes of the spaghetti western - which is also evident in the final fight that takes place in the middle of a sandstorm.

A major asset of the film is the cast. Not because they turn in Oscar worthy performances - they don't. But it's always heart-warming to see so many familiar faces in the same film. Apart from the ravishing miss Welch, Christopher Lee appears in a brief role as the gunmaker (and it's funny to hear his British accent so far removed from the foggy sets of Hammer studios), Ernest Borgnine yells his way through the film (annoyingly so) as the leader of the three bank robbers and Jack Elam and Strother Martin steal every scene as the other two brothers of this formidable trio.

Pretty terrific western is outlandish, yet engrossing, satisfying and often funny (both intentionally and unintentionally). After being violently raped, widowed and left for dead by three dirty, cackling brothers, Raquel Welch learns to shoot a gun from hot-headed bounty hunter Robert Culp and hopes to seek her revenge on the mangy trio. Welch is sexy and droll as Hannie Caulder, and we are on her side from the get-go. She receives excellent support from Culp, Christopher Lee as a gunsmith and the three villains, Jack Elam, Strother Martin and Ernest Borgnine. A fairly unusual western which, until "Ms. 45" and "Sudden Impact", pretty much stood alone in the female sharpshooter genre. A large portion of its success belongs to Ms. Welch, convincing and sympathetic while riding the vengeance trail...but always remembering, "win or lose--you lose." Nobody won any awards for this, but it is exceptionally well done. *** from ****

Raquel Welch stars as the title character in this lively, oddball Western that alternates between a serious tone and a comedic one. Ms. Welch, who looks MIGHTY fine throughout, has her life forever altered by the villainous Clemens brothers. They kill her husband, take turns raping her, then burn down her house! Hannie becomes coldly determined to exact vengeance upon them, and keeps pestering bounty hunter Thomas Luther Price (Robert Culp) to teach her the fine art of shootin'. Eventually, he agrees.

The movie has an extremely intriguing pedigree: it's produced by the British company Tigon, was shot in Spain, and was directed by American Western specialist Burt Kennedy ("The War Wagon", "Support Your Local Sheriff!"). Not only that, but it actually plays its nasty bad guys for laughs much of the time, and Ernest Borgnine (as Emmett), Jack Elam (as Frank), and Strother Martin (as Rufus) are priceless as they spend much of their time bickering with each other; Martin is particularly funny.

This thing gets off to one Hell of a great start by coming up with a unique way to view a bank robbery: through the barrels of a shotgun! Superb widescreen photography (cinematography by Edward Scaife, camera-work by John Harris), beautiful scenery, and soaring music by Ken Thorne only add to the fun factor. Welch is quite easy to watch, and Culp, in one of his best ever roles, is excellent as the reluctant teacher. Diana Dors is wasted in a nothing role as a madame, but there's still great curiosity value in seeing Sir Christopher Lee here, as he plays Bailey, the kindly gunsmith who lives out in the middle of nowhere; his performance is wonderful. Look also for Aldo Sambrell, uncredited as a Mexican soldier, and Stephen Boyd, who has perhaps the most interesting role in the entire movie, as the mysterious and ultimately helpful "preacher". He utters not a word, yet has an undeniable presence.

A jaunty pace and generous doses of the red stuff help to make this a solid visceral entertainment. Quotable dialogue includes the gem "There are no hard women, only soft men." Clocking in at a trim 86 minutes, "Hannie Caulder" doesn't overstay its welcome, or ever get too draggy. It's sexy, violent, and a real hoot, and one of the influences on Quentin Tarantino's pair of "Kill Bill" films.

Eight out of 10.

Hannie Coulder (Raquel Welch) is living along with her hubby when three nasty brothers (Ernest Borgnine , Jack Elam , Strother Martin) kill her husband and she is raped . She is healed by a bounty hunter (Robert Culp) who teaches her how to be an expert gunwoman . Later on , a gunsmith (Christopher Lee cameo) builds Hannie a specialized revolver for her journey ahead . The revenge starts and early she is ready for it .

The picture contains action , gun-play , humor and a little bit of violence when the violation and murders are happening . The film follows Spaghetti Western rules , thus gets violent feuds , greedy and extreme baddies , spectacular shot'em up , rapid showdowns, and habitual plot : the vengeance ; besides , being shot in Almeria (Spain) where during 1960s-1970s years had been filmed several Italian/Spanish Western . Quentin Tarantino later said the film was one of his inspirations for "Kill Bill . Raquel Welch is enjoyable and enticing , though wooden , Robert Culp as the veteran gunfighter is top-notch . Special mention for the humorous and ironical trio of brothers , they are amused parodying the Western killer gang . The usually villain Christopher Lee makes a brief intervention as good guy at a cameo , in his seven decade career , this is Christopher Lee's only Western . It appears Stephen Boyd as a ghostly gunman , he is uncredited at a brief appearance as the gunfighter simply known as "The Preacher" .

Lively and catching music by Ken Thorne . Glimmer and colorful cinematography by Edward Scaife . The film is produced by Tigon ,a known British production habitual in Horror films . The motion picture was directed by Burt Kennedy , a specialist in Western genre , he also rewrote the screenplay but was not credited . The film will appeal to Raquel Welch fans and Spaghetti Western enthusiasts .