Hannie Caulder (1971)

With Raquel Welch in the lead role we get a few slices of the cheesecake that we expect, but she’s a credible enough Western star here out for revenge after she’s gang-raped by three crooks on the run. Women who took up six-shooters and got things done in the Old West were rare in the movies and Welch takes on the part with enthusiasm while the script lets her down with some lazy short cuts that make you want to throw your beer at the screen. What gets us through it is the breezy direction of Western stalwart Burt Kennedy. He works the reins and makes this film gallop even when it passes through some rough territory. He sweetens the sleazy subject matter with an upbeat score by Ken Thorne and some comic relief among the bumbling rapists that no film could get away with anymore, which makes this play like a real oddball today. Then there’s the crack supporting cast that includes Robert Culp, who’s great as the seasoned bounty hunter who teaches Welch how to use a gun. Culp is near unrecognizable at first under a beard and granny glasses that suggests either a man of the Old West or a hippie intellectual. Christopher Lee also shows up and he looks more comfortable as a family man on the Mexican border than you might expect. Jack Elam, Strother Martin and Ernest Borgnine clown around as the sloppy, stubble-faced bad guys and Diana Dors make a quick appearance as the obligatory saloon prostitute.