kamelstan

(2012-04-28 20:51:58)

Muddled, masquerading montage Western misses mark

Hannie Caulder is a muddled montage masquerading as an homage to thesuccessful elements of the 60's Western. You have the plot from "NevadaSmith" (only redone with Welch as a raped, widowed woman bent onrevenge). You have the hard-bitten bounty hunter of dozens of westernsin Culp(whose cold heart is slowly softened by Caulder). They shareseveral "Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid" moments, where he teaches herto shoot and schools her on the life of a gunfighter. And the two, intandem with gunsmith Bailey (played warmly by Christopher Lee),evenstave off an attack upon Bailey's seaside homestead by two dozenbandits(a la "The Magnificent Seven"). And the introduction of themysterious man-in-black mercenary and once mentor to Culp(StephenBoyd)plays into the "Man With No Name" spaghetti western mysticism. Theonly truly original ingredient in this otherwise middling potboiler arethe villains. Borgnine, Elam, and Martin as the Clemens Brothers stealthe movie with their comedic portrayals of Caulder's violators. Havingthe three come off as inept sort of detracts from their heinous crimeand gives them depth. But the one thing Hannie Caulder clearly lacks isdirection. While beautifully filmed and generally well-acted, it can'tdecide if it wants to be "Nevada Smith","Butch Cassidy","TheMagnificent Seven", or a spaghetti western. So it combines all threeand comes off as somewhat of a ripoff that misses the mark.

whpratt1

(2012-04-28 11:30:28)

Borgnine Made This A Classic Film!

Very unusual Western Film for the Year 1971, I wassurprised to see Raquel Welch,(Hannie Caulder) "Legally Blonde" '01 beingraped by three(3) men, one being Ernest Borgnine(Emmett Clemens) "Marty"'55and the director having close-up shots of Hannie Caulder's butt in verytight jeans, along with a Sheriff patting her on the butt, it is a wonderHannie did not shoot the sheriff dead on the spot!! I never expected to belaughing that much while I was watching this film, you never knew what toexpect. Christopher Lee (Bailey) played a very calm and wise gun maker andrepair man, no sucking of Blood as in his many roles as "Dracula". Theformer actress Diane Dors(Madame)"The Diana Dors Show"'81TV Series, had puton quite a few pounds and had a brief role landing on top of a customer. Itis impossible to be critical of this classic film, just lighten-UP and enjoya very unusual Western film!

(2012-04-22 04:14:25)

Robert Culp was "HOT" in this Western

The brothers (played by Strother Martin, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Elam)as mentioned in other reviews, are "slap stick" at times. Welch's make-up was too heavy for the time period, and her dress un-buttoned down her navel while she is cooking, was a bit much. With all that it is still a very good movie and Robert Culp's best acting. He could teach me to shoot a gun anytime!One of the better Welch movies, I have this on VHS and have watched it over and over!

helpless_dancer

(2012-04-21 16:35:35)

Fun western

One of the better shoot-em-ups I've seen. Welch turned in her usuallackluster performance as the female version of Josey Wales, but Culp andthe Clemens boys kept things moving right along. Borgnine, Elam, & Martinwere superb as the hilarious, yet dangerous "3 Stooges" villains. Theirslapstick antics had me rolling in the floor more than once. Why did thesilent gunfighter hang around the old prison all the time? Where did hesleep, what did he do all day? Who kept his clothes so nicely pressed? Lotsof holes in this one, but a thoroughly enjoyable western.

Cristi_Ciopron

(2012-04-21 01:27:53)

First—class comic strips western

I've met the western, when I was a kid, in the pages of the comicstrips magazines, this was my first contact with the westerns—so, forme, western and comic books are correlated . Here my pleasure wasdoubled—being simultaneously a Welch fan, and a western fan ….As Hannie, Raquel looks scandalously sexy. The movie is pure suspense,a very straightforward fun that doesn't disappoint but offers exactlywhat it promises. This is my idea, my notion of western flicks culture. Unfortunately,today even the idea of such an independent and fun movie being madeseems completely surreal. For me, these cheap unpretentious B action/suspense westerns are one of the glories of the European cinema. Howstrange that nowadays even their memory is mocked, as if they werethings of shame.I liked "Hannie" because it gives a woman the leading role. This aspectis very enjoyable. As a matter of fact, it was noticed as one of thefew non—misogynistic European westerns. The able recycling of non—European (generally, American) western actorsin non—American westerns is a fascinating thing for me. In thisdirection, "Hannie" is a feast, a regal. "Hannie" achieves exactly what it sets itself up to.So for me the westerns meant primarily comic—strips and novels (from"The Jackal's Fangs" to "Captain Apache" and "WW West"—the comicstrips;and from Frânculescu and Reid to May and Cooper ).I enjoyintensely the comic—strips quality of movies like this "Hannie", withthe action, the fun ,the suspense and the no—nonsense approach. Theseare good things in a movie. Above all, "Caulder" looks so deprived ofthe traditional sentimental crap! For me the western is the peak of thecool, of the fun and of the violence; this is especially true about thegreat European westerns. In a few words, Welch is cool, the action issuspenseful and the film is violent.

(2012-04-20 12:08:36)

western

This review is from: Hannie Caulder [VHS] (VHS Tape) I saw this classic many years ago. but after seen it again. I was not too impressed. I give it an o.k.

(2012-04-12 10:05:50)

Caulder offers nothing new and a lot old

To put it nicely, Hannie Caulder is an homage masquerading as a western. It offers nothing new and a lot old. Below its thin veneer of a plot(Raquel Welch's quest for revenge against the men who brutally raped her)you'll easily see several rip-offs of prior westerns. The Mexican soliders chasing the outlaws is obviously from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and the three-against-twenty gunfight with Hannie, Thomas, and Bailey is reminicent of that in Magnificent Seven. Throw in the mysterious, man-in-black (a.k.a., The Man With No Name from the Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns)and you have a hollow story that relies on the usual shoot'em-up plot devices. The only difference--and it's a noticable one in Raquel Welch--is that a woman wears the ten-gallon hat and six-shooter. Too bad she couldn't inject a fresh, feminine perspective on violence instead of offering the same old macho mimicry.

Scott LeBrun

(2012-04-11 22:27:06)

"Win or lose, you lose, Hannie Caulder".

Raquel Welch stars as the title character in this lively, oddballWestern that alternates between a serious tone and a comedic one. Ms.Welch, who looks MIGHTY fine throughout, has her life forever alteredby the villainous Clemens brothers. They kill her husband, take turnsraping her, then burn down her house! Hannie becomes coldly determinedto exact vengeance upon them, and keeps pestering bounty hunter ThomasLuther 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 wasdirected by American Western specialist Burt Kennedy ("The War Wagon","Support Your Local Sheriff!"). Not only that, but it actually playsits nasty bad guys for laughs much of the time, and Ernest Borgnine (asEmmett), Jack Elam (as Frank), and Strother Martin (as Rufus) arepriceless as they spend much of their time bickering with each other;Martin is particularly funny. This thing gets off to one Hell of agreat 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 funfactor. Welch is quite easy to watch, and Culp, in one of his best everroles, is excellent as the reluctant teacher. Diana Dors is wasted in anothing role as a madame, but there's still great curiosity value inseeing Sir Christopher Lee here, as he plays Bailey, the kindlygunsmith who lives out in the middle of nowhere; his performance iswonderful. Look also for Aldo Sambrell, uncredited as a Mexicansoldier, and Stephen Boyd, who has perhaps the most interesting role inthe entire movie, as the mysterious and ultimately helpful "preacher".He utters not a word, yet has an undeniable presence. A jaunty pace andgenerous doses of the red stuff help to make this a solid visceralentertainment. Quotable dialogue includes the gem "There are no hardwomen, only soft men." Clocking in at a trim 86 minutes, "HannieCaulder" doesn't overstay its welcome, or ever get too draggy. It'ssexy, violent, and a real hoot, and one of the influences on QuentinTarantino's pair of "Kill Bill" films. Eight out of 10.

James S. Prine

(2012-04-04 22:43:24)

Rape victim confronts an unholy trinity

This offbeat Western could have been another standard revenge flick, but thevivid portrayals from the stars inject lots of spice and no small amount ofhumor into the proceedings.Raquel Welch portrays "Hannie", and Robert Culp craftily plays "LutherPrice", ace bounty hunter, mankiller, and Hannie's mentor.The real stars of this piece are Strother Martin, Jack Elam and ErnestBorgnine. If you can imagine 'The Three Stooges' as utterly filthy, scummyvagabonds with a propensity for murder, rape and theft, you might get anidea of how this family operates. Strother Martin in particular is a delight; in the middle of a gunbattle heengages in a clumsy fistfight with one of his brothers over some trivialmatter. Another priceless moment is when he presides at a brother'sfuneral, using a stolen Bible that he cannot even read.Look for Christopher Lee's subtle and well-crafted performance as a formerConfederate gunmaker.Not your usual Western, this film is well worth watching despite itsflaws.Rated 7.7/10.

AConcernedCitizen

(2012-04-04 05:47:30)

Interesting and unusual western drama

I saw this again after more than 30 years, and was prepared for acampy, laughable Western-parody, as so many from the Spaghetti WesternEra are...especially anything at all starring camp queen Raquel Welch.I was rather pleasantly surprised. Yes, there are campy moments, butoverall this is an interesting movie, especially for the early 70s whenthe western genre was going into a long hibernation.The worst or campiest elements are the "feminist/sexploitation"aspects...on one hand "Hannie Caulder" wants us to take this storyabout a woman in the Old West seriously (Hannie is raped, and takesrevenge into her own hands) and on the other, it wants to show usRaquel Welch, very sexy and Playboy foldout-ish in a short poncho andnothing else. Raquel was (and is) a tremendously beautiful woman, butin an extremely period way -- and that period was naturally the early70s! Her artfully highlighted main of long straight hair and heavy eyemakeup (false eyelashes!) don't look like anything remotely believablefrom the 1880s. I mention the poncho because it forms a very iconicimage of Ms. Welch -- almost as famous as her animal skin bikini from"1 Million BC" -- and it's so obviously meant to be titillating, sincewe are intended to think she is totally naked underneath this skimpygarment (and while riding a horse...OUCH). Later on, Hannie acquires apair of very very tight deerskin trousers, also absurd for a woman ofthat era. (Let's just make this clear -- in the 19th century, womenabsolutely never ever wore pants or men's clothing. Period.)Putting that aside though, the storyline is intriguing. Hannie'shusband is killed and she is raped by a gang of sleazy thugs (StrotherMartin, Ernest Borgnine etc.) who burn down her cabin and all herpossessions. She is rescued by Thomas Price, a bounty hunter played byRobert Culp. This is an unexpected turn by Culp (I, Spy), and a verynice one -- he's extremely appealing and makes for a different sort ofromantic hero, especially with his glasses. After some initialcoldness, he warms up to Hannie and helps her on her mission of revenge(while warning her of it's ultimate futility). Culp & Welch are not aromantic pair you'd expect and maybe because of that, it really works. From the standpoint of the 21st century, I don't feel the overall plotgives enough weight to the rape as a catalyst for Hannie's actions.It's a horrific rape and presented as such, but then Hannie isencouraged to forget about it and find happiness with Thomas Price.Anyone who has ever lived through a rape or studied the aftereffects ofsuch an experience, recognizes this as a naive and simplistic solution.Also, Hannie seems overly dependent on Price to teach her and doeverything for her, and only comes into her own in the last 20 minutesof the film.Still and all, how often do you see a Western with a strong,interesting female protagonist? NOT VERY. Even good modern Westerns,such as "Unforgiven" or "Open Range" feature very passive females intraditional roles such as prostitute or schoolmarm. "Hannie Caulder" isactually ABOUT a female character and her experiences and as such, it'sa rare bird.It would be very interesting to see this remade today with a littleless cheesecake (Raquel in her poncho) and a little more psychologicalawareness of a rape victim's emotional state. At any rate, it kept meinterested throughout and compared to other westerns of it's period, Ithink "Hannie Caulder" is above average. Look for Christopher Lee in arare, non-horror cameo as a gun maker.

mingo-2

(2012-03-29 08:47:23)

Firearms self defence training

Fairly standard rape revenge plot. Interesting in the training sessionsbetween Culp and Welch. One of the few western where a woman is effectivewith a gun.

Juha HГѓВ¤mГѓВ¤lГѓВ¤inen

(2012-03-29 00:10:05)

She's just killing me too

A good solid 70's western of the revenge formula with one vitalrefreshing story point, a woman pursuing those who did her wrong. Andshe's not just any old cowgirl, as you may have noticed from the castlist. If the plot as a whole is not one of the most original, the greatcast does give a good reason to see this movie. Raquel Welch does whatshe can in the bit limited role and she does it fine. Three westernicons of Elam, Borgnine and Martin make a bunch of villains that is atthe same time one of the most revolting and tracelessly funny. If youhave liked them in earlier westerns of Peckinpah and Kennedy you getmostly the same great treatment here. Martin especially always ends upstealing the show as the most dangerous idiot in the west ever. RobertCulp gives a good performance as a bounty hunter and killer with apiece of heart still left and a sensible head. And for Christopher Leefans like me, here he is noteworthy as always and apparently in hisonly western role of all the countless movie roles he has made. Apretty small role actually but it can't keep a great actor down.The strong influences of Peckinpah and spaghetti westerns are prettyobvious and mix together surprisingly well. The plot could havedeserved a bit more development but it gives fairly good enjoyment asit is, if you enjoy westerns in general. I consider this one of thebetter films from director Kennedy.

(2012-03-27 18:19:07)

Two Movies in One

This review is from: Hannie Caulder [VHS] (VHS Tape) This is NOT simply a movie about a woman who gets raped and turns bitter or who, in the words of Thomas Luther Price, Robert Culp's character, "wants to be a man." This is a movie about a woman who is brutally raped all night by the same three men who murdered her husband and who later burn down her home. This seems to be a point that neither Tom Price nor previous reviewers seem to have picked up on though it should be a rather obvious one. Mrs. Caulder does not want to be wooed by Mr. Price or anyone else. She has lost everything in the space of one night and she has absolutely no one who understands or even seems to care or to whom she can turn to talk to about it. Placed in juxtaposition to this very serious theme is another movie altogether... a movie that does not belong in the same one with Hannie Caulder's rape, the horrifying loss of her husband, and her search for some kind of resolution. It doesn't belong there because it is too much it's own comedy. This is the movie that Ernest Borgnine, Strother Martin, and Jack Elam are in. These three are in a comedy that, in the opinion of this reviewer, far surpasses anything that The Three Stooges ever did in humor. They are hysterically funny, and this is the problem. While some comic relief might be helpful in a movie that is so serious and horrifying, it should not be allowed to overwhelm the plot. Unfortunately it does and spoils much of the serious tone of the whole film.

Sean Axmaker

(2012-03-27 05:54:45)

... a confused hybrid pulled in all directions.

jfgibson73

(2012-03-21 18:35:36)

Just Fine, Thanks

What a terrible name. Hannie? Why not just Annie? That aside, I didenjoy this movie. It is a very basic rape/revenge story done as aWestern. I don't think it was nearly as gritty as it was meant to be.When characters say things like, "You're a hard woman, Hannie Caulder,"I felt like they could have done more to show how hard she had become,rather than just point it out with dialog. Also, there was a little bitof forced sentimentality, and some ill-placed comic relief that feltalmost slap-sticky.This is just nitpicking however. It was very satisfying and watchable,at least for one viewing. Raquel Welch, who I probably know best fromher guest appearance on Seinfeld, was very striking as the damagedfrontier woman. A lot of people seem to really like the character thathelps train her as a gunfighter. I found him more functional to thestory than interesting. Christopher Lee had a cameo that had me askingif it was really him. And there was one unresolved plot point in thatas far as I could tell, they never explained who the mystery man inblack was. If you are in the mood for a lighter, easy-to-watch western,this should go down nice. Just don't expect the depth of, say, "OnceUpon A Time..."

(2012-03-21 07:56:34)

Meat and potatoes revenge western

Revenge western starring Raquel Welch as the title character, victim of a vicious assault by outlaws led by Ernest Borgnine. All credibilty goes out the window five minutes into the movie when it becomes clear the bad guys are comic relief villains. The "rape" sequence, meant to set up the story plays like a rejected scene from an old sitcom, thus the viewer is not given the opportunity to have any emotional involement with Hannie. For those of you who are still interested, Robert Culp mentors Welch so she can get revenge; and Christopher Lee shows up in yet another movie which wastes his talents. Pretty routine stuff, but at least its better than Welch's MYRA BRECKINRIDGE. (Is it possible for movies to get any WORSE than that?) Welch should have just shot the varmits at the start and mosied off into the sunset. Doesn't evoke fond memories of THE WILD BUNCH or Leone's DOLLARS trilogy.

chaos-rampant

(2012-03-18 17:42:18)

An American spaghetti western with a gender reversal

By 1971 the ripples the spaghetti western movement were in full effectin both sides of the Atlantic and Hannie Caulder is definitely aproduct of those times and the progeny of the films of Leone, Corbuccior Parolini more than the traditional oaters of John Ford or AnthonyMann. It's evident in the bloody gunshots, the sexual violence and theway the revenge plot unfolds.Undoubtedly part of the genre revisionism that turned the westernupside down in the early 70's is the genre reversal tactics thatdirector Burt Kennedy employs. We had seen a woman adopting atraditionally masculine role in the bossy, no-nonsense, gun-tottingsaloon owner Joan Crawford played in Johnny Guitar. Hannie Caulderhowever takes a different approach and adopts almost verbatim thenarrative skeleton of a typical spaghetti western - the anti-hero,traumatized by a past event, looking for revenge. Then proceeds to castthe beautiful Raquel Welch (and her tanned, well toned thighs) in arole that in Italy would have been exclusive to the likes of FrancoNero, Anthony Steffen or Maurizio Merli.Three bank robbers on the run from the Mexican Federales stop in ahorse station, kill the owner, rape the wife, burn the place down andleave her to die. A passing bounty hunter takes the wife under his wingand travels with her to Mexico to meet a gun maker that used to workfor the Confederates. It's there that the typical "training" part ofthe anti-heroine takes place and where she makes the turn from a"wounded animal" to a woman coming to terms with the path of revengeshe has chosen. By the end of the movie Hannie Caulder has transformedto a gutsy, smart and wisecracking antiheroine and in no uncertainterms has embodied the "angel of death" aspect of the black-cladantiheroes of the spaghetti western - which is also evident in thefinal fight that takes place in the middle of a sandstorm.A major asset of the film is the cast. Not because they turn in Oscarworthy performances - they don't. But it's always heart-warming to seeso many familiar faces in the same film. Apart from the ravishing missWelch, Christopher Lee appears in a brief role as the gunmaker (andit's funny to hear his British accent so far removed from the foggysets of Hammer studios), Ernest Borgnine yells his way through the film(annoyingly so) as the leader of the three bank robbers and Jack Elamand Strother Martin steal every scene as the other two brothers of thisformidable trio.

Jakemcclake

(2012-03-18 04:51:47)

Raquel At Her Hottest

Spoilers Raquel Welsh stars as Hannie Caulder the woman who watches aband of outlaws (the Clemens family, led by Emmett - Ernest Borgnine)kill her husband, rape her and leave her for dead. Hannie recovers andis befriended by a gunslinger Thomas Luther Price, played by RobertCulp. He gets her a good gun, and trains her to win at gun fighting.Hannie wants revenge and seeks the three who destroyed her life. Sheand Mr. Price set out to find the Clemens gang. Along the way, Mr Pricegets killed by Emmett Clemens. In the first gunfight Hannie is in andfor the first time ever, a woman who was going to kill a man actuallyhad me distracted. This distraction was supposed to take place in amillion movies, but, I always was able to focus my attention on thefact that if I were that guy, I would kill that woman, because shewants to kill me.NOT THIS TIME AND NOT THIS WOMAN! As Hannie Caulder, Raquel was too hot! It is the only time a woman'slooks truly were a distraction. If all of those fights were my fightsand were real, I would finally have been killed against this woman!Raquel brought a gentleness and a likableness to a violent nasty role.You watch her at the end and you hope she can return to her life andlive with the killings. However, you know she will never be the same asshe was.

topping65

(2012-03-15 16:59:55)

different movie

Did I see a different movie than everybody else? No one has mentionedthe head scratching events, like why the gang of Mexicans attackedChristopher Lee and company on the beach. Like who was the guy at theprison and why he helped Hannie? Did he live there? Let's not forgetthe absurdity of making a gun without any machining tools. No onementioned how the older brother's leg wound kept changing legs. Someonementioned less cheesecake? Less than having one of the most beautifulwoman on earth wear a poncho for the whole movie. What moron's idea wasthat? The whole teaching her how to shoot was just awful and painful towatch. The music was terrible and wildly inappropriate. It sounded likesome outtakes from Star Trek. There was no chemistry at all betweenWelch and Culp at all, none! I could go on and on about the threestooges being portrayed as bad asses, but you get the point.

(2012-03-15 06:26:51)

Vengeance is a strong incentive

This western is centered on three outlaws, three brothers who skim the frontier, as much as they can, and they can very little. They kill for pleasure and also to compensate their inability at robbing a bank properly or attacking a stage coach successfully. They are flunkies in the field. They run into a stagecoach station and they kill the station master, rape his wife and burn the station to the earth. Then the wife who wants vengeance runs into a bounty hunter. She will learn the trade and go through with her vengeance. The details create the suspense of the film and give it a real deep emotional value. The film also reveals how these outlaws could survive easily in some western cities because the local sheriff had an agreement with them : no trouble and he would disregard the WANTED notices, till something happens. Raquel Welch embodies her part with conviction.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU