Hannie Caulder (1971)

It comes as quite a surprise to me that in the nine months Common Sense Movie Reviews has been plugging away one of the top 10 most viewed reviews (currently #4) would be the horrible excuse for a western 100 Rifles. Most of the traffic for this review seems to be coming from Goggle Images, so I can only assume many people are searching for Raquel Welch and the only scene in the film that's even remotely worth watching. So to meet what appears to be a demand, I'm offering up some more luscious Raquel Welch to quench the thirst of all you googlers, only this time it's a film actually worth googling... and watching, that is if you can find it.

Hannie Caulder is your typical revenge story with a twist. Usually centered around a man whose family has been brutally murdered, Raquel Welch (Hannie) finds herself in the protagonist role when her husband is murdered by the Clemens brothers who then proceed to rape her and burn her house down, leaving her for dead. Hannie wanders into the desert after them where she runs into a bounty hunter named Thomas Luther Price, who eventually agrees to assist her in seeking revenge, teaching her how to handle a gun. In the process it's clear that Price begins to fall for Hannie, and attempts to persuade her not to go through what could ultimately end up killing her.

Hannie Caulder was a surprisingly entertaining western, considering the very simplistic plot and typical mediocre acting from Raquel Welch, but then again when has anyone watched a Raquel Welch film for good acting? Where the film really delivers is on action and flow. The films starts off with a fast placed and bloody gun battle and continues at a brisk place all the way to the end. Hannie Caulder accomplishes everything 100 Rifles failed to do and does it 25 minutes faster.

In terms of Raquel Welch classics, the little known Hannie Caulder ranks right up there with One Million Years B.C., especially in terms of publicity photos, above is an example. Now the only problem is finding a copy of this film on DVD, which strangely enough is not available in the United States. A download version is available on Amazon.com's video on demand (linked below), or you can find it on outdated VHS. Also the film is available for import on DVD from the UK or Australia, but at a little bit of a price. Also there are usually imports available on eBay but usually turn out to be bootleg so be careful. The Japanese version is supposedly out of print so be extremely wary of people selling those on eBay for a cheap price. In the end, Hannie Caulder is far from the best western I've ever seen, but in terms of Raquel Welch films it definitely ranks quite high, and is well worth a watch if you can find it for a decent price. It's sure to satisfy fans of both Spaghetti Westerns and Raquel Welch alike.

7/10