Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Don Siegel

Writers:

Budd Boetticher (story)
Albert Maltz (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 June 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | War | Western

Tagline:

CLINT EASTWOOD...the deadliest man alive...takes on a whole army with two guns and a fistful of dynamite!

Plot:

Set in Mexico, a nun called Sara is rescued from three cowboys by Hogan, who is on his way to do some reconnaissance...

Plot Keywords:

French | Cowboy | Reconnaissance | Mexico | Nun

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Tue. July 14	11:00 PM	AMC
Wed. July 15	12:30 PM	AMC
Fri. July 24	9:45 AM	AMC

Cast

Shirley MacLaine	...	Sara
Clint Eastwood	...	Hogan
Manuel Fábregas	...	Col. Beltran (as Manolo Fabregas)
Alberto Morin	...	Gen. LeClaire
Armando Silvestre	...	1st American
John Kelly	...	2nd American
Enrique Lucero	...	3rd American
David Estuardo	...	Juan
Ada Carrasco	...	Juan's mother
Pancho Córdova	...	Juan's father (as Poncho Cordoba)
José Chávez	...	Horatio (as Jose Chavez)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
José Ángel Espinosa 'Ferrusquilla'		(as José Ángel Espinoza)

Also Known As:

Dos mulas para la hermana Sara (Mexico)

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA | Mexico

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:G (Quebec) | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG (re-rating) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | West Germany:16 (nf) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | South Korea:12 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Cuaútla, Morelos, Mexico

Company:

Malpaso Company, The

Trivia:

While in Austria filming Where Eagles Dare (1968), Clint Eastwood was approached with the script by Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton's wife at the time, with the notion of starring together in the film. However, Universal Pictures was unwilling to pay Taylor's high salary.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: While Sara is climbing the train trestle to place the dynamite, a roman aqueduct can be seen in the background in one or two of the shots.

Quotes:

Hogan: All the women I've ever known were natural-born liars but I never knew about nuns until now.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That (2005) (TV)

Fun Little Western With Eastwood and MacLaine

Don Siegel's "Two Mules For Sister Sara" starring Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine is certainly not one of the brilliant Westerns with Eastwood, but it is a very well directed, greatly acted and very amusing little Western comedy with good wit that highly entertains. Eastwood, who is cool as always, and the lovable MacLaine match perfectly, and the plot has some nice twists (although it should be said that some of the 'twists' are not really too surprising).

After gunsling Hogan (Eastwood) saves a nun named Sara (MacLaine) from a bunch of guys who wanted to rape her in the middle of the desert by shooting them, he now has to take care of her, which annoys him. It's a time of revolution against the French in Mexico, and while Hogan, who is interested in quick money, will fight for whichever side pays well (which happens to be the revolutionaries), his new traveling companion Sara is very obviously an idealistic supporter of the revolutionary Juaristas...

As mentioned above, "Two Mules For Sister Sara" can in no way come up to the brilliance of Eastwood movies such as Leone's Dollar Trilogy (few movies can) or Eastwood's very own "High Plains Drifter" of 1973. Nevertheless, it is a good little western with a lot of charm and wit, which provides an exciting story, action and great entertainment as well as many good laughs. Clint Eastwood has always been the epitome of coolness, especially in his Westerns, and MacLaine is great in her role of the feisty sister Sara. Overall, "Two Mules For Sister Sara" is a highly entertaining Western Comedy, that will not leave anybody bored. Recommended! 7/10