The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (1976)

Director:

Melvin Frank

Writers:

Barry Sandler (story)
Melvin Frank (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 April 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Western

Tagline:

Once upon a time, If the rustlers didn't get you, the hustlers did.

Plot:

A female hustler is chasing after rich men, but becomes repeatedly mixed up with a suave con man and...

Plot Keywords:

Mormon | Stagecoach | Wild West | Pig Latin | Title In Title

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

George Segal	...	Charlie 'Dirtwater Fox' Malloy
Goldie Hawn	...	Amanda Quaid / Duchess Swansbury
Conrad Janis	...	Gladstone (Widdicombe's assistant)
Thayer David	...	Josiah Widdicombe (Mormon patriarch)
Jennifer Lee	...	Trollop
Sid Gould	...	Rabbi
Pat Ast	...	Music hall singer
E.J. André	...	Prospector (as E.J. Andre)
Richard Farnsworth	...	Stagecoach driver (as Dick Farnsworth)
Clifford Turknett	...	Mr. Weatherly (ticket aent)
Harlan Knudson	...	Cooper
Jean Favre	...	Drunk / Usher
Bill McLaughlin	...	Murdock
Richard Jamison	...	Waiter
Barbara Ulrich	...	Maisie

Runtime:

103 min | Germany:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hebrew | French | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Iceland:12 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Buckskin Joe Frontier Town & Railway - 1193 Fremont County Road 3A, Canon City, Colorado, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The fiddle player in the orchestra is Goldie Hawn's father, Rut Hawn.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: The film's raunchy language may have been toned down in post-production to prevent an R rating. After the stagecoach crashes, Goldie Hawn has two lines ("I had to look like a *blue-nosed* duchess" and "It's still there in the *lousy* bottom") neither of which match up with her lip movements.

Quotes:

Charlie 'Dirtwater Fox' Malloy: Here it is... Virginia City, my kind of town.
Amanda Quaid/Duchess Swansbury: What constitutes your kind of town?
Charlie 'Dirtwater Fox' Malloy: Any place I can get rid of you!

Soundtrack:

Please Don't Touch Me Plums

confused mess

A half-decade after "Laugh-In" and a half-decade before "Private Benjamin," Goldie Hawn reveals that she not only has beautiful thighs (which the director takes very opportunity to remind us) but that she can act. Hawn herself takes every opportunity to develop a well-rounded character given a script that doesn't invite it - she exhibits a wide range of responses that the director doesn't really ask of any other actor.

Otherwise, the film is a confused mess. Beautiful location photography, and not much else. The story-line is a real jumble. If I cared about the characters I might have invested more in following it, but there's no reason to care about these lowlives, they have no direction and no motivation beyond greed.

At one point George Segal squeezes Hawn's breasts publicly and exclaims 'honk honk!" First, this is anachronistic (it references automobile horns not yet in use in the movie's culture), second, it is degrading, and third - most importantly - it is not funny. It needs a "topper," some remark that would give it comedic relevance. Director Frank's attempt at a topper is for Segal to repeat the line twice. I am not amused.

A botched job, only interesting for Hawn fans.