★★★½
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So, if a Western made by Italians is a spaghetti Western, what should we call one created by the French? An escargot Western? I’ll tell you what I call this: a surprising amount of fun. It’s sexy, funny, honours the genre while poking fun at its tropes, and gives us not one, but two spectacular heroines, rarely matched since. Only a shortage of action prevents this from getting a seal of approval. As a film on its own merits, it’s one I would still definitely recommend. It takes place in 1888 Texas, specifically the town of Bougival Junction, established by French immigrants, which explains the dominant language. Though as the town sign says, “English spoken if necessary.”
The only native speaker of that language is the town sheriff (Pollard). He keeps losing his horse, and tries to speak an adorably butchered French to Marie Sarrazin (Cardinale), who runs the town with her four brothers. Meanwhile, a gang of outlaws is robbing trains in the area – nobody realizes that they are all women, daughters of the hanged criminal, Frenchie King, under their leader, Louise (Bardot). The Kings steal a map indicating oil has been found on the Little P Ranch, and look to take it over while the actual owner, wannabe oil baron Dr. Miller (Czarniak) is recovering from injuries suffered in the robbery. But the Sarazins are also interested in the land, setting up a feud between Marie and Louise – until Dr. Miller shows up, anyway, representing a common enemy.
So, who do you prefer? Bardot or Cardinale? I haven’t been faced with such a difficult seventies-related decision, since having to choose which member of ABBA I preferred. Here, I was leaning #TeamCardinale. But then, Bardot and her clan showed up, clad in black. It’s a very credible argument. This is truly a film for the male gaze, whether it’s the King sisters skinny-dipping, or Marie stripping down to her lingerie for a musical number. And why not. Yet the film always depicts them as smart, courageous and taking absolutely no crap from anyone. Least of all each other, leading to a surprisingly lengthy brawl between them, which ends only when both are simply too exhausted to go on.
Shame there wasn’t more of this, and there’s a lovely joke where the pair’s manservants – one black, one Indian – quietly wager on the outcome. There’s an earlier scene where the Kings are cheating at saloon poker, which seems tailor-made for a bar-room brawl. Only it skips disappointingly to the aftermath. Similarly, both women are set up as being very proficient with firearms, except this skill never plays a significant role. Though I was highly amused by Louise terrorizing the naked Sarrazin brothers with a shotgun, after catching them with her sisters. Not to be taken in the slightest bit seriously, this is a lovely bit of frothy entertainment, featuring two of the decade’s titans of European babedom.
Dir: Christian-Jaque
Star: Brigitte Bardot, Claudia Cardinale, Michael J. Pollard, Henri Czarniak
a.k.a. Les Pétroleuses
