The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (1976)

Instant Favorite.

A different way of telling a story

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Goldie Hawn's recurring go-go dancer character on 'Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In' was quite possibly the reason for her casting as the Blueberry of Billingsgate in this bawdy Seventies flick. Goldie lets it all hang out here if you know what I mean, as long as you don't touch her plums. Her eventual partner in crime for this comedic Western is George Segal, putting the dirt in Dirtwater Fox as an all around con man and enterprising card shark. After helping the notorious Bloodworth gang hold up the town bank of Dirtwater, he helps himself to the loot in question, a forty thousand dollar stash that's at the center of this caper film.Blueberry makes the transition to the Duchess of Swansbury after grabbing a handful of Charlie Molloy's (Segal) loot, fitting herself out with a fashionable outfit from a showroom window. For 1882, sixty five dollars seemed like an awful lot of money for a dress suit, but then again it was imported, so who knows? For the record, she filled it out very well.The film careens it's way through assorted scenarios involving a lecherous Mormon family head and the Bloodworth's hot on the trail of their stolen money. The picture's funniest segment is probably the stagecoach conversation between Charlie and the Duchess done in a combination of pidgin English, French and German in a non-sensical jumble, which for all it's goofiness is easy enough to understand.The unheralded star of the picture of course is Charlie Molloy's horse Black Jack who for some reason didn't earn a cast credit for this picture, unlike his predecessors Trigger and Silver. B Western movie cowboy Allan 'Rocky' Lane also rode a horse in his pictures named Black Jack, and when his on screen career was over, Lane became the voice of TV's talking horse Mr. Ed. However Mr. Ed and Lane's Black Jack never had a lucky number '21' emblazoned on his rump like Charlie's horse did.

I first saw this film when I was about 10 & thought it was a great film. Saw that it had been recently released on DVD & decided to take a trip down memory lane to see if Goldie was as hot in the movie as I remembered......she was. The film starts off pretty funny & moves along at a good pace. Some good gags, some good dialogue & a bit of slapstick. But what I think lets the film down is the finale. It just peters out & is a bit of a damp squib. George Segal & Goldie Hawn work well together & I'm surprised they didn't do anything else together. All in all an enjoyable little film...if only for Goldie Hawns dance routines.

This movie is a treat from start to finish. Fantastic writing is the main reason why, and terrific character actors at every turn. Not quite as bawdy, but reminiscent of Blazing Saddles in its depiction of the Wild West - I mean, one of the funniest characters is BlackJack, George Segal's loyal steed. Highly recommended for laughing out loud - a real gem - can't wait for the DVD.Don't be afraid to show it to the kid's either, just a bit of language to manage, but otherwise, funny for almost all ages. Wish Segal and Hawn had done more work together - a great team!Enjoy!!

This western comedy gets off to a smashing start: Goldie Hawn, dressed like a lascivious German barmaid, singing in a San Francisco saloon full of rowdies. It's a Marlene Dietrich bit that out-Dietrich's Madeline Kahn from "Blazing Saddles". Thin plot has a card-sharp in the Old West trying to keep vicious sidewinders from stealing his stolen loot; a dancehall girl gets there first. This is one of those comedies from the 1970s best described as 'bawdy', with some memorable moments: Hawn, pretending to be the Duchess of Swansbury, singing for a drooling Mormon; she and George Segal talking gibberish-French in a stagecoach; the couple floating down a river to the vocals of Bobby Vinton, and later getting tied to stakes in the sweltering desert. Sloppy, yet ingratiating film gets by solely on charisma and energy. It didn't find a sizable audience in theaters, though I would suspect Hawn-buffs will enjoy it on DVD. Raffish Segal also charming, and working effortlessly with his co-star. ***1/2 from ****