Review of Hannie Caulder (1971) by Casey T — 22 Jan 2010

Welch and Culp are dry and uninteresting save for moments that are few and far between. For most of the movie they walk through scenes with no sense of purpose or personality, going through the motions as if they hoped for an early rap. I've seen other reviews remark on the comic trio of Elam, Borgnine, and Martin but moments of actual comedywere, again, few and far between. Their constant shrieking and shouting over trifles is more often annoying than funny. Christopher Lee gets a small handful of lines but still manages to be the most engaging character in the whole film. His performance is the exact opposite of Welch and Culp's. An example I wish they'd followed. And then there's the preacher whose sole purpose in the story is to act as Deus Ex Machine which undermines the whole point of Welch's character becoming self sufficient and taking her revenge by her hands alone.

The idea is sound. Lee, Borgnine, and Elam all good actors. The final product however is deserving of maybe the worst epithet a movie can receive - boring.