 Western Catfights
Nineteenth century cowboys did not engage in fist fight.
Those knockdown male slugfest are, from a historical view, nonsense.
The disputes of the time were handled just as fast as
they are today by waring gangs or organized crime figures; with the blazing
bullet.
On the other hand the gals of the Old West, usually sporting
women (i.e.: prostitutes), and were prone to bodily attack one another
when desirous of settling those arguments not resolved by word alone. Unlike
the male resolve in the Western fight scene, the female tussle had a far
more realistic base from which to stand.
Which leads us to the quintessential Western film catfight
(and possibly the most famous screen SHE-tangle). DESTRY
RIDES AGAIN (1939). It's a hair-pulling, clothes-ripping, melee
between salon bad-girl Marlene Dietrich and house wife good girl Una Markel
over the return of a pair of pants Dietrich won from Merkel's husband in
a card game.
Both women display excellent brawling technique as they
tear down table after table, each trying to best the other.
Though initially the wildcat, mighty Marlene is eventually
given a dose of her own medicine when Markel fights back and proves the
weary Germanic lass hasn't the gumption to last the required rounds.
Fortunately for Dietrich the fight is broken up by a pail
of water tossed by Jimmy Stewart. In FRENCHIE
(1951) (a film often cited as a remake but actually based on
Dietrich's character) Shelley Winters is robbed of her victory in similar
fashion when her brawl with beaten up Marie Windsor is ended by yet another
tossed pail of water.
A true remake of the 1939 film was simply titled DESTRY
(1955). This time it was Mari Blanchard against Mary Wickes in a tussle
over a hat. The battle is once again halted with the admission of a water
bucket this time tossed by Audie Murphy.
Both women display excellent brawling technique as they
tear down table after table, each trying to best the other. Though initially
the wildcat, mighty Marlene is eventually given a dose of her own medicine
when Markel fights back and proves the weary Germanic lass hasn't the gumption
to last the required rounds.
Fortunately for Dietrich the fight is broken up by a pail
of water tossed by Jimmy Stewart. In FRENCHIE
(1951) (a film often cited as a remake but actually based on Dietrich's
character) Shelley Winters is robbed of her victory in similar fashion
when her brawl with beaten up Marie Windsor is ended by yet another tossed
pail of water.
With DESTRY
RIDES AGAIN
as a model and inspiration, catfights erupted in the sagebrush and saloons
all over the motion picture West. Some of the contests were merely conveniences
for the leading man to have a lady companion who could take on a villainous
female. Such was the case in
THE OLD
CHISHOLM TRAIL
(1942) when Jennifer Holt wrestled Mady Correl;
and in MAN FROM CHEYENNE (1942) Gale
Storm beats the daylights of Lynn Carver who winds up dazed on her backside.
Speaking of Marie Windsor, let us not forget Ron Ormand's
OUTLAW WOMEN (1952) which lays claim
to one of the best DESTRY-like tussles in the 'ol West. In fine form, Windsor
takes the role of Iron Mae the spirited leader of an all-female town fighting
to keep it self from being over run by a cavalry of male gunslingers with
pistols loaded and cocked for the town's bank roll.
In one scene she goes toe to toe with Jacqueline Fontaine
in a fist and foul language free-or-all. Sometimes the Western heroine
was handy to have around because her intervention would often save the
leading man from being killed by the film's villainess - an act of feminist
panache that would have surely discredited the male hero from ever making
any fans "Top Ten Tough Guys" list.
Johnny Mack Brown is saved from the rifle of Jo Ann Curtis
by quick acting Beatrice Gray in
STRANGER FROM
SANTA FE (1945) while Dolores Dorn's tackling skills save Randolph
Scott from gunslinger Marie Windsor (HELLFIRE)
in THE BOUNTY HUNTER (1954).
The Western heroine is of further assistance when she
confronts the villainess in an "extract the information" collision - where
the villain is reluctant to reveal and the heroine is forced into roughhouse
tactics in order the change the woman's reticence to cooperation.
Cathy Downs breaks in a saloon door in
THE
OKLAHOMA WOMAN (1954) and forces Peggy Castle to talk after
a sock to the chin. Laura Lee gets information from Nichle Di Bruno in
TIMBER FURY match is ferocious clothes-ripper
that concludes with the winner haymaking the loser against the bar.
The defeated feline is then shown slip ping unconscious
to the floor, her glazed eyes rolling up in their sockets. Susan Hayward
pulls double duty in THE LUSTY MEN
(1952) when she has to convince a rival femme to take a hands off approach
to her husband.
In their first encounter Hayward's kick to the husband-stealers
rear-end proves only to be a temporary restraint. Later Hayward gets rougher
and knocks the woman down to persuade her to seek other male company. Jealous
Peggie Castle (of the aforementioned
THE OKLAHOMA
WOMEN) performs her double duty in JESSE
JAMES' WOMEN (-1954).
Her first match-up is relatively easy since all that is
needed is a right cross that decks Lita Baron - who finds she's outclassed
and retreats.Then immediately appearing on the scene is Betty Bruck who
receives her right cross from Peggie but comes up off the floor in variation
on the Dietrich/Merkel brawl.
Another Eastern gal, Joan Leslie, takes over her dead brother's
saloon in THE WOMAN THEY ALMOST LYNCHED
(1953) and engages unruly, snarling Audrey Totter in a savage brawl that
no doubt left Totte puzzled about what those supposedly refined Eastern
women were real tought. Joan beats Audrey, kicking her when she's down.
Westerner rises and hurls a spittoon which Joan ducks
to avoid. She then rushes Audrey, pushes her atop the bar, slugs her unconscious
then pulls her the length of the bar at which point she pounds Audrey's
head into the floor and then drags the woman by her heels through the batwings
to the outside. Not only is this Eastern gal a terrific catfighter, she's
one hell of a bouncer.
The victress, like Joan Leslie in THE
WOMAN THEY ALMOST HANGED , is often a lady who decides that traditional
catfighting techniques should be supplemented by a jawsmacker.
Eschewing pulling hair and raking nails for an exchange
of knuckle sandwiches are Marilyn Erskine and Lenore Lonegran in WESTWARD
WOMEN (1952); Nancy Kovack and Sally Starr in THE
OUTLAWS ARE COMING (1954); and Regina Carol and Ellen Stern
of JESSI'S GIRLS
Although the one-on-one confrontation is standard in most
films there are those select few movies to feature a battle royal scenario
wherein more than one woman gets in her licks. In
THE HARVEY GIRLS ( 1946) the saloon girls led by Andela Kelly
duke it out on separate occasions. squirming about on the ground in FRONTIER
WOMAN.
Angela Lansbury -TV's MURDER
SHE WROTE
THE HARVEY GIRLS (headed by Judy Garland) duke it out in a mass catfight.
DUEL ON THE MISSISSIPPI (1955) was significantly enlivened with
a ladies free-for-all.
The girls of SEVEN BRIDES FOR
SEVEN BROTHERS(1954) have a set to, and the decent "God fearing"
women in THE WILD WOMEN OF CHASTITY GULCH (TV
1982) invade a local whorehouse for a furniture and window display destructive
ruckus with the prostitutes.
For the most part the Western catfight is merely a reflection
of those same issues which always had the men raising their fists. Of those
issues the white man Vs the Indian figured very prominently. To follow
suit we had catfights along similar lines. In WHEN
THE REDSKINS RODE (1951) Indian Sherry Moreland fights half
breed Mary Castle and chokes her unconscious. Joan Taylor, a Mexican captive
in WAR DRUMS (1957) attacks the Indian
girl.
A great topless match occurs in David Friedman's RAMRODDER
(1969) when an up start Indian tackles a foul mouthed white woman. Perhaps
the most bizarre battle in the history of this cinema category this scene
shows the women battling each other by "butting their breasts" together
the camera angled up from beneath allowing for the best possible angle
to catch all the flesh compressing action. The zesty match climaxes with
the exhausted white gal pinned at knife point by her opponent.
In RAMRODDER and THE
WILD WESTERNERS the battling desert cats felt the need to augment
their ten sharp nails with a thin blade of steel. Such was the case in
THE MAN BEHIND THE GUN (1952) when
Patrice Wymore used flying furniture and pottery to successfully defend
herself from a blade wielding Lina Romay (not THAT Lina Romay).
Unsuccessful with a knife it was sneaky Arleen Whelan
who creeped up to stab Katy Jurado in SAN ANTONE
(1953) only to find herself outmatched.
A backfire attack also occurs in WILD
AND WOOLY (TV 1978) when Jessica Walter falls on her own knife
during a struggle.Then in DIRTY LITTLE BILLY
(1972) the duel of the ladies is strictly steel with the screaming loser
clutching a bloody mess where her ear used to be.
In SCARLET ANGEL (1952)
two tough saloon denizens become annoyed at the thought of Yvonne's hoity-toity
etiquette blemishing their low life milieu so they engage the seemingly
soft lass in a fight.
It's only after DeCarlo slugs them, bangs their heads
together and throws them to the ground to pound their skulls onto the floor
do the duo realize that beneath that ritzy proper exterior lies the abilities
of a first-class fighting female. DRAGOON WILLS MASSACRE
(1957) Mona Freeman about in the dirt for no other reason than they just
don't like each other. As far as oddities go A.C. Stephen's
LADY
GODIVA MEETS TOM JONES (aka LADY GODIVA
RIDES AGAIN, 1968) is one of the higher on the list.
Two gals begin in a saloon and waste no time in tearing
away the tops of their gowns to reveal very pleasing endowments.
The fight then carries over into a street fight mud brawl
that has the distinction of being the longest tussle in cinema history.
Of all the Western catfighters the most surprising participant was Elizabeth
Taylor and her performance in the made-for-TV film, POKER
ALICE (1984).
Playing a madam-with-a-con science, Taylor insists her
girls rest on Sunday and attend a bible study class in the parlour.
Both ladies contest the disagreement by punching and
tearing each other apart in a battle that extends from a hallway right
down a flight of stairs.
It's there that Taylor and Tyrell come face to I face
with a solid I right hook from Liz that convinces sobbing Sue to crawl
over to the assembled bible class .
As a pair of oil ranch divas Brigitte Bardot and Claudia
Cardinale put on a spectacular display in THE
LEGEND OF FRENCHIE KING What begins as a simple "catfight at
the O.K. corral" turns into a lengthy barnyard brawl.
Bardot looks great in her all black leather gun fighter
outfit but it's sweet maiden Cardinale who gets in the most licks before
the fight is broken up and a clear winner crowned.
In retrospect there are literally dozens more femme-fatale
westerns that we have not covered. While some may not contain the prerequisite
"catfight" they more than make up for it with their ample doses of gunslinging
action.
We recall spaghetti wonders like Elsa Martinelli in
THE BELLE STARR STORY (aka LIL MIO
CORPO PER UN POKER , 1968); LOLA COLT
(aka BLACK TIGRESS aka LOLA
COLT FACCIA A FACCIA CON EL DIABLO, 1967) with the seductive
Lola Falana.
The late Silvana Mangano in OUTLAW
GIRL (1955). Monica Vitti in THE GIRL
WITH A PISTOL(aka LA RAGAZZA CON LA
PISTOLE, 1969).
Then there's Yankee gunslingers like Marie Windsor in
the sensational HELLFIRE(1949)
andDAKOTA LIL (1950).
Jane Greer was a crime boss in STATION
WEST (1948); Maria Hart in CATTLE QUEEN
(1951).
Jane Russell's claim to fame hit
THE OUTLAW (1943) and MONTANA BELL
(1952).
Barbara Stanwyck in both THE
CATTLE QUEEN OF MONTANA (1954) and THE
MAVERICK QUEEN (1955).
Joan Taylor in APACHE WOMAN
(1955); Patricia Medina in THE BUCKSKIN LADY
(1957).
Lisa Davis in THE DALTON GIRLS
(1957).
Merry Anders, Irish McCalla, Kathy Marlowe, Bee Carroll,
and Luci Blau teamed to form the FIVE BOLD WOMEN
(1959).
Jane Fonda was CAT BALLOU
(1965).
Jennifer Bishop and Regina Carol as the titled
FEMALE BUNCH (1969).
Anne Francis, Marie Windsor and Sherry Jackson were the
WILD WOMEN (1970).
Marsha Jor dan drew one of the SIX
GUNS FOR SIX WOMEN (aka SIX WOMEN,
THE LAST SHOWDOWN , 1971).
Raquel Welch as HANNIE CAULDER
(1972) Erotic nudes in BRAND OF SHAME
(1973).
Gun totting babes in
LES FILLES
DU GOLDEN SALOON (197?) and REQUIEM
PARA EL GRINGO (1969). |
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TIME IN THE SIERRAS
(1947) Jane Frazee
lays into gang-girl Stephanie Bachelor who ends up black-eyed and stretched
out.
Petite Beverly Garland and rotten-to-the-core Allison
Hayes slug it out in Roger Corman's THE GUNSLINGER
(1956) although it's questionable whether Garland's eventual victory comes
from strength or from Hayes striking her head against the bar after taking
a solid right hook (the answer comes 40 minutes later when the cowardly
Hayes, desperate to avoid a re-match, hires three fightin' bar maids to
do her dirty work).
For this we recall Coleen Gray (
Though the Western women of the screen have various reasons
to assault one another, some are hard to categorize other than under the
general heading of catfights. DESPERATE WOMEN
(TV 1978) has Ann Dusenberry and Ronee Blakely clawing and scratching over
the possession of a gun which Ann discovers.
