McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)

Warren Beatty is John Q. McCabe, a small-time gambler who arrives in the mining town of Presbyterian Church with dreams of making it big by running a bordello.

So he goes to the nearest established town, Bearpaw, to purchase three chippies for $200, and sets them up in tents with the goal of eventually building a bar and gambling house.

Then he gets a visit from Julie Christie as Constance Miller. She proposes becoming the madam of his business — if he’ll invest in upgrades, including bathtubs, real rooms for the girls and linen sheets.

Over the course of a conversation, she convinces him how little he knows about running a whorehouse. And so they become partners, then lovers, then two of the most well-off people in Presbyterian Church.

And the town is growing, so much so that it gets the attention of Harrison Shaughnessy mining company. The company dispatches men named Sears and Hollander to negotiate with the town’s property owners.

McCabe scoffs at their offer of $5,500 for his holdings. He scoffs again when they up the offer by $700 or so, suggesting he might sell for about twice what they’ve offered.

Mrs. Miller suggests he should have taken the negotiations more seriously. She fears what might happen next.

Then a giant of a man named Butler arrives in Bearpaw. And he hasn’t come to Presbyterian Church to negotiate.

Warren Beatty as John McCabe, beginning to see his plans pay off in McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)

Julie Christie as Constance Miller, proposing a partnership with McCabe in McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)

Review:

Wonderful film from Robert Altman that scores high marks for its realism and unique brand of story-telling. His West is a grimy place, far removed from the West we’re used to seeing on film. His stars are flawed; they certainly aren’t heroes.

Among the classic scenes: McCabe trying to negotiate with Butler, who points out that he was close to getting the price he’d sell for after all; and the encounter between a likeable young cowboy and a young gunslinger on a bridge over a frozen creek.

As for our main characters, McCabe slowly grows more and more fond of Constance, constantly muttering to himself about his feelings and seeking her respect.

What he doesn’t know is that she’s addicted to opium, which explains the mood swings that has him calling her “a funny little thing.” But she runs the brothel like the pro she is, all the while commanding a premium price for her favors.

Then there’s a brilliant ending, with McCabe trying to survive a gun battle he didn’t want, dodging his combatants in the snow. While he does so, the inhabitants of Presbyterian Church –whores included — try to save the town’s church. Well, except for Mrs. Miller; she’s sought refuge in an opium den.

Keith Carradine plays the young cowboy determined to sample all McCabe’s whores in his film debut. Shelley Duvall, in just her second film, plays a mail order bride who turns to the brothel for work after her husband dies.

For the score, Altman used three previously released songs by Leonard Cohen — “The Stranger Song”, “Sisters of Mercy” and “Winter Lady”.

Rene Auberjonois as Sheehan, one of McCabe’s first acquaintances in McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)

John Schuck as Smalley, John McCabe unsuccessful emissary to the mining syndicate in McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)

Directed by:
Robert Altman

Cast:
Warren Beatty … John McCabe
Julie Christie … Constance Miller
Rene Auberjonois … Sheehan
Hugh Millais … Butler
Keith Carradine … The Cowboy
Michael Murphy … Eugene Sears
Anthony Hollland … Ernest Hollander
Shelley Duvall … Ida Coyle
Bert Remsen … Bart Coyle
Jace Van Der Veen — Breed
Manfred Schultz — The Kid
Corey Fischer … Rev. Elliott
William Devane … The Lawyer
John Schuck … Smalley
Jackie Crossland … Lily
Elizabeth Murphy … Kate
Carey Lee McKenzie … Alma

Runtime: 120 min.

Keith Carradine as the young cowboy who stops by Presbyterian Church to sample every whore in town in McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971_

Manfred Schultz as The Kid, one of the hired guns working for the syndicate in McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)

Memorable lines:

John McCabe, urging the males in Presbyterian Church to get quarters ready for his new whores: “You boys gotta make up your minds if you want to get your cookies. Cause if you want to get your cookies, I’ve got girls up here that’ll do more tricks than a goddamn monkey on a hundred yards of grapevine.”

Mrs. Miller’s business pitch to McCabe: “What do you do when one girl fancies another? How do you know when a girl really has her monthly or is just taking a few days off? What about when they don’t get their monthly? Cause they don’t. What do you do then? I bet you know all about seeing to that. And what about the customers? Who’s going to skin ’em back and inspect them? You gonna do that? Cause if you don’t, this town will be clapped up inside of two weeks if it isn’t already. What about when business is slow? You just gonna let them sit around on their bums? Let me tell you something, Mr. McCabe. When a good whore gets time to sit around and think, four out of five times they’ll turn to religion. And when that happens, you’ll find yourself fillin’ a bloody church down there instead of your own pockets.”

Shelley Duvall as Ida Coyle, the woman forced to work in the brothel after her husband’s death in McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)

Hugh Millais as Butler, the bull of a man set to Presbyterian Church as the syndicate’s enforcer in McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)

Mrs. Miller: “Have you had a bath?”
McCabe: “Woman, I’ve been in the water so long, my ass is wrinkled up. Now open the door.”

Ida, about sex: “Well, it just hurts so much. I guess maybe I’m small.”
Constance Miller: “No, you’ve just got to learn to relax, that’s all … You’ve got to take your mind off it, think of something else … Count the roses in the wallpaper. See, the thing is, it don’t mean nothing. You never know. You might even get to like it. You managed it with Bart, didn’t you?”
Ida: “But with him I had to. It was my duty.”
Constance: “It weren’t your duty, Ida. You did it to pay for your room and board. You’re doing this to pay for your bed and board, too. And you get to keep a little extra for yourself.”

Cowboy: “Well, which one is next?”
One of Constance’s whores: “Well, which one of us do you fancy?”
Cowboy: “Hell, don’t make any difference. I’m gonna have you all.”

Warren Beatty as John McCabe, realizing he might have made a mistake in his negotations in McCable and Mrs. Miller (1971)

Julie Christie as Constance Miller, in McCabe’s bed and in an opium-induced fog in McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)

Warren Beatty as John McCabe, facing a snowy showdown with the syndicate’s men in McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)

Warren Beatty as John McCabe and Julie Christie as Constance Miller in McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)