Mrs. Sundance (1974)

Elizabeth Montgomery plays Etta Place, girlfriend of deceased outlaw Sundance Kid and wanted by the law.

She’s hiding out as a school teacher in a small Western town under the name Miss Johnson when a Wild West show visits.

She attends an amateurish theatrical production of the Butch and Sundance story, which ends with their death in Bolivia.

That’s when she spots detective Charles Siringo (L.Q Jones) and his companions. She quickly packs a bag and hops the next train out of town.

Also aboard the train is Jack Maddox (Robert Foxworth). When he realizes who his companion is, he agrees to take her to meet Fanny Porter, a madam familiar with members of the Wild Bunch.

And she sure has interesting news for Etta. Fanny has heard that Sundance survived Bolivia, returning to the states wounded but very much alive.

The second outlaw killed in the encounter with the Bolivian army was another member of the Hole-in-the-Wall gang who stayed behind with Butch.

From that point on, Etta has one goal in mind, finding the Hole-in-the-Wall hideout so she can be reunited with her old lover.

What she doesn’t know is that it’s all a setup.

Jack Maddox is working with Siringo, trying to lure Etta into a trap that will snag the rest of the gang as well.

Elizabeth Montgomery as Etta Place, wondering why Jack Maddox is traveling with her, and why he doesn’t bathe, in Mrs. Sundance (1974)

Robert Foxworth as Jack Maddox, finding himself growing closer to Etta even as he works with Charles Siringo to capture her in Mrs. Sundance (1974)

Review:

What can you do after “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969) has become a massive hit, but you’ve killed off the two heroes in the film’s final scene?

Well, you could make sequels focused on Etta Place, girlfriend of Sundance, who survived their trip to Bolivia.

Two such telefilms landed in the 1970s, and Elizabeth Montgomery of “Bewitched” (1964 to 1972) fame takes the lead role in this, the first.

Unfortunately, no twitching of a witch’s nose could rescue this rather bland film.

One problem is that the filmmakers don’t do enough to make us care about Etta’s fate. The other is that the only real suspense is whether or not Maddox, who’s growing closer to Etta, will go through with plans to double cross her.

Montgomery and Foxworth were a couple in real life, living together for about 20 years before marrying in 1993. They remained married until Montgomery’s death from cancer at age 62 in 1995.

L.Q. Jones as Charles Siringo, determined to round up Etta Place and the rest of the Hole-in-the-Wall gang in Mrs. Sundance (1974)

Arthur Hunnicutt as Walt Putney, an old gang member trying to provide information about how to find the Hole in the Wall hideout in Mrs. Sundance (1974)

Directed by:
Marvin Chomsky

Cast:
Elizabeth Montgomery … Etta Place
Robert Foxworth … Jack Maddox
L.Q. Jones … Charles Siringo
Arthur Hunnicutt … Walt Putney
Lorna Thayer … Fanny Porter
Lurene Tuttle … Mrs. Lee
Claudette Nevins … Mary Lant
Byron Mabe … Merkle
Robert Donner … Ben Lant
Dean Smith … Avery
Jack Williams … Davis
Todd Shelhorse … David

Runtime: 89 min.

Lorna Thayer as Fanny Porter, the madam who provides the news that Sundance might still be alive in Mrs. Sundance (1974)

Lurene Tuttle as Mrs. Lee, wondering why an attractive young woman like Miss Johnson would settle in a small Western town in Mrs. Sundance (1974)

Memorable lines:

Jack Maddox: “You think I don’t know what you are, don’t ya? Well, I know you’re a keg of dynamite.That’s what you are. Runaway wife of some millionaire cattleman.”

Jack Maddox: “They say what you know could fill a bank. That’s what they’re sayin’.”

Jack Maddox: “Why? Why me?”
Charles Siringo: “Because, Mr. Maddox, you are scum. Your whole life is one of crawling and squirming. To live you crawl and you’re crawling now. You’ll get her there because you’re a stinking coward. But you serve my purpose.”

Robert Donner as Ben Lant, one of Etta’s old pals from the gang led by Butch and Sundance in Mrs. Sundance (1974)

Claudette Nevins as Mary Lant, encouraging her husband to turn in Etta Place for the handsome reward on her head in Mrs. Sundance (1974)

Elizabeth Montgomery as Etta Place, pretending to be Miss Johnson, a school teacher, in Mrs. Sundance (1974)