McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)

Director:

Robert Altman

Writers:

Edmund Naughton (novel)
Robert Altman (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

24 June 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Tagline:

Name Your Poison.

Plot:

A gambler and a prostitute become business partners in a remote Old West mining town, and their enterprise thrives until a large corporation arrives on the scene.

Plot Keywords:

Madam | Whorehouse | Pacific Northwest | Fight | Female Nudity

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Warren Beatty	...	John McCabe
Julie Christie	...	Constance Miller
Rene Auberjonois	...	Sheehan
William Devane	...	The Lawyer
John Schuck	...	Smalley
Corey Fischer	...	Mr. Elliot
Bert Remsen	...	Bart Coyle
Shelley Duvall	...	Ida Coyle
Keith Carradine	...	Cowboy
Michael Murphy	...	Eugene Sears
Antony Holland	...	Ernie Hollander
Hugh Millais	...	Butler
Manfred Schulz	...	Kid
Jace Van Der Veen	...	Breed (as Jace Vander Veen)
Jackie Crossland	...	Lily
Elizabeth Murphy	...	Kate
Carey Lee McKenzie	...	Alma
Thomas Hill	...	Archer (as Tom Hill)
Linda Sorenson	...	Blanche (as Linda Sorensen)
Elisabeth Knight	...	Birdie
Janet Wright	...	Eunice
Maysie Hoy	...	Maisie
Linda Kupecek	...	Ruth
Jeremy Newson	...	Jeremy Berg
Wayne Robson	...	Bartender
Jack Riley	...	Riley Quinn
Robert Fortier	...	Town Drunk
Wayne Grace	...	Bartender
Wesley Taylor	...	Shorty Dunn
Anne Cameron	...	Mrs. Dunn
Graeme Campbell	...	Bill Cubbs
J.S. Johnson	...	J.J.
Joe Clarke	...	Joe Shortreed
Harry Frazier	...	Andy Anderson
Edwin Collier	...	Gilchrist
Terence Kelly	...	Quigley
Brantley Kearns	...	Fiddler (as Brantley F. Kearns)
Don Francks	...	Buffalo
Rodney Gage	...	Sumner Washington
Lili Francks	...	Mrs. Washington
Joan Tewkesbury	...	Townswoman (as Joan Maguire)
Harvey Lowe	...	Townsman
Eric Schneider	...	Townsman
Milos Zatovic	...	Townsman
Claudine Melgrave	...	Townswoman
Derek Keurvorst	...	Townsman (as Derek Deurvorst)
Alex Diakun	...	Townsman (as Alexander Diakun)
Gordon Robertson	...	Townsman

Directed by
Robert Altman

Writing credits
Edmund Naughton		(novel "McCabe")
Robert Altman		(screenplay) and
Brian McKay		(screenplay)

Produced by
Mitchell Brower	....	producer
Robert Eggenweiler	....	associate producer
David Foster	....	producer

Cinematography by
Vilmos Zsigmond

Film Editing by
Lou Lombardo		(as Louis Lombardo)

Casting by
Graeme Clifford

Production Design by
Leon Ericksen

Art Direction by
Al Locatelli
Philip Thomas

Makeup Department
Edwin Butterworth	....	makeup artist (as Ed Butterworth)
Robert Jiras	....	makeup artist
Phyllis Newman	....	makeup artist
Barry Richardson	....	hair stylist

Production Management
James Margellos	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lou Lombardo	....	second unit director (as Louis Lombardo)
Irby Smith	....	second assistant director
Tommy Thompson	....	assistant director

Art Department
Sidney H. Greenwood	....	property master (as Syd Greenwood)

Sound Department
John W. Gusselle	....	sound
Barry Jones	....	sound mixer (as Barry P. Jones)
William Thompson	....	sound (as William A. Thompson)
Sergio Reyes	....	additional sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Marcel Vercoutere	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Rod Parkhurst	....	photographer: second unit
James O. Blair	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ilse Richter	....	wardrobe

Transportation Department
Grant McCracken	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Anthony Goldschmidt	....	title designer
Ross Levy	....	assistant to producer
Anne Sidaris-Reeves	....	researcher (as Anne Sidaris)
Joan Tewkesbury	....	continuity (as Joan Maguire)
Don Carmody	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Joan Tewkesbury	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• David Foster Productions
• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1971) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Filmverleih (1971) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Blue Dolphin Film Distribution (1990) (UK)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1977) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Süddeutsche Zeitung (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1991) (USA) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Also Known As:

The Presbyterian Church Wager (USA) (working title)
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
A Noite Fez-se Para Amar (Portugal) (original subtitled version) [pt]
Del mismo barro (Argentina) (video title) [es]
Entimos kyria kai o hartopaiktis, I... (Greece) [el]
I compari (Italy) [it]
I... entimos kyria kai o hartopaiktis (Greece) [el]
Jogos e Trapaças - Quando os Homens São Homens (Brazil) [pt]
John McCabe (France) [fr]
Los vividores (Spain) [es]
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (Finland) [fi]
McCabe i pani Miller (Poland) [pl]
Onde os Homens São Homens (Brazil) (TV title) [pt]
Quando os Homens São Homens (Brazil) [pt]
Vestens syndige par - McCabe & Mrs. Miller (Denmark) [da]

Runtime:

120 min | Argentina:121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | UK:15 (1992) | UK:X (1971) | Portugal:M/12 | Germany:16 (DVD rating) | Spain:18 | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

British Columbia, Canada

Company:

David Foster Productions

Trivia:

Warren Beatty loved to perform multiple takes of his scenes. Once, when Altman was ready to wrap shooting for the day, Beatty insisted on more takes. Altman left and had his assistant shoot them and Beatty did over thirty takes of the scene. Altman got his revenge by ordering Beatty to do 25 takes of a scene involving Beatty in the snow.

Goofs:

Continuity: Ida gets of the wagon twice.

Quotes:

[first lines]
John McCabe: [muttering to himself] I told you... Think I'm stupid?... S'exactly what I said. Six, six of 'em...

Movie Connections:

Featured in Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country (1993)

Soundtrack:

Winter Lady

Cold And Poetic

As a Western this film is fascinating for what it does not contain. There are no sweeping vistas of the Great Plains, no Indians, no cacti, no cowboy hats. There is no sheriff, no broiling sun, and no corny music. And unlike most Westerns, which are plot driven, "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" is less about plot than about the tone or mood of the frontier setting.

The film takes place in the Pacific Northwest. The weather is cold, cloudy, and inclement. You can hear the wind howling through tall evergreens. And Leonard Cohen's soft, poetic music accentuates the appropriately dreary visuals. In bucking cinematic tradition, therefore, this film deserves respect, because it is at least unusual, and perhaps even closer in some ways to the ambiance of life on the American frontier than our stereotyped notions, as depicted in typical John Wayne movies.

Not that the plot is unimportant. Warren Beatty plays John McCabe, a two-bit gambler who imports several prostitutes to a tiny town, in hopes of making money. Julie Christie plays Mrs. Miller, a prostitute with a head for business. She hears about McCabe's scheme, and approaches McCabe with an offer he can't refuse. Soon, the two are in business together, but complications ensue when word gets around that McCabe may be a gunslinger who has killed someone important. Mrs. Miller is clearly a symbol of the women's liberation movement, and the film's ending is interesting, in that context.

"McCabe & Mrs. Miller" is a vintage Altman film, in that you can hear background chatter, in addition to the words of the main character. It's Altman's trademark of overlapping dialogue. The film's acting is fine. Both Beatty and Christie perform credibly in their roles.

The visuals have a turn-of-the-century look, with a soft, brownish hue. Costumes and production design are elaborate, and appear to be authentic. The film is very dark, so dark in some scenes that I could barely make out the outline of human figures. In those scenes, I think they went overboard with the ultra dim lighting.

Strictly atypical for the Western genre, "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" provides a pleasant change from cinematic stereotypes, and conveys a different perspective on life in the Old West. It's a quality production, one that has Robert Altman's directorial stamp all over it. In that sense, it's more like a cinematic painting than a story. And the painting communicates to the viewer that life on the American frontier was, at least in some places, cold and dreary, and had a quietly poetic quality to it.