Until you get to see the catfight between the tough Shelley Winters in the title role and the lady-like Marie Windsor (cast against type), might think that this is a prequel to the classic western movie made twice already by Universal (best known for its Stewart/Dietrich 1939 version) and one that would be made again just a few years later under the name of "Destry". Indeed, this is told through narration of Frenchie's perspective, so hence the title change. There's no Tom Destry here, but he does appear with a different last name and not a newcomer to Bottle Neck. Winters' voice is heard in the beginning vowing revenge on the men who killed her father years before (with a chubby little curly haired girl seen in representation of her younger self), and years later, she returns as the companion to eccentric countess Elsa Lanchaster whom she once co-owned a successful saloon in New Orleans with. With the help of Lanchaster's pile of cash, Winters purchases Arthur Hunnicutt's saloon, and gets to meet the mastermind behind her father's death (Paul Kelly) whom she secretly intends to bring down.
Joel McCrea plays Tom Banning, the new sheriff in town, and Destry representation here, coming back to find old flame Marie Windsor now unhappily married to crooked John Emery, and determined to shut Winters' saloon down. This leads to the knock-down, drag out fight between Windsor and Winters, ending not with the famous bucket of water that Stewart threw on both women, but a clever substitution that ends quite differently than the Dietrich/Stewart fight in the 1939 remake. Winters doesn't get to sing in this version, but is pretty formidable in many other ways, and quite good, reminding the audience of her past as a movie vixen before she became a much talked about character actress who used weight gain to her benefit. The film is nice and colorful, filled with some great character performances (particularly Hunnicutt, Lanchaster and George Cleveland), but lacks the tense conclusion of the famous George Marshall film from just a decade before. But any movie based on the original source needs a formidable leading lady, and Winters fits that bill, making her a perfect replacement for Dietrich and outshining Mari Blanchard who played Frenchie just four years later.
Joel McCrea plays Tom Banning, the new sheriff in town, and Destry representation here, coming back to find old flame Marie Windsor now unhappily married to crooked John Emery, and determined to shut Winters' saloon down. This leads to the knock-down, drag out fight between Windsor and Winters, ending not with the famous bucket of water that Stewart threw on both women, but a clever substitution that ends quite differently than the Dietrich/Stewart fight in the 1939 remake. Winters doesn't get to sing in this version, but is pretty formidable in many other ways, and quite good, reminding the audience of her past as a movie vixen before she became a much talked about character actress who used weight gain to her benefit. The film is nice and colorful, filled with some great character performances (particularly Hunnicutt, Lanchaster and George Cleveland), but lacks the tense conclusion of the famous George Marshall film from just a decade before. But any movie based on the original source needs a formidable leading lady, and Winters fits that bill, making her a perfect replacement for Dietrich and outshining Mari Blanchard who played Frenchie just four years later.