Laconic gunfighter Abel Wood (nicely underplayed by Tab Hunter) comes to the rescue of aspiring dance hall singer Rosie Velez (a spirited portrayal by Divine). Abel takes Rosie to the dusty desert town of Chili Verde, where he runs afoul of formidable saloon owner Marguerita Ventura (a terrific and dynamic performance by Lainie Kazan) and pernicious outlaw gang leader Hard Case Williams (Geoffrey Lewis in fine deadpan form), both of whom are looking for a fortune in buried gold treasure.
Director Paul Bartel, working from a racy and witty script by John Philip Taylor, relates the enjoyable story at a constant pace, maintains an engaging tongue-in-cheek tone throughout, and milks plenty of laughs from the amusingly broad sense of blithely raunchy humor. Divine and Kazan have a field day with their juicy roles while Hunter makes for a surprisingly effective straight man to their wacky antics. Moreover, the supporting cast is likewise quite game and loads of fun to watch: Henry Silva as the manic Bernardo, Cesar Romero as kindly priest Father Garcia, Gina Gallego as naïve, but enticing Ninfa, Courtney Gains as gawky piano player Red Dick Barker, and Nedra Volz as sweet old lady Big Ed. Both Paul Lohman's crisp widescreen cinematography and Peter Matz's jaunty harmonic score are up to par. A total hoot and a half.
Director Paul Bartel, working from a racy and witty script by John Philip Taylor, relates the enjoyable story at a constant pace, maintains an engaging tongue-in-cheek tone throughout, and milks plenty of laughs from the amusingly broad sense of blithely raunchy humor. Divine and Kazan have a field day with their juicy roles while Hunter makes for a surprisingly effective straight man to their wacky antics. Moreover, the supporting cast is likewise quite game and loads of fun to watch: Henry Silva as the manic Bernardo, Cesar Romero as kindly priest Father Garcia, Gina Gallego as naïve, but enticing Ninfa, Courtney Gains as gawky piano player Red Dick Barker, and Nedra Volz as sweet old lady Big Ed. Both Paul Lohman's crisp widescreen cinematography and Peter Matz's jaunty harmonic score are up to par. A total hoot and a half.