Waterhole #3 (1967)

Director: William Graham

Cast: James Coburn, Carroll O’Connor, Margaret Blye

Synopsis:  Cavalry soldiers led by Sgt. Henry Foggers steal a shipment of gold bullion and bury it at a desert waterhole.   When slick gamble Lewton Cole catches wind of the booty, he schemes to collect it for himself…

A movie like Waterhole #3 would never be made today, purely because of its misogynistic leanings. Feminists around the world would be up in arms about a movie in which the hero rapes the heroine after trapping her in her father’s barn and then, when her father mildly rebukes him for the crime (which, incidentally, the father considers less serious than the theft of his horse) claims in his defence that it was merely “assault with a friendly weapon”. After being raped, the heroine emerges from the barn with a dreamy expression on her face. Incredible.

It’s a shame really, because the makers’ attitude towards women spoils what otherwise would be a reasonably enjoyable western. Unfortunately, the offensive chauvinism leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

(Reviewed 1st April 2002)