Wild Women (1970) (TV)

"You have a few mares; how about a filly or two?", 3 July 2017

Basic Plot: The US Army wants to move some guns into the disputed Texas Territory. They decide to disguise the guns in a wagon train taking settlers west. To make things look truly authentic, though, they need women. The Army recruits five women from a local stockade to act as wives for the men.

Overall, Wild Women is harmless enough, but it's not very good. It's all horribly predictable and there's not much to get excited about. The title, Wild Women, is misleading. Sure, all of the women were in prison, but these are hardly hardened criminals. But "Wild Women" sounds more enticing than "Moderately Fun Women" or "Mildly Amusing Women". I suppose the "Wild" part had to be toned down as this was made for television. Also, being made-for-TV means that you know everything's going to be okay in the end. Any hardship they might face – Indian attack, lack of water, or the Mexican Army – is going to be resolved fairly quickly and in our heroes' favor. This isn't Peckinpah.

The cast is actually better than it had any right to be. I always enjoy seeing Marie Windsor. She's been a favorite of mine since I first watched Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy about 45 years ago. Wild Women also features the talents of Anne Francis, Huge (yes, I typed it that way on purpose) O'Brian, and Marilyn Maxwell. Not a bad cast for a fairly lame movie.

4/10