Waterhole #3 (1967)

Nice cast, but flawed movie, 14 August 2005

The plot in Waterhole #3 seems lifted straight from one of Leone's Spaghetti Westerns - a group of people search for stolen Army gold. Finding the gold doesn't prove to be too difficult. But hanging onto it certainly does.

Other than one major flaw, Waterhole #3 is a reasonably entertaining comedy/Western that's sometimes very funny and sometimes...well...a Western. While the story may not be very originally, most of the cast does does an excellent job. James Coburn and Carroll O'Connor work well together. I've become quite the fan of Coburn and in Waterhole #3, he doesn't disappoint. Although he appears to basically be playing himself, he's entertaining enough to watch. In contrast, O'Connor has never been a favorite of mine, but his "bad" sheriff routine really works.

The one major flaw I mentioned, however, kept me from completely enjoying Waterhole #3 and giving it a better rating. The flaw concerns the treatment of the sheriff's daughter who is basically raped by Coburn. I'm no prude, but there's just no place for this in a light-hearted comedy. And the fact that the her father, the sheriff, does nothing about it and even makes jokes with Coburn over what happened is out of place and out of line. A little sexual innuendo, a peck on the cheek, or Coburn making a pass at the daughter might have worked much better, but rape takes it way too far.

6/10