McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Movie, 1971, The '70s, Set in Presbyterian Church, Washington
McCabe & Mrs. Miller is #17 of 34 in release order and #14 of 34 in chronological order in the Westerns.
The story
A gambler and a prostitute become thriving business partners in a remote Old West mining town until a large corporation arrives on the scene.
McCabe & Mrs. Miller recap
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) follows a gambler who builds a brothel in a raw mining town in the Pacific Northwest and a madam who becomes his partner. Robert Altman directs. In 1902, John McCabe (Warren Beatty) rides into Presbyterian Church, Washington, a town named after its one tall building, rumoured to be a gunfighter who once killed a man. He buys three prostitutes and opens a tent brothel. Constance Miller (Julie Christie), a Cockney madam, arrives and talks him into a real business: she runs a proper house while he runs the gambling and the money. The town prospers and they become lovers of a sort, though she still charges him. Agents of the Harrison Shaughnessy mining company come to buy him out, and McCabe, overplaying his hand, turns down their offer. The company sends three killers instead. A lawyer in Bearpaw tells McCabe to stand firm. The film stands alone, with songs by Leonard Cohen on the soundtrack.
McCabe & Mrs. Miller ending explained
McCabe & Mrs. Miller ends with McCabe dying in the snow after killing all three hired guns, while the town fights a fire and Mrs. Miller lies in an opium den. The church catches fire as the gunman Butler shoots the pastor, and the townspeople rush to put it out. McCabe kills two of the killers in ambushes, is shot, and kills Butler with a hidden derringer. No one notices him freeze to death. The film is based on Edmund Naughton's 1959 novel McCabe.
Post-credits scenes
No. There is no post-credits scene.
Where to watch McCabe & Mrs. Miller
McCabe & Mrs. Miller is streaming on Plex and Tubi in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.6/10, Rotten Tomatoes 85%
Where it fits
- Release order: after True Grit, before High Plains Drifter.
- Chronological order: after True Grit, before High Plains Drifter.
Cast
- Warren Beatty as John McCabe
- Julie Christie as Constance Miller
- René Auberjonois as Sheehan
- William Devane as Lawyer
- John Schuck as Smalley
- Corey Fischer as Mr. Elliott
- Bert Remsen as Bart Coyle
- Shelley Duvall as Ida Coyle
- Keith Carradine as Cowboy
- Michael Murphy as Eugene Sears
- Antony Holland as Hollander
- Hugh Millais as Butler
Directed by Robert Altman.