Raquel Welch sadly passed away last week. She was a screen icon, whose face and fame almost everyone knew, even if they’d not seen her movies.
Her most famous image was of a cavewoman whose haircare and bikini technology was far in advance of its time. However, for the purposes of this blog, I thought the images below were more fitting. These are from the 1969 movie ‘The Magic Christian‘, taken with one of the leads – Ringo Starr. As far as I can tell it’s a truly terrible movie, which is kind of amazing given the talent involved. As well as Raquel, the cast includes Peter Sellers, Christopher Lee, Richard Attenborough, John Cleese and Graham Chapman. You can see a trailer here in all its 60s strangeness.
I’d say Ringo was either very brave or very foolish to let her try and whip a cigarette from his mouth. It doesn’t look like a fake movie whip. You can see a shot from the movie feature Raquel and the whip in action here.
I recently rewatched The Magic Christian having originally seen it in the 70s. It hasn’t aged well and is very much a product of the hippie/psycheldelic era of film making. Raquel isn’t called onto do much but does look fantastic. It is a similar cameo to her brief appearance in the original Bedazzled as Lust. Personally my favourite film of hers is the western Hannie Caulder where at least she gets to be more than just a fleeting cameo.
I’ve not seen the full thing, but from the trailer it seems a film very much of its time. Ringo was a great drummer, but not exactly a natural actor.
Hannie Caulder is new to me but reading the wikipedia page, it seems Tarantino cites it as one of his inspirations for Kill Bill. Definitely will try to check that out. Thanks for the pointer!
-paltego
I think I liked The Magic Christian more than most people did. It’s not exactly a good movie, but it does tell you something about where people were at when it came out. It’s the sort of movie that makes me realize how much less adventurous most films today are.
My favorite film of hers is is probably Kansas City Bomber, where she plays a roller-derby skater. It’s definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan.
I have to admit to not having seen it. I was just going by the reviews and the trailer, which made my toes curl in the worst possible way. Definitely a period piece, so maybe I should seek it out and watch it in those terms. Definitely tasks the kind of risks that you don’t see today.
Not heard of Kansas City Bomber. I’ll keep an eye out for it. Thanks!
-paltego
My favorites are Fuzz! and Fathom (a sort of James Bond knock-off).
Thanks! Adding those to my list to check out…
-paltego
She did a gloriously campy dommey turn in Mork and Mindy, too. https://morkandmindy.fandom.com/wiki/Mork_vs._The_Necrotons,_Part_1?file=Mork_Vs_the_Necrotons_01_Dawber_Williams_Welch_Fondren.jpg
And of course, in Myra Breckinridge, she ties a hunky guy down to a table and takes him with a strap-on. Does it make up for how terrible the rest of the movie is? You’re asking the wrong person – why would I watch the rest of the movie?
I’d totally forgotten the Mork and Mindy bit. That was fun in a totally ridiculous kind of way.
Don’t think I’ve ever seen Myra Breckinridge. Pretty sure I’d have remembered a scene like that. Off to youtube I go…
-paltego
I’m sorry, but you’re all wrong. The movie that helped turn many of us into little kinksters was Fantastic Voyage. That tight, white wetsuit…
https://twitter.com/newbeverly/status/1147218617823629313/photo/1
Although that scene in Myra Breckinridge was also pretty hot.
Fantastic Voyage was a close runner up for the featured post image here. That tight suit was pretty special.
-paltego