The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox

The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox is a 1976 American Western romantic comedy film directed and produced by Melvin Frank from a screenplay by Frank, Barry Sandler, and Jack Rose and a story by Sandler. It stars George Segal and Goldie Hawn as the title characters. It follows a female hustler who becomes repeatedly mixed up with a suave con man and card shark through a series of misadventures before falling in love with him. The film was theatrically released in the United States on March 24, 1976, by 20th Century-Fox. It received lukewarm reviews from critics and performed poorly at the box office. For her performance, Hawn was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical. Plot In 1882 San Francisco, popular dance hall girl Amanda Quaid learns that Mormon millionaire Josiah Widdicombe is seeking a well-bred governess for his children. Looking for an easier life, Amanda needs $65 to buy clothes for the interview. She accepts an invitation from gambler Charlie "Dirtwater Fox" Malloy to join him in his hotel room, where she discovers he is carrying a satchel full of stolen money that he acquired by double-crossing the Bloodworth gang in a bank robbery. Drugging Charlie and stealing the satchel, she buys a new outfit and successfully interviews with Widdicombe as the "Duchess of Swansbury." When Charlie finds the money gone, he heads east on his horse Blackjack and catches up to the stagecoach carrying Amanda to Salt Lake City, Utah. Charlie recognizes Amanda and makes her agree to give him a portion of her salary in exchange for keeping her real identity a secret. On their trip, they encounter snakes, rapids, horseback pursuits through towns, a Jewish wedding, and the Bloodworth gang who capture them and take back the money. The pair are tied down with stakes and left to die, but manage to escape when Amanda uses a pair of lorgnette spectacles to burn through the ropes.