Touche pas à la femme blanche (Don't Touch the White Woman!) (1974)

67% of users liked it
(268 ratings)

Marcello Mastroianni stars in this French farce, an absurd "western" set in Paris, with Mastroianni as the incurably vain General George Armstrong Custer. Richard Nixon is the American president, but everyone is costumed appropriately for the previous century. Buffalo Bill (Michel Piccoli), the… More Marcello Mastroianni stars in this French farce, an absurd "western" set in Paris, with Mastroianni as the incurably vain General George Armstrong Custer. Richard Nixon is the American president, but everyone is costumed appropriately for the previous century. Buffalo Bill (Michel Piccoli), the famous scout, is here portrayed as a limp-wristed bungler. Ugo Tognazzi plays one of Custer's Native American opponents; he runs a curio shop selling Native artifacts made in sweatshops by white women. The climactic battle is held in a large construction excavation where Les Halles market used to be. The language the two sides use to justify their conflict is lifted from that used in the then-current Vietnam War. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 48 min.
Directed By: Marco Ferreri
Genres: Western, Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 23, 1974 Wide
On DVD: Aug 19, 2008

Critic Reviews

Christopher Long, Movie Metropolis
It is so gloriously unconvincing, so utterly absurd, that it achieves a kind of greatness.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
A sure candidate for the worst movie ever made...

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Walter M

Of all the screen versions of Custer's Cosmic Comeuppance, "Don't Touch the White Woman!" is easily the most surreal in its giddy satire of the old west transposed to the streets of modern day Paris. Marco Ferreri directs in a blithely anarchic spirit(the Indians… More
Of all the screen versions of Custer's Cosmic Comeuppance, "Don't Touch the White Woman!" is easily the most surreal in its giddy satire of the old west transposed to the streets of modern day Paris. Marco Ferreri directs in a blithely anarchic spirit(the Indians realize their full power in collective action) but still deadly serious when it comes to the crimes of the era. The Indians under the leadership of Sitting Bull(Alain Cuny) are trapped in a building site. The railroad interests conspire with Pinkerton(Paolo Villaggio), claiming to be an anthropology professor, looking on in casual modern dress.(I don't have to explain the significance of that name, do I?) They bribe General Terry(Philippe Noiret) with railroad bonds which he gives to his daughter(Daniele Dublino) as a wedding present. They want him to clear out the land so they can exploit it. He in turn employs General Custer(Marcello Mastroianni) to run field operations who is in competition with Buffalo Bill(Michel Piccoli) for top billing. The movie successfully connects these events to present day imperialism, not only in the United States but also in France. Nixon is the President and his face can be seen everywhere while Pinkerton has places to be and governments to be overthrown.