THE WILD BUNCH FILM FESTIVAL 2026 REVIEW! New trails are blazed through cinematic history in the amazingly far-spanning documentary Westerns: A Fistful of Women, directed by Karen Nixon and written by Nixon and Sarah Vista. Nixon is an avid fan of the European westerns made during the 60s and 70s, popularly referred to as Spaghetti Westerns, due to the heavy presence of Italians in the genre. Sarah Vista is a musician specializing in throwback western songs, like “I’m The First Woman To Hang In Arizona”. Armed with a love for the genre, these two Englishwomen go back to where it all began, tracking the path of strong female roles in cowboy movies from the silents all the way up into the modern era.
The main character types actresses had available are covered, with the dichotomy of the “good woman” versus the “saloon girl” explored. While presenting the results of their research, the two travel to Almeria, Spain, where nearly all of the spaghetti westerns were shot in places like Texas Hollywood. There are several sequences where Sarah Vista cuts a fine figure in an array of cowgirl outfits throughout the Old West ghost towns in Tabernas. Interviewed on camera are Sarah Vista, Martine Beswick, Carlotta Bolognini, Lone Fleming, Alex Cox, Gerald Peary, Carol Sievwright, Vicki Miles, Angel Martinez, and Paco Ambrosio. At the end of the documentary, Nixon sits down with Vista to go over all the wild territory they have covered on the female side of Wild West film history.
A gunslinger stands over a fallen outlaw in the desert sand in Westerns: A Fistful Of Women.
“…these two Englishwomen go back to where it all began, tracking the path of strong female roles in cowboy movies…”
One of my favorite museums is located in Fort Worth, the one devoted to the history of cowgirls. With Westerns: A Fistful of Women, Nixon has built a cinematic museum to the women of the Old West. Her achievement is astounding, especially considering this seems to be her first time at bat as a filmmaker. That may explain why she tackled such a mammoth subject, one that would be impossible for even the most seasoned documentarian, due to the vastness of the subject. Nixon didn’t know it couldn’t be done, so she went and did it. What she has presented is not only exhaustively complete; it manages to find new pages to turn to in the dog-eared history books of cowboy pictures.
Starting with a short clip from an obscure 1899 Western short that had women cast in it, Nixon jumps into Lillian Gish’s work as the prairie woman in The Wind. She then proceeds to bring up notable films sequentially, working her way up through the decades. Film historian Peary goes deep into the huge disparity in career growth between playing an upstanding woman and playing a sex worker. Ironically, it was always the sex worker roles that resulted in the most financial reward for actresses in the end. This is because the saloon girl roles were much juicier than the good girls, and were usually top-billed. Peary points out that even he can’t remember which actress played Clementine in My Darling Clementine, as it was the actress who played Chihuahua, the prostitute in love with Doc Holliday, whose name is on the poster.
“Nixon has built a cinematic museum to the women of the Old West.”
Alex Cox, the legendary cult director of Repo Man and Straight To Hell, is on hand to give his barrel full of two cents. As the world’s foremost historian of Spaghetti Westerns, Cox’s input sheds a lot of light. Cox focuses on how everything in the Old West was brutally commodified to the hilt, including women themselves. This is also reflected in the Shelley Winters quote in relation to her role in Winchester ’73: “Why are all these guys fighting over a gun when they could be fighting over a nice blonde like me?” Nixon also provides several examples of the femme fatale appearing in Westerns, once again showing how Noir was the wicked stepsister of the Western.
The big bounty to be found in Westerns: A Fistful of Women is the tons of unsung Westerns that are highlighted. While making sure fundamental classics like Ford‘s Stagecoach are covered, Nixon also showcases forgotten movies like The Furies and Soldier Blue. Many Western fans think they have seen every cowboy movie ever made, but Nixon shows there are more stars in that sky to be seen. The interviews with the actresses still left are valuable, with a lot of candor about the film scene at the time. The Western lifestyle enthusiasts are fascinating as well, with sweet stories of sitting with grandpa, watching the cowboys on TV. I have always been blown away by the British Commonwealth’s fascination with the American West, which Westerns: A Fistful Of Women is a great example of. This one will be remembered long after the ghost towns turn to dust. Catch this whirlwind.
Westerns: A Fistful of Women screened at the 2026 The Wild Bunch Film Festival.
"…will be remembered long after the ghost towns turn to dust"
