McCabe & Mrs. Miller | 1971 | R | – 7.7.5

Why is “McCabe & Mrs. Miller” rated R? The MPAA rating does not include content details. The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes several scenes with full female nudity, implied sex and discussions of prostitution, several gunshot deaths including bloody wounds, a stabbing with blood spurting and a couple of fistfights, opium use, gambling, and at least 5 F-words. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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Revisionist western about a charming gambler (Warren Beatty) who comes to a Pacific Northwest mining town and opens a saloon and bordello. When a professional madam and prostitute (Julie Christie) partners with him, their enterprise prospers until a corporation decides to take over and sends professional killers to the town. Also with Rene Auberjonois, William Devane, John Schuck, Corey Fischer, Bert Remsen, Shelley Duvall and Keith Carradine. Directed by Robert Altman. [Running Time: 2:00]

McCabe & Mrs. Miller SEX/NUDITY 7

 – Several women bathe in a large tub together and we see their bare breasts, genitals, buttocks abdomens and back. A fully nude woman stands behind a man and we see her bare buttocks and breasts. A nude woman chases a man in a hallway and they go into a room (her bare breasts, genitals and buttocks are seen). Two couples dance together and the women wear skirts that are open in the back revealing their bare buttocks. A man caresses a woman’s clothed breasts and she invites him to go upstairs with her (sex is implied).
► A woman wears a low-cut undergarment that reveals cleavage. A woman wears a low-cut top that reveals ample cleavage. A man unfastens his belt (implying urination) and walks outside a building followed by another man who then turns around and goes back inside. A man is shown in a bedroom and he is pulling up his long johns (no flesh is exposed). A man sits in a tub of water and his shoulders and chest are seen. A man is shown wearing long johns.
► Several men gather around several women riding on horses and grab them off the horses; one man tries to kiss a woman and she struggles to get away from him (we see part of her bare back as her clothing is shifted). A woman takes a man by the hand and leads him upstairs where it is implied that they have sex. A man undresses (we see his bare chest and abdomen) as a woman lies in bed; he pays the woman and climbs in bed with her (sex is implied). A man and a woman hug in bed and she kisses his head. A woman smacks a man on the clothed buttock. Three tents are set up in a makeshift town where prostitutes entertain their clients.
► A woman says she’s got the “curse.” A man says, “I’m gonna have you all,” to several women in a brothel. Two men ask how much “whores cost.” A woman talks about the business of running a “whorehouse.” A woman makes references to sexually transmitted diseases. A reference is made to “mountain oysters.” A man tells a woman, “I know I’m not your lover.” A woman complains about pain during sex and considers it being caused by the size of her anatomy. A reference is made to “a wife’s duty.”

McCabe & Mrs. Miller VIOLENCE/GORE 7

 - A man and a woman tumble out of a tent and the woman screams and stabs the man several times (we see blood spurt and blood is shown on his shoulder and shirt); the woman is pulled away from the man and he is attended to. Two men stand on a narrow bridge and one threatens the other before shooting him (the man falls dead into icy water and we see blood on his clothing). A man is shot in the abdomen (we see his bloody wound and what looks like his blood soaked hand dangling off his body) and he falls back. A man is shot and he falls into a tub of water, and another man is shot in the leg (we see some blood). A man takes aim at another man and shoots through the glass pane in a door (we see blood in the snow and a body in the distance). A man shoots another man from a distance and we see him fall and slide down a snow-covered hill. A man shoots another man in the head and blood spurts. A wounded man collapses in deep snow and slumps motionless as he is slowly covered with snow (he presumably dies). A man is shown with a bloody abdominal gunshot wound and blood dribbles from the wound.
► Two men fight in a street after one man makes a remark about the other man's wife being a prostitute (we see blood on one man's face). A man picks up a cat and throws it on the floor. A man on a roof throws a bucket over the side and accidentally hits a man on the ground in the head knocking him down (no injuries shown). A woman is shown with a bloody scratch on her knee and another woman spits on it to clean it. A man has bloody cuts on his face from shaving.
► A man shoots at something on ice covered body of water and we see holes open in the ice. A man holds a gun on another man. A fire starts in a church and people scramble to get buckets of water to douse the flames. We see grieving people gathered at a graveside funeral.
► A man tells another man, "I'll bash you in the face." A woman yells at a man and kicks over a spittoon (no contents is shown). A character says, "They'll sure as put a bullet in your back." People talk about a man cheating at cards. A man says, "I'm going to get very cross with you." A man threatens several other men. A woman yells at a man. A song's lyrics include, "I fought every man for her." A woman comments about someone carrying a Blunderbuss. A woman says, "I have to go to the pot and I don't think I can hold it." A man tells another man, "You get kinda ripe." A joke is told about an eagle eating a frog.
► A man unfastens his belt (implied urination) and walks outside. A man spits on the ground (we see a bit of saliva). A man burps, flatulates and grunts. A man stumbles and burps.

McCabe & Mrs. Miller LANGUAGE 5

 - About 5 F-words, 4 sexual references, 22 scatological terms, 19 anatomical terms, 32 mild obscenities, 7 derogatory terms for Chinese people, 1 derogatory term for a woman, name-calling (stupid, whores, pudgy, chippie, stupidest, butternut, punters, buggers, saddle tramps, egg sucker, small-timer, bastards, unfair, dumb, lousy temper, frontier wit, tally whacker, dummy, little lady, dull, fool, tin horn, putrid flesh, funny little thing, Mary Five Fingers), exclamations (shut-up, bloody well), 27 religious profanities (GD), 14 religious exclamations (e.g. My God, Jesus Christ, For God's Sake, God, Holy Game Of Poker, Some Joseph Looking For A Manger, a man lights a candle and genuflects). | profanity glossary |

McCabe & Mrs. Miller SUBSTANCE USE

 - A woman smokes an opium pipe, a woman fills an opium pipe and is interrupted before she can smoke it, a woman is shown lying on a bed in an opium den as she smokes from a pipe, and there is a reference to opium smokers. Men drink alcohol at a bar in a saloon, men drink from a flask, men drink from a bottle of wine and pass it around a table, a man drinks glasses of whiskey with raw egg in it in several scenes, a man drinks from a jug, a man pours glasses of whiskey, a man drinks glasses of whiskey with a raw egg in them in several scenes, and a man drinks from a bottle of whiskey in several scenes. Men smoke pipes in a saloon, a man smokes a cigar in a saloon, a woman smokes cigarettes in several scenes, two men drink and smoke cigars, and men smoke in several saloon scenes.

McCabe & Mrs. Miller DISCUSSION TOPICS

 - Gambling, prostitution, business, creating/settling in new territories, reputation, fair play, justice, free enterprise, evil corporations, principles, cheating, mail order brides, gunfighters, mining towns.

McCabe & Mrs. Miller MESSAGE

 - Life in 19th century western mining towns was capricious, and often brutish and short.