Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970)

Director:

Don Siegel

Writers:

Budd Boetticher (story)
Albert Maltz (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 June 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | War | Western

Tagline:

CLINT EASTWOOD...the deadliest man alive...takes on a whole army with two guns and a fistful of dynamite!

Plot:

Set in Mexico, a nun called Sara is rescued from three cowboys by Hogan, who is on his way to do some reconnaissance...

Plot Keywords:

French | Cowboy | Reconnaissance | Nun | Mexico

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Shirley MacLaine	...	Sara
Clint Eastwood	...	Hogan
Manuel Fábregas	...	Col. Beltran (as Manolo Fabregas)
Alberto Morin	...	Gen. LeClaire
Armando Silvestre	...	1st American
John Kelly	...	2nd American
Enrique Lucero	...	3rd American
David Estuardo	...	Juan
Ada Carrasco	...	Juan's mother
Pancho Córdova	...	Juan's father (as Poncho Cordoba)
José Chávez	...	Horatio (as Jose Chavez)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
José Ángel Espinosa 'Ferrusquilla'		(as José Ángel Espinoza)
Rosa Furman	...	(uncredited)
Pedro Galván	...	(uncredited)
Margarito Luna	...	(uncredited)
Xavier Marc	...	(uncredited)
Javier Masse	...	(uncredited)
Aurora Muñoz	...	(uncredited)
Hortensia Santoveña	...	(uncredited)
José Torvay	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Don Siegel

Writing credits
Budd Boetticher		(story)
Albert Maltz		(screenplay)

Produced by
Carroll Case	....	producer
Martin Rackin	....	producer

Original Music by
Ennio Morricone

Cinematography by
Gabriel Figueroa

Film Editing by
Robert F. Shugrue

Art Direction by
José Rodríguez Granada		(as Jose Rodriguez Granada)

Set Decoration by
Pablo Galván		(as Pablo Galvan)

Makeup Department
Evelina Casas	....	hair stylist
Margarita Ortega	....	makeup artist
Frank Westmore	....	makeup artist

Production Management
William Benson	....	unit production manager
Alfonso Sánchez Tello	....	unit production manager (as Alfonso Sanchez Tello)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
René Cardona Jr.	....	second unit director (as Rene Cardona Jr.)
Joseph C. Cavalier	....	assistant director (as Joe Cavalier)
Joseph C. Cavalier	....	second unit director (as Joe Cavalier)
Manuel Muñoz	....	assistant director (as Manuel Munoz)

Sound Department
Jesús González Gancy	....	sound (as Jesus Gonzalez Gancy)
Ronald Pierce	....	sound
Waldon O. Watson	....	sound

Special Effects by
Frank Brendel	....	special effects
León Ortega	....	special effects (as Leon Ortega)

Stunts
Buddy Van Horn	....	stunt coordinator
Buddy Van Horn	....	stunt double (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Gabriel Torres	....	camera operator: second unit
Bruce Surtees	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Carlos Chávez	....	costumer
Helen Colvig	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Juan José Marino	....	film editor: Mexico (as Juan Jose Marino)
Arnold Baker	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Stanley Wilson	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Salvador Gutiérrez	....	transportation captain (uncredited)

Other crew
León Cespedes	....	dialogue coach (as Leon Cespedes)
Humberto Gurza	....	animal wrangler
Miguel Gurza	....	animal wrangler
'Chema' Hernandez	....	livestock coordinator: Mexico

Production Companies

• Malpaso Company, The
• Sanen Productions
• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1970) (USA) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1970) (Spain) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1972) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Universal Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• CIC Vídeo (2000) (Brazil) (video)
• Universal Pictures (1970) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (199?) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures (2007) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes

Also Known As:

Dos mulas para la hermana Sara (Mexico)

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA | Mexico

Language:

English | Spanish | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:G (Quebec) | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG (re-rating) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | West Germany:16 (nf) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | South Korea:12 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Cuaútla, Morelos, Mexico

Company:

Malpaso Company, The

Trivia:

Shirley MacLaine did not get along during the shoot either with Clint Eastwood or with director Don Siegel, with whom she openly fought.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: While Hogan and Sara are supposed to make love in the tub, the camera shows Hogan's hat. We can clearly see on the hat the shadows of the actor's hands who are spilling water out of the tub to make it appear as if they were making love.

Quotes:

Hogan: Sister Sara, you're gonna slow me up some, but I'm gonna take you to one of those guerilla bands you're looking for.
Sara: Do you belong to one of them?
Hogan: Till I get paid, yeah.
Sara: Paid? You mean in gold?
Hogan: Well, let's put it this way: they pay me off in tortillas, I'm gonna shoot 'em right in the eye.
Sara: But the Juaristas are too poor to hire anybody.
Hogan: Well, I made a deal to work out a plan to take the garrison. If it pays off then I get half the French treasury.
Sara: Then you don't have any sympathy for their cause?
Hogan: Not theirs or anybody else's. See I spent two years in a war in the States. Right now, all I'm interested in is money.
Sara: If money is all you care about then why did you fight in that war?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Sam Hall

Clint at his best

Sure, he's in the shadow here of his more famous Leone westerns, but this vehicle, amiably directed by Don Siegel and aided by a quirky Ennio Morricone score, is an entertaining little spaghetti western knockoff shot on location in Mexico. Story-wise, it's an old west Heaven Knows Mr. Allison with a comic twist, and with an offbeat nemesis in the French Army. The humorous chemistry between Eastwood's Hogan and MacLaine's Sara at times clicks so well it's hard to believe they reportedly didn't get along very well during production. Though when it comes to Shirley MacLaine nothing really surprises me.

As far as Eastwood's post Spaghetti movies, he's rarely been in better form than this. Essentially continuing his man with no name persona, he gets far more dialogue this time around which fleshes out his character and makes him a little more three dimensional. It's a nice change of pace from the Leone westerns to hear Clint spout a few humorous lines and have the odd hilarious facial expression in between his trademark squinting and snarling and cigar chomping.

Disciples of Leone's trilogy may never warm up to an admittedly hammier Clint in this, but as Clint's Hollywood westerns go, this is a fun and well made duster. Shouldn't be missed.