''Whity'' is a 1971 West German film, written and directed by

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker, dramatist and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema moveme ...

and starring

Günther Kaufmann Günther Kaufmann (16 June 1947 – 10 May 2012) was a German film actor best known for his association with director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Fassbinder directed Kaufmann in a total of 14 films, casting him in leading and minor roles. Kaufman ...

and

Hanna Schygulla Hanna Schygulla (; born 25 December 1943) is a German actress and chanson singer associated with the theater and film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. She first worked for Fassbinder in 1965 and became an active participant in the New German ...

. Shot in Spain, it is a melodrama in the form of a

Spaghetti Western The spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's filmmaking style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

which addresses some of Fassbinder's recurrent themes such as dysfunctional families,

sexual diversity Sexual diversity or gender and sexual diversity (GSD), refers to all the diversities of sex characteristics, sexual orientations and gender identities, without the need to specify each of the identities, behaviors, or characteristics that form ...

and the struggle of the individual to find a place in society. Though entered into the

21st Berlin International Film Festival The 21st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 26 June to 6 July 1971. The ''Young Filmmakers Forum'' (in 1987 renamed ''International Forum for New Cinema'') section was introduced at the festival. The Golden Bear was awarded ...

, it was never distributed theatrically and only much later achieved a DVD release.

Plot

In 1878 in the south west of the US, Ben Nicholson is the richest rancher of the area. A tough man who strikes a hard bargain, he has been outwitted by his second wife Katherine, a flirtatious intriguer. Of his two sons from the previous marriage, Frank is gay and the unfortunate David is a half-wit. There is a third son in the house however, born from the black cook Marpessa, who acts as butler: this is Whity. Despite his capability, Whity gets humiliated and whipped. His only hope of any decency lies in his friendship with the town's saloon singer and whore, Hanna. She has landed a job back in the east and offers to take Whity with her, but he says he must stay with his family. To trap Katherine, Ben arranges for a Mexican called Garcia to pretend he is a physician and to seduce her, confiding to her that Ben has not long to live. The plot succeeds but, rather than pay what he promised, Ben kills Garcia. When he learns that Hanna witnessed the murder, he pays her for her silence. Excited by the prospect of inheriting the ranch, both Frank and Katherine try to get Whity to kill Ben. In the end, after repeated humiliations in a household where everybody is trying to seduce or kill each other, Whity decides he must at last act. He shoots all four Nicholsons and flees into the desert with Hanna, whose money he had earlier stolen and gambled away. When they eventually run out of water, they dance together as the sun sets behind them.

Cast

as Whity *

as Hanna * Katrin Schaake as Katherine Nicholson *

Harry Baer Harry Baer (born Harry Zöttl on 27 September 1947) is a German actor, producer and author, best known for his work with director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. He has also been credited as Harry Bär. Life Harry Baer began his career in Munich when h ...

as Davy Nicholson *

Ulli Lommel Ulli Lommel (21 December 1944 – 2 December 2017) was a German Film actor, actor and Film director, director, noted for his many collaborations with Rainer Werner Fassbinder and his association with the New German Cinema movement. Lommel spent ...

as Frank Nicholson * Tomas Blanco as Fake Mexican physician * Stefano Capriati as Judge * Elaine Baker as Marpessa, Whity's mother * Mark Salvage as Sheriff * Helga Ballhaus as Judge's wife *

Ron Randell Ronald Egan Randell (8 October 1918 – 11 June 2005) was an Australian actor. After beginning his acting career on the stage in 1937, he played Charles Kingsford Smith in the film '' Smithy'' (1946). He also had roles in '' Bulldog Drummond ...

as Benjamin Nicholson

References

External links

* 1971 films 1971 Western (genre) films German Western (genre) films 1970s German-language films 1970s English-language films Films directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder Films about race and ethnicity Films shot in Almería 1972 multilingual films German multilingual films 1970s German films Films scored by Peer Raben English-language Western (genre) films German-language Western (genre) films West German films {{1970s-Western-film-stub