The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (1976)

The Wild West was a wide-open territory that appealed equally to hustlers, rustlers, and motion-picture directors of the genre comedy romance. One of Hollywood’s most illustrious horses and harlots hybrids of heart-tugging hilarity is The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (1976). An aspiring but pointedly ditzy blonde rolls into town with the noble ambition of latching onto a rich man and persuading him to marry her. Unable to see the prey for the predators, the lady of dubious honor finds herself again and again in the clutches of a slick con man and poker prodigy. The last laugh, finally, will be the blonde’s as love plays the grifting dude a mug’s hand and all parties make a home on the range and live happily ever after.