''Cat Ballou'' is a 1965 American

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

film starring Jane Fonda and

Lee Marvin Lee Marvin (born Lamont Waltman Marvin Jr.; February 19, 1924August 29, 1987) was an American film and television actor. Known for his bass voice and premature white hair, he is best remembered for playing hardboiled "tough guy" characters. Alt ...

, who won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his

dual role A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...

. The story involves a woman who hires a notorious gunman to protect her father's ranch, and later to avenge his murder, only to find that the gunman is not what she expected. The supporting cast features Tom Nardini,

Michael Callan Michael Callan (born Martin Harris Calinieff; November 22, 1935 – October 10, 2022) was an American actor best known for originating the role of Riff in ''West Side Story'' on Broadway, and for his film roles for Columbia Pictures, notably ' ...

Dwayne Hickman Dwayne Bernard Hickman (May 18, 1934 – January 9, 2022) was an American actor and television executive, producer and director, who worked as an executive at CBS and had also briefly recorded as a vocalist. Hickman portrayed Chuck MacDonald, B ...

, and

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

and

Stubby Kaye Bernard Solomon Kotzin (November 11, 1918 – December 14, 1997), known as Stubby Kaye, was an American actor, comedian, vaudevillian, and singer, known for his appearances on Broadway and in film musicals. Kaye originated the roles of Nicely-Ni ...

, who together perform the film's theme song, and who appear throughout the film in the form of travelling

minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. It originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist entertainer ...

s or

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairi ...

s as a kind of musical

Greek chorus A Greek chorus, or simply chorus ( grc-gre, χορός, chorós), in the context of ancient Greek tragedy, comedy, satyr plays, and modern works inspired by them, is a homogeneous, non-individualised group of performers, who comment with a collect ...

and

framing device Framing may refer to: * Framing (construction), common carpentry work * Framing (law), providing false evidence or testimony to prove someone guilty of a crime * Framing (social sciences) * Framing (visual arts), a technique used to bring the focu ...

. The film was directed by

Elliot Silverstein Elliot Silverstein (born August 3, 1927) is an American film and television director. He directed the Academy Award-winning western comedy '' Cat Ballou'' (1965), and other films including '' The Happening'' (1967), '' A Man Called Horse'' (1970) ...

from a screenplay by Walter Newman and

Frank Pierson Frank Romer Pierson (May 12, 1925 – July 22, 2012) was an American screenwriter and film director.Byrge, Duane (July 23, 2012). rank Pierson, Former Movie Academy President, Writer and Director, Dies at 87.''The Hollywood Reporter''Yardley, Wi ...

adapted from the 1956 novel ''The Ballad of Cat Ballou'' by Roy Chanslor, who also wrote the novel filmed as ''

Johnny Guitar ''Johnny Guitar'' is a 1954 American Western film directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, Ernest Borgnine and Scott Brady. It was produced and distributed by Republic Pictures. The screen ...

''. Chanslor's novel was a serious Western, and though it was turned into a comedy for the film, the filmmakers retained some darker elements. The film references many classic Western films, notably ''

Shane Shane may refer to: People * Shane (actress) (born 1969), American pornographic actress * Shane (New Zealand singer) (born 1946) * iamnotshane (born 1995), formerly known as Shane, American singer * Shane (name) Shane is mainly a masculine g ...

''. The film was selected by the American Film Institute as the 10th greatest Western of all time in its AFI's 10 Top 10 list in 2008.

Plot

Catherine "Cat" Ballou, a notorious outlaw, is set to be executed in the small town of Wolf City,

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

. Two banjo and guitar playing "Shouters", Professor Sam the Shade and the Sunrise Kid, sing the ballad of Cat Ballou and regale the audience with the tale of how she began her career of crime. Some months prior, Catherine, then an aspiring schoolteacher, is returning home by train to Wolf City from finishing school. On the way, she unwittingly helps accused cattle rustler Clay Boone elude his captor, Sheriff Maledon, when Boone's Uncle Jed, disguised as a preacher, distracts the lawman. Arriving home at her father (Frankie Ballou)'s ranch, Catherine learns that the Wolf City Development Corporation is scheming to take his ranch. Frankie's sole defender is his ranch hand, educated Native American, Jackson Two-Bears. Clay and Jed appear and reluctantly offer to help Catherine. She hires legendary gunfighter Kid Shelleen to help protect her father from gunslinger Tim Strawn, the tin-nosed hired killer who is threatening him. Shelleen arrives and proves to be a drunken bum who is a crack shot only when he is inebriated. His presence proves to be useless as Strawn abruptly kills Frankie. When the townspeople refuse to bring Strawn to justice, Catherine becomes a revenge-seeking outlaw known as Cat Ballou. She and her gang rob a train carrying the Wolf City payroll, then take refuge in the desperado hideout " Hole-in-the-Wall". Shelleen is shocked to discover the legendary outlaw Cassidy is now a humble saloonkeeper in Hole-in-the-Wall. The gang is thrown out when it is learned what they have done, due to Hole-in-the-Wall's continued existence being dependent on the sufferance of Wolf City. Strawn arrives and threatens Cat. Shelleen, motivated by his affection for Cat, works himself into shape. Dressed up in his finest gunfighter outfit, he goes into town and kills Strawn, then reveals he is Strawn's brother. Cat poses as a prostitute and confronts Sir Harry Percival, the head of the Wolf City Development Corporation. She attempts to force him into confessing that he ordered her father's murder. A struggle ensues and Sir Harry is killed. Cat is then sentenced to be hanged. With Sir Harry dead, Wolf City's future is hopeless, and the townspeople have no mercy for Cat. As the noose is placed around her neck, Uncle Jed, again disguised as a preacher, appears and cuts the rope just as the trapdoor opens. Cat safely falls through and onto a wagon. Her gang spirits her away in a daring rescue.

Cast

* Jane Fonda as Catherine "Cat" Ballou *

as Kid Shelleen / Tim Strawn *

as Clay Boone *

as Uncle Jed *

as Shouter – Sunrise Kid *

as Shouter – Sam the Shade * Tom Nardini as Jackson Two-Bears *

John Marley John Marley (born Mortimer Marlieb, October 17, 1907 – May 22, 1984) was an American actor who was known for his role as Phil Cavalleri in ''Love Story'' and as Jack Woltz—the defiant film mogul who awakens to find the severed head o ...

as Frankie Ballou * Reginald Denny as Sir Harry Percival * Jay C. Flippen as Sheriff Cardigan *

Arthur Hunnicutt Arthur Lee Hunnicutt (February 17, 1910 – September 26, 1979) was an American actor known for his portrayal of wise, grizzled, and old rural characters. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in ...

as Butch Cassidy * Bruce Cabot as Sheriff Maledon * Burt Mustin as Accuser *Paul Gilbert as Train Messenger *

Frank DeVol Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Cu ...

as Undertaker *Dorothy Claire as Singer in Brothel (accompanied by Nat King Cole at piano) Cast notes *Cole and Kaye, billed simply as "Shouters", act as a

, intermittently appearing onscreen to narrate the story through ongoing verses of "The Ballad of Cat Ballou", one of the songs written by

Mack David Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...

and

Jerry Livingston Jerry Livingston (born Jerry Levinson; March 25, 1909 – July 1, 1987) was an American songwriter and dance orchestra pianist. Life and career Born in Denver, Colorado, Livingston studied music at the University of Arizona. While there he com ...

for the film.

Production

The film was director

's second feature film, with the pressure of filming leading to some quarrels with the producer

Harold Hecht Harold Adolphe Hecht (June 1, 1907 – May 26, 1985) was an American film producer, dance director and talent agent. He was also, though less noted for, a literary agent, a theatrical producer, a theatre director and a Broadway actor. He was a m ...

, though the film was ultimately a box office success.

Ann-Margret Ann-Margret Olsson (born April 28, 1941) is a Swedish–American actress, singer, and dancer. As an actress and singer, she is credited as Ann-Margret. She is known for her roles in '' Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961), ''State Fair'' (1962), '' ...

was the first choice for the title role, but her manager turned it down without letting the actress know. Ann-Margret wrote in her autobiography that she would have wanted the part. Among others, Kirk Douglas allegedly turned down the role of Shelleen. Years later, he played a similar double role in ''

The Man from Snowy River The Man from Snowy River may refer to: * "The Man from Snowy River" (poem), an 1890 Australian poem by Banjo Paterson. * '' The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses'' an 1895 poetry collection by Banjo Paterson (including the above) * ''The Man ...

''. Nat King Cole was ill with

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

during the filming of ''Cat Ballou''. A

chain smoker Chain smoking is the practice of smoking several cigarettes in succession, sometimes using the ember of a finished cigarette to light the next. The term chain smoker often also refers to a person who smokes relatively constantly, though not nece ...

, Cole died four months before the film was released. Jay C. Flippen suffered a circulatory failure during filming and, as a result, later had his leg amputated due to gangrene.

Reception

The film was well received by critics. It earned over $20.6 million in North America, making it the 7th highest-grossing film of 1965.

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' called it "a breezy little film" which "does have flashes of good satiric wit. But, under Elliott Silverstein's direction, it is mostly just juvenile lampoon." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that the film "emerges middlingly successful, sparked by an amusing way-out approach and some sparkling performances." Richard L. Coe of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' praised the film as a "springy satire", adding, "What makes this fun is the style. Forming a mighty cool duo, Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye sing their way in and out of the plot with folk songs which Cole ' Don't Fence Me In' Porter would have relished. The format is novel and stylishly delivered."

Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael's opinions oft ...

in ''

Film Quarterly ''Film Quarterly'', a journal devoted to the study of film, television, and visual media, is published by University of California Press. It publishes scholarly analyses of international and Hollywood cinema as well as independent film, including d ...

'' called it "lumpen, coy, and obvious, a self-consciously cute movie," adding that "mainly it is full of sort-of-funny and trying-to-be-funny ''ideas'' and a movie is not just ideas." Philip K. Scheuer of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' wrote, "I'm in the minority, apparently. ''Cat Ballou,'' which is being hailed as a cowboy '' Tom Jones'' or something of the sort, seems to me about as funny as a soundtrack burp." ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'' wrote, "The jokes in ''Cat Ballou'' are uneven, but the mood behind the film is happily consistent." The film holds a score of 90% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 29 reviews, with an average grade of 7.4 out of 10.

Television pilots

Two separate

television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distr ...

s were filmed. A 1970 pilot written and produced by

Aaron Ruben Aaron Ruben (March 1, 1914 – January 30, 2010) was an American television director and producer known for ''The Andy Griffith Show'' (1960), ''Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'' (1964), and ''Sanford and Son'' (1972). Early life Ruben was born in Chicag ...

featured

Lesley Ann Warren Lesley Ann Warren (born August 16, 1946) is an American actress and singer. She made her Broadway debut in 1963, aged 17, in '' 110 in the Shade''. In 1965 she received wide recognition for playing the title role in the television musical prod ...

as Cat,

Jack Elam William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1920 – October 20, 2003) was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villainou ...

as Kid Shelleen and Tom Nardini repeating his role while a 1971 pilot starred

Jo Ann Harris Jo Ann Harris (born Jo Ann Marcovitch; May 27, 1949) is an American actress known for her many film and television roles beginning in 1967. In the 1971 film '' The Beguiled'' she portrayed a 17-year-old who seduced Clint Eastwood's character. ...

as Cat,

Forrest Tucker Forrest Meredith Tucker (February 12, 1919 – October 25, 1986) was an American actor in both movies and television who appeared in nearly a hundred films. Tucker worked as a vaudeville straight man at the age of fifteen. A mentor provided fund ...

as Kid Shelleen and Lee J. Casey as Jackson Two-Bears.

Awards and honors

In his

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

acceptance speech,

concluded by saying, "I think, though, that half of this belongs to a horse somewhere out in San Fernando Valley," a reference to the horse Kid Shelleen rode, which appeared to be as drunk as Shelleen was. Osborne, Robert. Outro to

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of At ...

presentation of ''Cat Ballou'' (May 14, 2011)

American Film Institute

* 1998: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – Nominated * 2000: AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – #50 * 2003: AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains: ** Tim Strawn – Nominated Villain * 2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs: ** "The Ballad of Cat Ballou" – Nominated * 2007: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – Nominated * 2008: AFI's 10 Top 10: ** #10 Western Film

In popular culture

*''Cat Ballou'' is the favorite film of comedy directors Bobby and Peter Farrelly, as stated in The

AFI AFI may refer to: * ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol * Ashton Fletcher Irwin, an Australian drummer * AFI (band), an American rock band ** ''AFI'' (2004 album), a retrospective album by AFI rele ...

''100 Years, 100 Laughs'' television special. The Balladeers from their film, ''

There's Something About Mary ''There's Something About Mary'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly. It stars Cameron Diaz as the title character with Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon, Lee Evans, and Chris Elliott all playing men w ...

'', are inspired by similar characters in ''Cat Ballou''. *Imagery from the hanging scene of Jane Fonda was spoofed advocating her

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

following her 1972 visit to

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

. A brief shot from that scene was used as part of Alex DeLarge's sadistic reverie in the movie '' A Clockwork Orange''. *"Cat Ballou" is a card in the Spaghetti Western

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a co ...

'' Bang!'' *In a 2014 interview on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, actor

Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor and director who is best known for portraying Walter White in the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and Hal in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–20 ...

called ''Cat Ballou'' the "movie that had the most impact" on him when he was growing up. *Part of the opening animation of the Columbia logo featuring Jane Fonda was incorporated in the beginning of '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'' (2018). *In episode 69 of the popular fiction podcast ''

Welcome to Night Vale ''Welcome to Night Vale'' is a podcast presented as a radio show for the fictional town of Night Vale, reporting on the strange events that occur within it. The series was created in 2012 by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. Published by Night Val ...

'', Cecil Palmer mentions that he watched this movie with his boyfriend Carlos the Scientist repeatedly. Later episodes confirm that Cecil is a fan of the film, and episode 192, "It Doesn't Hold Up" features Cecil discussing the film.

References

External links

* * * * * {{Elliot Silverstein, state=collapsed 1960s historical comedy films 1965 musical comedy films 1960s Western (genre) comedy films 1965 films American historical comedy films American musical comedy films American Western (genre) comedy films Columbia Pictures films 1960s English-language films Films scored by Frank De Vol Films about capital punishment Films directed by Elliot Silverstein Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award-winning performance Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe winning performance Films based on American novels Films set in 1894 Films set in Wyoming Films produced by Harold Hecht Fratricide in fiction 1960s feminist films Films with screenplays by Walter Newman (screenwriter) Cultural depictions of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 1960s crime comedy films 1960s Western (genre) musical films American Western (genre) musical films 1965 directorial debut films 1960s American films