''The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County'' is a 1970 American

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 ...

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 ...

film by

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

, directed by

Anton Leader Anton Leader (December 23, 1913 – July 1, 1988) was an American television director. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 23, 1913. He directed radio dramas in New York in the 1940s and moved to Los Angeles in 1948. Subsequently, ...

and

Ranald MacDougall Ranald MacDougall (March 10, 1915 – December 12, 1973) was an American screenwriter who scripted such films as '' Mildred Pierce'' (1945), '' The Unsuspected'' (1947), ''June Bride'' (1948), and '' The Naked Jungle'' (1954), and shared screenw ...

, and starring

Dan Blocker Bobby Dan Davis Blocker (December 10, 1928 – May 13, 1972) was an American television actor and Korean War veteran, who played Hoss Cartwright in the long-running NBC Western television series ''Bonanza''. Biography Early life Blocker was born ...

and

Nanette Fabray Nanette Fabray (born Ruby Bernadette Nanette Theresa Fabares; October 27, 1920 – February 22, 2018) was an American actress, singer, and dancer. She began her career performing in vaudeville as a child and became a musical-theatre actress dur ...

, with a supporting cast featuring

Jim Backus James Gilmore Backus (February 25, 1913 – July 3, 1989) was an American actor. Among his most famous roles were Thurston Howell III on the 1960s sitcom ''Gilligan's Island,'' the father of James Dean's character in '' Rebel Without a Cause, ...

, Mickey Rooney,

Wally Cox Wallace Maynard Cox (December 6, 1924 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He began his career as a standup comedian and then became the title character of the popular early U.S. television series ''Mister Peepers'' from 1952 to 19 ...

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 ...

, Noah Beery, Jr. and

Don "Red" Barry Donald Barry de Acosta (January 11, 1912 – July 17, 1980), also known as Red Barry and Milton Poimboeuf, was an American film and television actor. He was nicknamed "Red" after appearing as the first Red Ryder in the highly successful 19 ...

. MacDougal wrote the screenplay. It was originally made as a

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

but the decision was made to release it to movie theaters. The film became Blocker's final role (besides his long-running role as "Hoss Cartwright" on '' Bonanza'') before his death from complications from gall bladder surgery in May 1972. In late 2010, the Encore Westerns channel began showing this film intermittently on their schedule.Examiner.com "Bonanza Fans Can Now Enjoy Dan Blocker in a Different Role"

Synopsis

Shy naive Charley Bicker, the only blacksmith within 100 miles, begins corresponding with a potential mail-order bride named Ellen, and sends her all his savings for a train ticket to the town of Calico. He kept his marriage plans secret from everyone except the storekeeper who sent off for a wedding ring, but the storekeeper told everyone else, so a crowd shows up at the train station when Charley goes there to meet his bride. The lady isn’t on the train and Charley is humiliated, so pretends it was all a joke. Meanwhile a nearly-blind bounty hunter named Kittrick comes to town and tries to find his way to the sheriff’s office. Charley believes he is the laughing-stock of the town, and starts packing up to start a new life elsewhere. The townsfolk are in a panic, for they need their blacksmith. Mr. Bester, who owns a freight hauling business, has all his wagons at the blacksmith shop for repairs, and if they aren’t repaired no businesses can get new supplies. It is decided to say Charley’s mail-order bride got off at the wrong town, and will be arriving on the stagecoach. They will need to find someone to pretend to be the lady Charley was corresponding with, who will agree to be courted for a few days, and then politely say she changed her mind about marriage. The only single woman in town is saloon girl Sadie, who is seeing Roger Hand – a man who is jealous of anyone who pays attention to Sadie. Charley doesn’t drink much, so he’s never seen the saloon girl. At first Sadie refuses to go along with the scheme, but then thinks of how the respectable ladies show disapproval whenever they see her, so she'll pretend to be someone the ladies will treat as an equal. Charley and Sadie meet, and she is charmed by how kind and gentle he is, and how well he treats her. Mrs. Bester says Sadie (pretending to be Ellen) will be staying at the Bester house. Charley tells Sadie he’s fixed up a house for them to live in, if she’ll consent to marrying him. They make plans to visit the house the next day. That evening Mrs. Bester hears Sadie crying in the guest room and goes to talk to her. Mrs. Bester tells her she and all the other ladies knows who she really is, but they want her to marry Charley, so their husbands won’t be going to the saloon to see her sing and dance. Roger Hand goes to visit Sadie at the saloon, and when he learns she is being courted by Charley he vows to get revenge on the blacksmith. The saloon patrons pull guns on him and tell him to leave town. Rogers says he’ll leave with Sadie. Charley and Sadie visit the house he owns. She says she loves the house, and he is a good man, but she can’t marry him because she has not been a good woman. The sheriff learns near-sighted Kittrick is in town to capture the outlaw Panama Jack. The sheriff draws on a wanted poster picture to make Panama Jack look like Roger Hand, and everyone at the saloon calls Roger by the outlaw’s name. Kittrick starts shooting at Roger, who jumps on a horse and rushes out of town, with Kittrick right behind him. Sadie returns to the saloon and, while wearing a revealing costume, begins singing a song about not caring. Charley goes to the Bester house and asks Mrs. Bester to give Sadie the key to the house he fixed up, since he won’t be needing it. Mrs. Bester tells him how much Sadie cares for him. Charley goes to the saloon and tells Sadie they are getting married that very day.

Cast

- Charley Bicker *

- Sadie *

- Kittrick *

- Sheriff Staunch *

- Mr Bester * Mickey Rooney - Indian Tom *

- Rusty *

Hamilton Camp Hamilton Camp (Born Robin S. Camp, 30 October 1934 – 2 October 2005) was a London-born actor and singer, who relocated to the United States with his family when he was a young child. He became an American folk singer during he 1960s, and ev ...

- Mr Fowler * James McCallion - Dr. Henry * Noah Beery Jr. - Eddie * Henry Jones - Hanson *

Marge Champion Marjorie Celeste Champion ( Belcher; September 2, 1919October 21, 2020) was an American dancer and actress. At fourteen, she was hired as a dance model for Walt Disney Studios animated films. Later, she performed as an actress and dancer in film ...

- Mrs Bester *

Jack Cassidy John Joseph Edward Cassidy (March 5, 1927 – December 12, 1976), was an American actor, singer and theater director known for his work in the theater, television and films. He received multiple Tony Award nominations and a win, as well a ...

- Roger Hand *

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 ...

- Bartender *

Byron Foulger Byron Kay Foulger (August 27, 1898 – April 4, 1970) was an American character actor who over a 50-year career performed in hundreds of stage, film, and television productions. Early years Born in Ogden, Utah, Byron was the second of four ...

- Rev Marshal *

Iron Eyes Cody Iron Eyes Cody (born Espera Oscar de Corti, April 3, 1904 – January 4, 1999) was an American actor of Italian descent who portrayed Native Americans in Hollywood films, famously as ''Chief Iron Eyes'' in Bob Hope's '' The Paleface'' (1948) ...

- Crazy Foot * Ray Ballard - Carson *

Susan Saint James Susan Saint James (born Susan Jane Miller; August 14, 1946) is an American actress and activist, most widely known for her work in television during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, especially the detective series ''McMillan & Wife'' (1971–1976) and ...

- Martha Kidd * Raven Grey - Eagle * Michael-James Wixted - Boy at train station

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cockeyed Cowboys Of Calico County 1970 films 1970 comedy films 1970s Western (genre) comedy films American Western (genre) comedy films 1970s English-language films Films directed by Ranald MacDougall Films scored by Lyn Murray Films with screenplays by Ranald MacDougall Universal Pictures films 1970s American films