''The Second Greatest Sex'' is a 1955

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 ...

musical

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the US Army under Pre ...

and starring

Jeanne Crain Jeanne Elizabeth Crain (May 25, 1925 – December 14, 2003) was an American actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her title role in '' Pinky'' (1949). She also starred in the films '' In the Meantime, Darling'' (194 ...

and George Nader. It is a Western version of the play ''

Lysistrata ''Lysistrata'' ( or ; Attic Greek: , ''Lysistrátē'', "Army Disbander") is an ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes, originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC. It is a comic account of a woman's extraordinary mission to end the Peloponne ...

'' by

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his for ...

Plot

In 1880, men from three Kansas towns, Osake, Jones City and Mandaroon - feud over which one gets to be the county seat. A safe containing important documents is the prize which, whoever controls it, will determine the county seat. To the frustration of the women back home, the men go away for long periods of time to fight over this safe, and then return home exhausted. Matt Davis wants to marry Sheriff McClure's attractive daughter Liza, but neither McClure is sure if Matt's more interested in the town or romance. The men of Osake, now have the safe, and proceed to build a courthouse in their town. However, Liza is livid when, just as they marry, Matt leaves again because the safe's now been stolen. He forms a posse and the other men take off with him. Taking their cue from the play

, all of the women, including young Birdie and spinster Cassie, decide to join Liza in going "on strike" against the men, holing up in a fort and locking them out. The men must prove they are worthy before the women will agree to take them back. Meanwhile, the safe is once again captured by the men of Osake, but sinks in the river. The women, thinking the "war" is over, decide to go back with the men, but change their minds when the men say they just have to wait for the water to go down in order to retrieve the safe once more. With the women back in their fort, the men are upset, despondent, but determined to act. Job McClure (

Bert Lahr Irving Lahrheim (August 13, 1895 – December 4, 1967), known professionally as Bert Lahr, was an American actor. He was best known for his role as the Cowardly Lion, as well as his counterpart Kansas farmworker "Zeke", in the MGM adaptation of ...

) then sings the title song "The Second Greatest Sex". Now that the water level is lower, the men once more go after the sunken safe, but find that another town is already at the site, with the safe in their hands. A fist-fight then ensues between the men from all three towns. In the ensuing ruckus, the safe is knocked off the wagon and goes rolling down the hill to sink in a pool of

quicksand Quicksand is a colloid consisting of fine granular material (such as sand, silt or clay) and water. It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it creates a liquefied soil that los ...

. All the men, from all three towns, now rush back home to their women, only to find the women of Mandaroon, and Jones City, have all vanished. Turns out, they are, as well, all holed up in the same fort. The women now force the men to truce, and to choose a completely new spot for the county seat.

Cast

as Liza McClure (singing voice was dubbed by Doreen Tryden) * George Nader as Matt Davis (singing voice was dubbed by Bill Lee) *

Kitty Kallen Kitty Kallen (born Katie Kallen; May 25, 1921 – January 7, 2016) was an American popular singer whose career spanned from the 1930s to the 1960s, to include the Swing era of the Big Band years, the post-World War II pop scene and the early ...

as Katy Conors *

as Job McClure *

Mamie Van Doren Mamie Van Doren (born Joan Lucille Olander; February 6, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and sex symbol. She is perhaps best known for the rock 'n' roll, juvenile delinquency exploitation film ''Untamed Youth'' (1957). Early life Van D ...

as Birdie Snyder *

Keith Andes Keith Andes (born John Charles Andes, July 12, 1920 – November 11, 2005) was an American film, radio, musical theater, stage and television actor. Early life The son of Mr. and Mrs. William G. Andes, Andes was born in Ocean City, New Jersey ...

as Rev. Peter Maxwell * Kathleen Case as Tilda Bean * Paul Gilbert as Roscoe Dobbs *

Tommy Rall Thomas Edward Rall (December 27, 1929 – October 6, 2020) was an American actor, ballet dancer, tap dancer, and acrobatic dancer who was a prominent featured player in 1950s musical comedies. He later became a successful operatic tenor in the 1 ...

as Alf Connors * George D. Wallace as Simon Clegghorn * Edna Skinner as Cassie Slater *

Jimmy Boyd Jimmy Devon Boyd (January 9, 1939 – March 7, 2009) was an American singer, musician, and actor known for his 1952 recording of the song "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus". Early years Jimmy Boyd was born in 1939 Mississippi into a musical fam ...

as Newt McClure * Sheb Wooley as Silas

Songs

* What Good Is A Woman Without A Man?, Jeanne Crain and female cast * Travelin' Man, Paul Gilbert * My Love Is Yours * There's Gonna Be a Wedding * How Lonely Can I Get? * Send Us A Miracle * Lysistrata * The Second Greatest Sex, Bert Lahr

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Second Greatest Sex 1955 films Films directed by George Marshall Universal Pictures films CinemaScope films Films based on works by Aristophanes Films scored by Henry Mancini Works based on Lysistrata 1950s Western (genre) comedy films 1950s Western (genre) musical films American Western (genre) comedy films American Western (genre) musical films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films 1955 musical comedy films American musical comedy films

Plot

Cast

Songs

See also

References

External links