Annie Get Your Gun (1950)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

George Sidney

Writers:

Dorothy Fields (libretto "Annie Get Your Gun") and
Herbert Fields (libretto "Annie Get Your Gun") ...

Release Date:

17 May 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Comedy | Family | Musical | Romance | Western

Tagline:

"Annie Get Your Gun" is even greater as an M-G-M musical!

Plot:

The story of the great sharpshooter, Annie Oakley, who rises to fame while dealing with her love/professional rival, Frank Butler.

Plot Keywords:

Annie Oakley | Sharpshooter | Show Business | Sitting Bull | England

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Betty Hutton	...	Annie Oakley
Howard Keel	...	Frank Butler
Louis Calhern	...	Col. Buffalo Bill Cody
J. Carrol Naish	...	Chief Sitting Bull
Edward Arnold	...	Pawnee Bill
Keenan Wynn	...	Charlie Davenport
Benay Venuta	...	Dolly Tate
Clinton Sundberg	...	Foster Wilson

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | France:U | UK:U | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Another potential replacement for Judy Garland was Betty Grable, but her studio, Twentieth Century-Fox, refused to consider loaning Miss Grable to MGM.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The climax, which is set at the foot of the Statue of Liberty in the early 1880s, shows a 20th century New York City skyline, with skyscrapers, as the backdrop.

Quotes:

Annie Oakley: [calling after Frank as he's walking away] Hey, mister...? Don't you like girls?
Frank Butler: [not comprehendeding the question] Well... sure!
Annie Oakley: [realizing it herself] I'm a girl.
Frank Butler: [laughing condescendingly as he walks away] That's fine.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Christina Aguilera/Maroon 5 (#29.13)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

THEY SAY IT'S WONDERFUL

Perfectly Palatable

I have had many outings with this popular musical by Irving Berlin. First, I saw it live on Broadway (my first show) starring Bernadette Peters. Then I listened to the original Broadway cast soundtrack with Ethel Merman, which led me to think that Peters really wasn't that good after all. Then finally, I got to see this movie about three years ago. Plus, last year I was in "Annie Get Your Gun" at Portland Players, portraying several minor characters. It's too bad it followed the modernized version more closely than the original, which was changed for the sake of political correctness! Oh well.

Seeing the movie helped me to understand the plot of the whole story better; plays don't always do it for me (not the first time around anyway). It's by no means a great film. It's a bit slow (notice the point where Annie is anticipating what she'll do when she bumps into Frank on the boat) and the music is not performed quite as well as I would have liked to hear (at least, not when compared to what I'm used to). Yet it's still worth watching if you're a fan.

Judy Garland was originally intended to play Annie Oakley, but had to quit because of her "unfortunate condition". She was replaced by Betty Hutton, who had a much more appropriate voice for the role. So many people have expressed disappointment that Garland had to leave the set, claiming that that was what kept it being great. That kind of thinking gets to me. Nobody, and I mean nobody, is so wonderful that their presence automatically guarantees that a movie will be a masterpiece. I've seen footage of Garland on the DVD. She was better than I expected, but I'm still not sure she would have worked. Just check out "I'm an Indian Too". She's just too pure. More robustness was needed. Betty had it all, and was just a little ways behind Merman.

Howard Keel is just right as rival sharpshooter Frank Butler. He has the exact attitude needed for Frank's jealousy whenever Annie gets more fame than he, and also the right attitude for expressing how much he loves her. Colonel Buffalo Bill is well played by Louis Calhern, replacing Frank Morgan who had suddenly died (This could nave been a second picture with him and Judy Garland acting together- the first being "The Wizard of Oz", of course.). Sitting Bull is played to perfection by J. Carol Naish, who had, I believe, played the same role in an earlier film about Annie Oakley. I love the part where he corrects the illiterate Annie on her pronunciation of the word "champaigne". Edward Arnold is perfectly cast as Pawnee Bill, Buffalo's fierce competitor. Keenan Wynn quite nicely fits the role of Frank's manager, Charlie Davenport. Solid contributions are also made by Clinton Sundburg (Foster Wilson, the property man) and Benay Venuta (Dolly Tate).

Berlin's memorable score includes such familiar songs as "They Say It's Wonderful" "Doin' What Comes Naturally", "Anything You Can Do", "You Can't Get A Man With A Gun", "I Got The Sun In The Morning", and, oh yes, "There's No Business Like Show Business"- and there really ain't. Also included are "I'm an Indian Too" and "Colonel Buffalo Bill", two fine songs that were unjustly removed from the modernized version. It's no real surprise that this movie won the Best Score Oscar.

George Sidney directs. This is a pretty darn, I mean "durn" as Annie would pronounce it, good movie. It's certainly worth seeing at least once. So get to it.