Cat Ballou (1965)

A young schoolteacher turns into an outlaw to avenge her murdered father.

Director:

Elliot Silverstein

Writers:

Walter Newman (screenplay), Frank Pierson (screenplay) (as Frank R. Pierson)

Stars:

Jane Fonda, Lee Marvin, Michael Callan

Won 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lee Marvin	...	Shelleen / Strawn
Jane Fonda	...	Cat Ballou
Michael Callan	...	Clay Boone
Dwayne Hickman	...	Jed
Nat 'King' Cole	...	Shouter / Sunrise Kid (as Nat King Cole)
Stubby Kaye	...	Shouter / Sam the Shade
Tom Nardini	...	Jackson Two-Bears
John Marley	...	Frankie Ballou
Reginald Denny	...	Sir Harry Percival
Jay C. Flippen	...	Sheriff Cardigan
Arthur Hunnicutt	...	Butch Cassidy
Bruce Cabot	...	Sheriff Maledon
Burt Mustin	...	Accuser
Paul Gilbert	...	Train Messenger

Storyline

Cat(herine) Ballou's family farm is being threatened by the Rail Road. She sends for Kid Shelleen, finding him to be the drunkest gunfighter in the west. When her father is killed by the rail road magnate's gunman, she vows to fight on. Shelleen manages to ride sideways in several scenes, while minstrels sing the ballad of Cat Ballou in between scenes.

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Plot Keywords:

death of father | confession | mirror | looking at oneself in a mirror | hanging | 

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Taglines:

It's That Way-Out Whopper Of A Funny Western...A She-Bang To End All She-Bangs!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 June 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Balladen om Cat Ballou

Filming Locations:

Custer County, Colorado, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$20,666,667

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Harold Hecht Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastman Color)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film inspired NBC to make two different pilots which aired on consecutive days in 1971: Cat Ballou (1971) with Lesley Ann Warren, and Cat Ballou (1971) with Forrest Tucker.

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Goofs

When Kid is having his bath just after Jackson has poured in some hot water the surface of the water is mostly all steam. As Kid is lathering up his face to shave they switch to a shot closer up and all of the steam is replaced by lots of suds that weren't there just before.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Professor Sam The Shade, The Sunrise Kid: [singing] Well now friends just lend an ear for you're now about to hear the Ballad of Cat Ballou.

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Crazy Credits

The Torch Lady in the Columbia Pictures logo changes her gown to Cat Ballou's cowboy outfit and fires her guns several times.

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Connections

Referenced in Casper (1995)

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Soundtracks

Happy Birthday to You
(uncredited)
Written by Patty S. Hill and Mildred J. Hill
Performed by Lee Marvin

User Reviews

Of course you don't think its funny, you're under 35!

Quite a number of reviews of Cat Ballou seem centered on the theme "It didn't make me laugh" or "Lee Marvin didn't deserve Best Actor". Okay, deal with it. My dad took the whole family to the opening of Cat Ballou in a big midwestern town back in the day. We all thought it was funny, we knew it was a comedy, however the audience was not roaring with riotous laughter. That is sometimes a good sign that you are watching a satire. There was plenty of silliness and slapstick as well, and some real wild west weirdness (the sterling silver nose that Kid Strawn wears, etc.) Funny how the opening song stayed with me from 1965 on, although I don't believe I have ever seen the film from the beginning since that first time.

It's a hangin' day in Wolf City Wyomin' Wolf City Wyomin' She killed a man it's tru-ue, And that's a why their hangin' Hangin' Cat Ballou,

This oddball flick seemed to really say something about our view of the western film, and I think that is the one of the points that helped it win some awards.