Cat Ballou
Encyclopedia
Cat Ballou is a 1965 comedy
/Western film which tells the story of a woman who hires a famous gunman to protect her father's ranch, and later to avenge his murder, but finds that the man she hires is not what she expected. The movie stars Jane Fonda
, Lee Marvin
, who won an Oscar
for his dual role, Michael Callan
, Dwayne Hickman
, and singers Nat King Cole
and Stubby Kaye
, who together perform the movie's theme song.
The film was directed by Elliot Silverstein
from a screenplay
adapted by Walter Newman
and Frank Pierson from the novel
The Ballad of Cat Ballou by Roy Chanslor. Chanslor's novel was a serious Western, and though it was turned into a comedy for the movie, the filmmakers retained some of the story's darker elements. The film references many classic Western films, most notably Shane.
), an aspiring schoolteacher, is traveling by train to Wolf City, Wyoming, to visit her rancher father, Frankie Ballou (John Marley
). En route she unwittingly helps accused cattle rustler Clay Boone (Michael Callan
) elude his captor, the sheriff (Bruce Cabot
), when Boone's Uncle Jed (Dwayne Hickman
), a drunkard disguised as a preacher, distracts the lawman. She reaches the ranch to find that the Wolf City Development Corporation is trying to take the ranch away from her father, whose only defender is an educated Indian, Jackson Two-Bears (Tom Nardini
). Clay and Jed appear and reluctantly offer to help Catherine. She also hires legendary gunfighter Kid Shelleen (Lee Marvin
) to come and help protect her father from fast-drawing Tim Strawn (also Marvin), alias Silvernose, the hired killer who is threatening Frankie.
Shelleen arrives, a drunken stumblebum who is literally unable to hit the broad side of a barn when he shoots and whose pants fall down when he draws his gun. Strawn kills Frankie, and when the townspeople refuse to bring him to justice, Catherine becomes a revenge-seeking outlaw known as Cat Ballou. She and her four gang members rob a train carrying the Wolf City payroll, and Shelleen, inspired by his love for Cat (unrequited because she loves Clay), shapes up and kills Strawn. Later he casually reveals that Strawn was his brother.
Cat poses as a lady of loose morals and confronts town boss Sir Harry Percival (Reginald Denny
), owner of the Wolf City Development Corporation. A struggle ensues, Sir Harry is killed, and Cat is sentenced to be hanged on the gallows. Just after the noose is placed around her neck, Uncle Jed (again as a fake preacher) cuts the rope as she falls through the trapdoor. Her gang then spirits her away in a daring rescue.
Cast notes
In his acceptance speech at the Oscars, Lee Marvin opened by saying, "I think I should be sharing this award with a horse somewhere out there in the San Fernando Valley
, a reference to the horse Kid Shelleen rode, who appeared to be as drunk as Shelleen was.
Academy Award nominations
American Film Institute
recognition
Honors
In June 2008, AFI revealed its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Cat Ballou was acknowledged as the tenth best film in the Western genre.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
/Western film which tells the story of a woman who hires a famous gunman to protect her father's ranch, and later to avenge his murder, but finds that the man she hires is not what she expected. The movie stars Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
, Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...
, who won an Oscar
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
for his dual role, Michael Callan
Michael Callan
Not to be confused with Michael Callen.Michael Callan is an American actor.Born Martin Harris Calinieff in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Callan began his career as Mickey Calin, and it was with this name he appeared on Broadway in The Boy Friend , Catch a Star , and West Side Story .Callan's film...
, Dwayne Hickman
Dwayne Hickman
Dwayne Bernard Hickman is a former American actor and television executive at CBS.He is known primarily for his "teenage" actor roles on television sitcoms. The naturally brown-headed Hickman is best known for playing Chuck MacDonald, Bob Collins's crazy teenaged nephew, on the popular 1950s...
, and singers Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
and Stubby Kaye
Stubby Kaye
Stubby Kaye was an American comic actor. He was born Bernard Kotzin in New York City on the last day of the First World War, at West 114th Street in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan to first generation Jewish-Americans originally from Russia and Austria...
, who together perform the movie's theme song.
The film was directed by Elliot Silverstein
Elliot Silverstein
Elliot Silverstein, born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, on August 3, 1927, is best known for being the director of the movie Cat Ballou.-Career:Elliot Silverstein was the director of six feature films in the mid-twentieth century...
from a screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
adapted by Walter Newman
Walter Newman (screenwriter)
Walter Newman was an American radio writer and screenwriter active from the late 1940s to the early 1990s. He was nominated three times for Academy Awards , but he may be best known for a work that never made it to the screen: his unproduced original script Harrow Alley.Newman's radio...
and Frank Pierson from the novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
The Ballad of Cat Ballou by Roy Chanslor. Chanslor's novel was a serious Western, and though it was turned into a comedy for the movie, the filmmakers retained some of the story's darker elements. The film references many classic Western films, most notably Shane.
Plot
Catherine Ballou (Jane FondaJane Fonda
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
), an aspiring schoolteacher, is traveling by train to Wolf City, Wyoming, to visit her rancher father, Frankie Ballou (John Marley
John Marley
John Marley 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 of his prized horse in his bed—in The Godfather...
). En route she unwittingly helps accused cattle rustler Clay Boone (Michael Callan
Michael Callan
Not to be confused with Michael Callen.Michael Callan is an American actor.Born Martin Harris Calinieff in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Callan began his career as Mickey Calin, and it was with this name he appeared on Broadway in The Boy Friend , Catch a Star , and West Side Story .Callan's film...
) elude his captor, the sheriff (Bruce Cabot
Bruce Cabot
Bruce Cabot was an American film actor, best remembered as Jack Driscoll in King Kong . He is also known for his roles in films such as the sixth version of Last of the Mohicans, Fritz Lang's Fury and the western Dodge City.-Early life:Cabot was born Etienne Pelissier Jacques de Bujac in Carlsbad,...
), when Boone's Uncle Jed (Dwayne Hickman
Dwayne Hickman
Dwayne Bernard Hickman is a former American actor and television executive at CBS.He is known primarily for his "teenage" actor roles on television sitcoms. The naturally brown-headed Hickman is best known for playing Chuck MacDonald, Bob Collins's crazy teenaged nephew, on the popular 1950s...
), a drunkard disguised as a preacher, distracts the lawman. She reaches the ranch to find that the Wolf City Development Corporation is trying to take the ranch away from her father, whose only defender is an educated Indian, Jackson Two-Bears (Tom Nardini
Tom Nardini
- Early life :Born in Los Angeles, California, in 1945 as Thomas Nardino, he was the son of Audrey and Bill Nardino. He attended Beverly Hills High School, graduating in 1963.- Career :He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in Cat Ballou in 1966....
). Clay and Jed appear and reluctantly offer to help Catherine. She also hires legendary gunfighter Kid Shelleen (Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...
) to come and help protect her father from fast-drawing Tim Strawn (also Marvin), alias Silvernose, the hired killer who is threatening Frankie.
Shelleen arrives, a drunken stumblebum who is literally unable to hit the broad side of a barn when he shoots and whose pants fall down when he draws his gun. Strawn kills Frankie, and when the townspeople refuse to bring him to justice, Catherine becomes a revenge-seeking outlaw known as Cat Ballou. She and her four gang members rob a train carrying the Wolf City payroll, and Shelleen, inspired by his love for Cat (unrequited because she loves Clay), shapes up and kills Strawn. Later he casually reveals that Strawn was his brother.
Cat poses as a lady of loose morals and confronts town boss Sir Harry Percival (Reginald Denny
Reginald Denny (actor)
Reginald Denny was an English stage, film, and television actor. He was once an amateur boxing champion of Great Britain.-Acting career:...
), owner of the Wolf City Development Corporation. A struggle ensues, Sir Harry is killed, and Cat is sentenced to be hanged on the gallows. Just after the noose is placed around her neck, Uncle Jed (again as a fake preacher) cuts the rope as she falls through the trapdoor. Her gang then spirits her away in a daring rescue.
Cast
- Jane FondaJane FondaJane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
as Cat Ballou - Lee MarvinLee MarvinLee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...
as Kid Shelleen and Tim Strawn - Michael CallanMichael CallanNot to be confused with Michael Callen.Michael Callan is an American actor.Born Martin Harris Calinieff in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Callan began his career as Mickey Calin, and it was with this name he appeared on Broadway in The Boy Friend , Catch a Star , and West Side Story .Callan's film...
as Clay Boone - Dwayne HickmanDwayne HickmanDwayne Bernard Hickman is a former American actor and television executive at CBS.He is known primarily for his "teenage" actor roles on television sitcoms. The naturally brown-headed Hickman is best known for playing Chuck MacDonald, Bob Collins's crazy teenaged nephew, on the popular 1950s...
as Jed - Nat King ColeNat King ColeNathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
as The Sunrise Kid - Stubby KayeStubby KayeStubby Kaye was an American comic actor. He was born Bernard Kotzin in New York City on the last day of the First World War, at West 114th Street in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan to first generation Jewish-Americans originally from Russia and Austria...
as Professor Sam the Shade - Tom NardiniTom Nardini- Early life :Born in Los Angeles, California, in 1945 as Thomas Nardino, he was the son of Audrey and Bill Nardino. He attended Beverly Hills High School, graduating in 1963.- Career :He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in Cat Ballou in 1966....
as Jackson Two-Bears - John MarleyJohn MarleyJohn Marley 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 of his prized horse in his bed—in The Godfather...
as Frankie Ballou - Reginald DennyReginald Denny (actor)Reginald Denny was an English stage, film, and television actor. He was once an amateur boxing champion of Great Britain.-Acting career:...
as Sir Harry Percival - Arthur HunnicuttArthur HunnicuttArthur Lee Hunnicutt was an American actor known for his portrayal of wise, grizzled, old rural characters...
as Butch CassidyButch CassidyRobert LeRoy Parker , better known as Butch Cassidy, was a notorious American train robber, bank robber, and leader of the Wild Bunch Gang in the American Old West...
Cast notes
- Cole and Kaye are billed onscreen simply as "Shouters". They act as a Greek chorusGreek chorusA Greek chorus is a homogenous, non-individualised group of performers in the plays of classical Greece, who comment with a collective voice on the dramatic action....
, intermittently narrating the story through verses of "The Ballad of Cat Ballou", which, along with the other songs in the film, was written by Mack DavidMack DavidMack David was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning from the early 1940s through the early 1970s. Mack was credited with writing lyrics and/or music for over one thousand songs...
and Jerry LivingstonJerry LivingstonJerry Livingston was an American songwriter, and dance orchestra pianist.-Biography:...
.
Production notes
- At the beginning of the film's opening credits, the Columbia PicturesColumbia PicturesColumbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
"Torch Lady" does a quick-change into a cartoon Cat Ballou, who draws and fires her pistols into the air. - Nat King Cole was ill with lung cancerLung cancerLung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
during the filming of Cat Ballou. A chain smoker most of his life, Cole died several months before the film was released. - Among many others, Kirk DouglasKirk DouglasKirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
allegedly turned down the role of Shelleen; ironically, many years later he would play a similar double role in The Man from Snowy River. Jack PalanceJack PalanceJack Palance , was an American actor. During half a century of film and television appearances, Palance was nominated for three Academy Awards, all as Best Actor in a Supporting Role, winning in 1991 for his role in City Slickers.-Early life:Palance, one of five children, was born Volodymyr...
desperately wanted the role but was never offered it. - Ann-MargretAnn-MargretAnn-Margret Olsson is a Swedish-American actress, singer and dancer whose professional name is Ann-Margret. She became famous for her starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, Viva Las Vegas, The Cincinnati Kid, Carnal Knowledge, and Tommy...
was first choice for the title role but turned it down. - The film was shot in just 28 days.
- The film was director Elliot SilversteinElliot SilversteinElliot Silverstein, born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, on August 3, 1927, is best known for being the director of the movie Cat Ballou.-Career:Elliot Silverstein was the director of six feature films in the mid-twentieth century...
's second feature film, and his relationship with producer Harold HechtHarold HechtHarold Hecht , born in New York City, was an American film producer.Harold Hecht started his involvement with the New York stage at age 16. He appeared in numerous classical stage productions and later danced with the companies of the Metropolitan Opera and Martha Graham...
during filming was not smooth.
Reception and influence
- Although the film received mixed reviews, it was popular with moviegoers, and pulled in $20 million in ticket sales in 1965, a large amount for the time.
- Cat Ballou is the favorite film of comedy directors Bobby & Peter Farrelly, as stated in The AFIAmerican Film InstituteThe American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
100 Years, 100 Laughs television special. The Balladeers from their film, There's Something About MaryThere's Something About MaryThere's Something About Mary is a 1998 American comedy film, directed by the Farrelly brothers, Bobby and Peter. It stars Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon and Ben Stiller, and it is a combination of romantic comedy and gross-out film....
, are inspired by the similar characters in Cat Ballou. - Imagery from the hanging scene of Jane FondaJane FondaJane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
was used in spoofs advocating her execution for treasonTreasonIn law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
following her 1972 visit to HanoiHanoiHanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
to support the communist Vietnamese in their war against the United States (after which she has been dubbed "Hanoi Jane"). A very brief shot from that scene was also used as part of Alex DeLarge's sadistic reverie in the movie A Clockwork OrangeA Clockwork Orange (film)A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 film adaptation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. It was written, directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick...
.
Awards and honors
Lee Marvin awards won- 1965 Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
- 1965 British Academy Award Winner for Best Actor
- 1965 Golden Globe Award Winner for Best Actor
- 1965 Silver Bear for Best ActorSilver Bear for Best ActorThe Silver Bear for Best Actor is the Berlin International Film Festival's award for achievement in performance by an actor.- Awards :- External links :*...
at the 15th Berlin International Film Festival15th Berlin International Film FestivalThe 15th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from June 25 to July 6, 1965.-Jury:* John Gillett * Alexander Kluge* Ely Azeredo* Monique Berger* Kyushiro Kusakabe* Jerry Bresler* Karena Niehoff* Hans Jürgen Pohland...
In his acceptance speech at the Oscars, Lee Marvin opened by saying, "I think I should be sharing this award with a horse somewhere out there in the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
, a reference to the horse Kid Shelleen rode, who appeared to be as drunk as Shelleen was.
Academy Award nominations
- Best Film EditingAcademy Award for Film EditingThe Academy Award for Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since 1981, every film selected as Best Picture has also been nominated for the Film Editing...
- Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or TreatmentAcademy Award for Original Music ScoreThe Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
- Best Music, Song - Jerry LivingstonJerry LivingstonJerry Livingston was an American songwriter, and dance orchestra pianist.-Biography:...
and Mack DavidMack DavidMack David was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning from the early 1940s through the early 1970s. Mack was credited with writing lyrics and/or music for over one thousand songs...
for "The Ballad of Cat Ballou" - Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another MediumAcademy Award for Writing Adapted ScreenplayThe Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
.
American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
recognition
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 MoviesAFI's 100 Years... 100 MoviesThe first of the AFI 100 Years… series of cinematic milestones, AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies is a list of the 100 best American movies, as determined by the American Film Institute from a poll of more than 1,500 artists and leaders in the film industry who chose from a list of 400 nominated movies...
- Nominated - AFI's 100 Years... 100 LaughsAFI's 100 Years... 100 LaughsPart of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years…100 Laughs is a list of the top 100 funniest movies in American cinema. A wide variety of comedies were nominated for the distinction that included slapstick comedy, screwball comedy, romantic comedy, satire, black comedy, musical comedy, comedy of...
- #50 - AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and VillainsAFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and VillainsAFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains is a list of the 100 greatest screen characters chosen by American Film Institute in June 2003. It is part of the AFI 100 Years… series. The series was first presented in a CBS special hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger...
:- Tim Strawn - Nominated Villain
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 SongsAFI's 100 Years... 100 SongsPart of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years…100 Songs is a list of the top 100 songs in American cinema. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute June 22, 2004 in a CBS special hosted by John Travolta, who appeared in two films honored by the list, Saturday Night Fever and...
:- The Ballad of Cat Ballou - Nominated
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) - Nominated
- AFI's 10 Top 10AFI's 10 Top 10AFI's 10 Top 10 honors the ten greatest American films in ten classic film genres. Presented by the American Film Institute , the lists were unveiled on a television special broadcast by CBS on June 17, 2008....
- #10 Western
Honors
In June 2008, AFI revealed its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Cat Ballou was acknowledged as the tenth best film in the Western genre.