Cat Ballou

{{short description|1965 film by Elliot Silverstein}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2021}} {{Use American English|date=October 2021}} {{Infobox film | name = Cat Ballou | image = Cat Ballou Poster.jpeg | caption = Theatrical release poster | producer = Harold Hecht | director = Elliot Silverstein | based_on = ''The Ballad of Cat Ballou'' 1956 novel by Roy Chanslor | writer = Walter Newman Frank Pierson | starring = Jane Fonda Lee Marvin Michael Callan Dwayne Hickman Nat King Cole Stubby Kaye | cinematography = Jack A. Marta | editing = Charles Nelson | music = Frank De Vol ''(score)'' Mack David ''(songs)'' Jerry Livingston ''(songs)'' | production_companies = {{Plain list| * Harold Hecht Corporation }} | distributor = Columbia Pictures | released = {{Film date|1965|05|07|Denver|ref1=<ref>{{cite web |url=http://catalog.afi.com/Film/23121-CAT-BALLOU?sid=12b4fd59-d2c7-4c0d-9392-e9adc9e3fabe&sr=6.292718&cp=1&pos=0#3 |title=Cat Ballou - Details |website=AFI Catalog of Feature Films |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=November 18, 2018 |archive-date=November 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119132525/http://catalog.afi.com/Film/23121-CAT-BALLOU?sid=12b4fd59-d2c7-4c0d-9392-e9adc9e3fabe&sr=6.292718&cp=1&pos=0#3 |url-status=live }}</ref>|1965|06|18|Los Angeles}} | runtime = 96 minutes | country = United States | language = English | gross = $20.7 million<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1965/0CABA.php|publisher=The Numbers|title=Cat Ballou, Box Office Information|access-date=January 22, 2013|archive-date=September 28, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928234506/http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1965/0CABA.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=tcmart>Cole, Georgelle. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110921222215/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/4484/Cat-Ballou/#articles-reviews "Cat Ballou"] on TCM.com</ref> }}

'''''Cat Ballou''''' is a 1965 American Western comedy film starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin, who won an Academy Award for his dual role. The story involves a woman who hires a notorious gunman to protect her father's ranch and later to avenge his murder, only to find that the gunman is not what she expected. The supporting cast features Tom Nardini, Michael Callan, Dwayne Hickman and Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye, who together perform the film's theme song, in addition to appearing throughout the film in the form of travelling minstrels or troubadours as a kind of musical Greek chorus and framing device.

The film was directed by Elliot Silverstein from a screenplay by Walter Newman and Frank Pierson adapted from the 1956 novel ''The Ballad of Cat Ballou'' by Roy Chanslor, who also wrote the novel filmed as ''Johnny Guitar''. Chanslor's novel was a serious Western, and though it was turned into a comedy for the film, the filmmakers retained some darker elements. The film references many classic Western films, notably ''Shane''. The film was selected by the American Film Institute as the 10th greatest Western of all time in its AFI's 10 Top 10 list in 2008.

==Plot== Catherine "Cat" Ballou, a notorious outlaw, is set to be hanged in the small town of Wolf City, Wyoming. Two banjo and guitar playing "Shouters", Professor Sam the Shade and the Sunrise Kid, sing the ballad of Cat Ballou and regale the audience with the tale of how she began her career of crime.

Some months prior, Catherine, then an aspiring schoolteacher, is returning home by train to Wolf City from finishing school. On the way, she unwittingly helps accused cattle rustler Clay Boone elude his captor, Sheriff Maledon, when Boone's Uncle Jed, disguised as a preacher, distracts the lawman.

Arriving home at her father Frankie Ballou's ranch, Catherine learns that the Wolf City Development Corporation is scheming to take his ranch. Frankie's sole defender is his ranch hand, educated Native American Jackson Two-Bears. Clay and Jed appear and reluctantly offer to help Catherine. She hires legendary gunfighter Kid Shelleen to help protect her father from gunslinger Tim Strawn, the tin-nosed hired killer who is threatening him.

Shelleen arrives and proves to be a drunken bum who is a crack shot only when he is inebriated. His presence proves to be useless, as Strawn abruptly kills Frankie. When the townspeople refuse to bring Strawn to justice, Catherine becomes a revenge-seeking outlaw, known as Cat Ballou. She and her gang rob a train carrying the Wolf City payroll, then take refuge in the desperado hideout "Hole-in-the-Wall". Shelleen is shocked to discover the legendary outlaw Cassidy is, now, a humble saloonkeeper in Hole-in-the-Wall.

The gang is thrown out when it is learned what they have done, due to Hole-in-the-Wall's continued existence being dependent on the sufferance of Wolf City. Strawn arrives and threatens Cat. Shelleen, motivated by his affection for Cat, works himself into shape. Dressed up in his finest gunfighter outfit, he goes into town and kills Strawn, then reveals he is Strawn's brother.

Cat poses as a prostitute and confronts Sir Harry Percival, the head of the Wolf City Development Corporation. She attempts to force him into confessing that he ordered her father's murder. A struggle ensues; Sir Harry is killed, and Cat is sentenced to be hanged. With Sir Harry dead, Wolf City's future is hopeless, and the townspeople have no mercy for Cat. As the noose is placed around her neck, Uncle Jed, again disguised as a preacher, appears and cuts the rope just as the trapdoor opens. Cat safely falls through and onto a wagon, and her gang spirits her away in a daring rescue.

==Cast==  {{Cast listing| *Jane Fonda as Cat Ballou *Lee Marvin as Shelleen and Strawn *Michael Callan as Clay Boone *Dwayne Hickman as Jed *Nat King Cole as one of the shouters{{efn|name=Shouter|Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye (who introduce each other's character, in the opening song, as Sunrise Kid and Sam the Shade, respectively), are billed simply as "Shouters", acting as a Greek chorus. They intermittently appear onscreen to narrate the story through ongoing verses of the ballad, one of the songs written by Mack David and Jerry Livingston for the film.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110921222215/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/4484/Cat-Ballou/#credits "Music"] on TCM.com</ref>}} *Stubby Kaye as one of the shouters{{efn|name=Shouter}} *Tom Nardini as Jackson Two-Bears *John Marley as Frankie Ballou *Reginald Denny as Sir Harry Percival *Jay C. Flippen as Sheriff Cardigan *Arthur Hunnicutt as Butch Cassidy *Bruce Cabot as Sheriff Maledon *Burt Mustin as the accuser *Paul Gilbert as Train Messenger }}

==Production== ''Cat Ballou'' was director Elliot Silverstein's second feature film, with the pressure of filming leading to some quarrels with the producer Harold Hecht, although the film was ultimately a box office success.<ref name=tcmart />

Ann-Margret was the first choice for the title role, but her manager turned it down without letting the actress know.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Jim |last=Watters |title=Ann-Margret's Juicy Role |magazine=People |date=March 24, 1975 |volume=3 |issue=11 |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20065073,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123095259/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20065073,00.html |archive-date=November 23, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Ann-Margret wrote in her autobiography that she would have taken the part.<ref>{{cite web |first=Andrea |last=Passafiume |title=Cat Ballou (1965) |publisher=TCM Movie Database |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/4484/cat-ballou#articles-reviews |access-date=2024-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504111220/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/4484/Cat-Ballou/articles.html |archive-date=2017-05-04 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Among others, Kirk Douglas and Dick Van Dyke turned down the role of Shelleen.<ref name=tcmart /><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/dick-van-dyke-reveals-iconic-hollywood-roles-he-passed-on/ | title=Dick van Dyke Reveals Iconic Hollywood Roles He Passed on | date=December 14, 2023 }}</ref> Michael Callan was under contract to Columbia.<ref name="callan">{{cite magazine|access-date=6 April 2025|date=6 April 2025|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/not-quite-movie-stars-michael-callan/|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|title=Not Quite Movie Stars: Michael Callan}}</ref>

The film was shot on location in Colorado, including parts of Canon City and Texas Creek, as well as the ghost towns of Rosita and Buckskin Joe. It was also filmed around the Tunnel Drive Trail and the Wet Mountain Valley.<ref>"Custer, Fremont Counties Selected for Film Locale". ''Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph''. September 5, 1964. p. 22.</ref>

Nat King Cole was ill with lung cancer during the filming of ''Cat Ballou''. A chain smoker, Cole died four months before the film was released.

Jay C. Flippen suffered a circulatory failure during filming and, as a result, later had his leg amputated, due to gangrene.<ref name=afi>{{AFI film|23121}}</ref>

==Reception== ===Box office=== ''Cat Ballou'' earned over $20.6{{nbsp}}million in North America, making it the 7th highest-grossing film of 1965.<ref name=tcmart />

===Critical response=== {{RT data|prose|consensus=|ref=yes}} {{MC film|60|7|ref=yes|access-date=2024-12-15}}

Bosley Crowther of ''The New York Times'' called it "a breezy little film" which "does have flashes of good satiric wit. But, under Elliott Silverstein's direction, it is mostly just juvenile lampoon."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Crowther |first=Bosley |author-link=Bosley Crowther |date=June 25, 1965 |title=The Screen: 'Cat Ballou' |journal=The New York Times |page=36 }}</ref> ''Variety'' wrote that the film "emerges middlingly successful, sparked by an amusing way-out approach and some sparkling performances."<ref>{{cite journal |date=May 12, 1965 |title=Cat Ballou |journal=Variety |page=6 }}</ref> Richard L. Coe of ''The Washington Post'' praised the film as a "springy satire", adding, "What makes this fun is the style. Forming a mighty cool duo, Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye sing their way in and out of the plot with folk songs which Cole 'Don't Fence Me In' Porter would have relished. The format is novel and stylishly delivered."<ref>{{cite news |last=Coe |first=Richard L. |author-link=Richard L. Coe |date=June 24, 1965 |title='Cat Ballou' Is Zingy Spoof |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=D20 }}</ref> Pauline Kael in ''Film Quarterly'' called it "lumpen, coy, and obvious, a self-consciously cute movie," adding that "mainly it is full of sort-of-funny and trying-to-be-funny ''ideas'' and a movie is not just ideas."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kael |first=Pauline |author-link=Pauline Kael |date=Fall 1965 |title=Cat Ballou |journal=Film Quarterly |volume=19 |issue=1 |page=54 |doi=10.2307/1210823 |jstor=1210823 }}</ref> Philip K. Scheuer of the ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote, "I'm in the minority, apparently. ''Cat Ballou,'' which is being hailed as a cowboy ''Tom Jones'' or something of the sort, seems to me about as funny as a soundtrack burp."<ref>Scheuer, Philip K. (June 19, 1965). "Why the Hullabaloo About 'Cat Ballou?'" ''Los Angeles Times''. p. 19.</ref> ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' wrote, "The jokes in ''Cat Ballou'' are uneven, but the mood behind the film is happily consistent."<ref>{{cite journal |date=September 1965 |title=Cat Ballou |journal=The Monthly Film Bulletin |volume=32 |issue=380 |page=131 }}</ref>

===Awards and nominations=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |- ! Award ! Category ! Nominee(s) ! Result ! Ref. |- | rowspan="5"| Academy Awards | Best Actor | Lee Marvin | {{won}} | align="center" rowspan="5"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1966 |title=The 38th Academy Awards (1966) Nominees and Winners |access-date=August 24, 2011 |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111233714/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1966 |archive-date=January 11, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> |- | Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium | Walter Newman and Frank Pierson | {{nom}} |- | Best Film Editing | Charles Nelson | {{nom}} |- | Best Original Score | Frank De Vol | {{nom}} |- | Best Song | "The Ballad of Cat Ballou" Music by Jerry Livingston; Lyrics by Mack David | {{nom}} |- | rowspan="4"| Berlin International Film Festival | Golden Bear | Elliot Silverstein | {{nom}} | align="center" rowspan="4"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1965/03_preistr_ger_1965/03_Preistraeger_1965.html |title=Berlinale 1965: Prize Winners |access-date=2010-02-28 |work=berlinale.de |archive-date=2013-10-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015121015/http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1965/03_preistr_ger_1965/03_Preistraeger_1965.html |url-status=live}}</ref> |- | Best Actor | Lee Marvin | {{won}} |- | Special Mention | Walter Newman and Frank Pierson | {{won}} |- | Youth Film Award – Honorable Mention | Elliot Silverstein | {{won}} |- | rowspan="3"| British Academy Film Awards | Best Foreign Actor | Lee Marvin | {{won}} | align="center" rowspan="3"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1966/film |title=BAFTA Awards: Film in 1966 |publisher=BAFTA |access-date=16 September 2016}}</ref> |- | Best Foreign Actress | Jane Fonda | {{nom}} |- | Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles | Tom Nardini | {{nom}} |- | Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Elliot Silverstein | {{nom}} | align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dga.org/Awards/History/1960s/1965.aspx?value=1965 |title=18th DGA Awards |publisher=Directors Guild of America Awards |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref> |- | rowspan="5"| Golden Globe Awards | colspan="2"| Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | {{nom}} | align="center" rowspan="5"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/cat-ballou/ |title=Cat Ballou |publisher=Golden Globe Foundation |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref> |- | Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | Lee Marvin | {{won}} |- | Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | Jane Fonda | {{nom}} |- | Best Original Song – Motion Picture | "The Ballad of Cat Ballou" Music by Jerry Livingston; Lyrics by Mack David | {{nom}} |- | Most Promising Newcomer – Male | Tom Nardini | {{nom}} |- | rowspan="4"| Laurel Awards | colspan="2"| Top Comedy | {{won}} | align="center" rowspan="4"| |- | Top Male Comedy Performance | Lee Marvin | {{nom}} |- | Top Female Comedy Performance | Jane Fonda | {{won}} |- | Top Song | "The Ballad of Cat Ballou" Music by Jerry Livingston; Lyrics by Mack David | {{nom}} |- | National Board of Review Awards | rowspan="2" | Best Actor | Lee Marvin {{small|(also for ''Ship of Fools'')}} | {{won}} | align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1965/ |title=1965 Award Winners |publisher=National Board of Review |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref> |- | New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Lee Marvin | {{nom}} | align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nyfcc.com/awards/?awardyear=1965 |title=1965 New York Film Critics Circle Awards |publisher=New York Film Critics Circle |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref> |- | Writers Guild of America Awards | Best Written American Comedy | Walter Newman and Frank Pierson | {{nom}} | align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |title=Awards Winners |publisher=Writers Guild of America Awards |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205095022/http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |archive-date=2012-12-05 |access-date=2010-06-06}}</ref> |}

In his Academy Award acceptance speech, Lee Marvin concluded by saying: "I think, though, that half of this belongs to a horse somewhere out in San Fernando Valley", a reference to the horse Kid Shelleen rode, which appeared to be as drunk as Shelleen was.<ref name=osborne>Osborne, Robert. Outro to Turner Classic Movies presentation of ''Cat Ballou'' (May 14, 2011)</ref>

===American Film Institute=== * 1998: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – Nominated<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/movies400.pdf |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies Nominees |access-date=2016-08-06 |archive-date=2013-10-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131026011242/http://afi.com/Docs/100Years/movies400.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> * 2000: AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – #50<ref>{{cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/laughs100.pdf |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=2016-08-06 |archive-date=2013-03-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316140859/http://afi.com/Docs/100Years/laughs100.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> * 2003: AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains: ** Tim Strawn – Nominated Villain<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/handv400.pdf |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains Nominees |access-date=2016-08-06 |archive-date=2013-11-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104022712/http://www.afi.com/Docs/100years/handv400.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> * 2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs: ** "The Ballad of Cat Ballou" – Nominated<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/songs400.pdf |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs Nominees |access-date=2016-08-06 |archive-date=2015-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417023552/http://afi.com/Docs/100Years/songs400.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> * 2007: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – Nominated<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100YearsMovies_ballot_06.pdf |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies Nominees (10th Anniversary Edition) |access-date=2016-08-06 |archive-date=2016-10-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008220747/http://www.afi.com/Docs/100YearsMovies_ballot_06.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> * 2008: AFI's 10 Top 10: ** #10 Western Film<ref>{{cite web |title=AFI's 10 Top 10: Top 10 Western |url=http://www.afi.com/10top10/category.aspx?cat=3 |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=2016-08-06 |archive-date=2016-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624042805/http://afi.com/10top10/category.aspx?cat=3 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Television pilots== Two separate television pilots were filmed. A 1970 pilot, written and produced by Aaron Ruben, featured Lesley Ann Warren as Cat, Jack Elam as Kid Shelleen and Tom Nardini repeating his role, while a 1971 pilot starred Jo Ann Harris as Cat, Forrest Tucker as Kid Shelleen and Lee J. Casey as Jackson Two-Bears.<ref>{{cite book |first=Lee |last=Goldberg |title=Unsold Television Pilots: 1955-1990 |year=1991 |publisher=Citadel Press |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/unsoldtvpilotsal0000gold/page/n5/mode/2up |chapter=Big Screen to Small Screen {{!}} Pilots Based on Movies |page=89 |isbn=978-0-8065-1242-6 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/unsoldtvpilotsal0000gold/page/88/mode/2up?q=Ballou |access-date=2024-12-16 |url-access=limited |via=Internet Archive Book Reader}}</ref>

==In popular culture== *''Cat Ballou'' is the favorite film of comedy directors Bobby and Peter Farrelly, as stated in The AFI ''100 Years, 100 Laughs'' television special. The Balladeers from their film, ''There's Something About Mary'', are inspired by similar characters in ''Cat Ballou''. *Imagery from the hanging scene of Jane Fonda was spoofed advocating her execution for treason, following her 1972 visit to Hanoi. A brief test shot from that scene was used as part of Alex DeLarge's sadistic reverie in the movie ''A Clockwork Orange''. *"Cat Ballou" is a card in the Spaghetti Western board game ''Bang!'' *In a 2014 interview on NPR, actor Bryan Cranston called ''Cat Ballou'' the "movie that had the most impact" on him when he was growing up.<ref>Gross, Terry. [https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=295246908 "''Fresh Air'': From Walter White To LBJ, Bryan Cranston Is A Master Of Transformation"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021085909/http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=295246908 |date=2017-10-21 }} NPR (March 27, 2014)</ref> *Part of the opening animation of the Columbia logo featuring Jane Fonda was incorporated in the beginning of ''Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'' (2018).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Beck |first1=Jerry |author1-link=Jerry Beck |title=The Trippy Columbia Logo Art in "Spider-Man Into The Spiderverse" |url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/the-trippy-columbia-logo-art-in-spider-man-into-the-spiderverse/ |website=Cartoon Research |access-date=April 4, 2021 |date=December 31, 2018 |archive-date=February 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227123032/https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/the-trippy-columbia-logo-art-in-spider-man-into-the-spiderverse/ |url-status=live }}</ref> *In episode 69 of the popular fiction podcast ''Welcome to Night Vale'', Cecil Palmer mentions that he watched this movie with his boyfriend Carlos the Scientist repeatedly. Later episodes confirm that Cecil is a fan of the film, and episode 192, "It Doesn't Hold Up" features Cecil discussing the film.

==See also== *List of American films of 1965

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{IMDb title}} * {{TCMDb title}}

Category:1965 films Category:1965 directorial debut films Category:1965 musical comedy films Category:1960s crime comedy films Category:1960s feminist films Category:1960s historical comedy films Category:1965 American films Category:1965 English-language films Category:1960s Western (genre) comedy films Category:1960s Western (genre) musical films Category:American historical comedy films Category:American musical comedy films Category:American Western (genre) comedy films Category:American Western (genre) musical films Category:Columbia Pictures films Category:English-language crime comedy films Category:English-language historical comedy films Category:English-language musical comedy films Category:English-language Western (genre) comedy films Category:English-language Western (genre) musical films Category:Films about capital punishment Category:Films about siblicide Category:Films based on American novels Category:Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award–winning performance Category:Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe winning performance Category:Films directed by Elliot Silverstein Category:Films produced by Harold Hecht Category:Films scored by Frank De Vol Category:Films set in 1894 Category:Films set in Wyoming Category:Films shot in Colorado Category:Films with screenplays by Walter Newman (screenwriter) Category:Self-reflexive films Category:Western (genre) heroes