Calamity Jane (1953)
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: Calamity Jane is a shameless rip-off of the hit Broadway musical Annie Get Your Gun. There, now that you know, you can sit back and enjoy the movie—if you want to, you can even watch it first!
While blonde cutie-pie Betty Hutton played the gun-toting, masculine Annie Oakley in the film version of Annie Get Your Gun, blonde cutie-pie Doris Day plays the gun-toting masculine Calamity Jane in Calamity Jane. There’s a song of argument between the two leads, a song in which she realizes she’s unexpectedly fallen in love, and a song he sings about his ideal love. In Annie Get Your Gun, Buffalo Bill Cody is a main character; in Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok is a main character. Both plots include tensions involving Native Americans, a show coming to town, a hotel proprietor who complains about actors, and a “makeover” of the tomboy lead to get a man’s attention. Oh, and both versions star Howard Keel as the love interest. See what I mean?
So, if you’ve seen and fallen in love with Annie Get Your Gun, you probably won’t like Calamity Jane. If you’ve never seen Betty Hutton’s performance, you’ll probably think Doris Day is the most adorable cowgirl on the planet and refuse to see the original. I watched Calamity Jane for over ten years in ignorant bliss before I saw the original for the first time, and when I finally did, I was properly chagrined. Doris Day obviously patterned herself after Betty Hutton, and the production values of Annie Get Your Gun are infinitely higher.
I’d recommend watching Calamity Jane first, because you’ll probably love it. Then, when you watch the original, you’ll love that one, too! Now, let’s get to the good parts of the movie musical: Doris Day is absolutely adorable! She’s incomparably cute in her cowgirl digs, rough-talking slang, and blustering bravado. Because underneath it all, we know it’s still the feminine, beautiful, bright Doris Day, and we know it’s only a matter of time before she takes Howard Keel’s advice and fits herself into a dress. One of my favorite lines is when she’s mistaken for a man, and she laughs herself silly. Suddenly she stops—“Come to think of it, that ain’t so funny.”
Howard Keel is utterly yummy and manly in another of his wonderful musical roles. It’s only fitting that they cast Charlton Heston’s look-a-like, Philip Carey, to distract Doris from Howard. If Philip had been replaced by someone less handsome, we’d be wondering what was wrong with Doris, why she’d set her cap at anyone else besides Howard Keel. As it is, Howard is pretty irresistible, and he and Doris have fantastic chemistry together.
The one fly in the ointment is Allyn Ann McLerie, a woman so beautiful and genuine every man in town falls for her. She’s not beautiful, and her character isn’t written to be genuine or trustworthy or nice or grateful—so why does she turn every man’s head? It doesn’t make any sense, but with the cute songs, energetic charm of Doris Day, macho presence of Howard Keel, and the extremely likable Dick Wesson in a surprising and hilarious role—even when he’s not the focus of the scene, he adds subtle touches to his performance—there’s plenty else to love about Calamity Jane. Plus, you’ll never think of honey the same way again after Dick’s song!
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Doris Day movies here!
More Howard Keel movies here!
While blonde cutie-pie Betty Hutton played the gun-toting, masculine Annie Oakley in the film version of Annie Get Your Gun, blonde cutie-pie Doris Day plays the gun-toting masculine Calamity Jane in Calamity Jane. There’s a song of argument between the two leads, a song in which she realizes she’s unexpectedly fallen in love, and a song he sings about his ideal love. In Annie Get Your Gun, Buffalo Bill Cody is a main character; in Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok is a main character. Both plots include tensions involving Native Americans, a show coming to town, a hotel proprietor who complains about actors, and a “makeover” of the tomboy lead to get a man’s attention. Oh, and both versions star Howard Keel as the love interest. See what I mean?
So, if you’ve seen and fallen in love with Annie Get Your Gun, you probably won’t like Calamity Jane. If you’ve never seen Betty Hutton’s performance, you’ll probably think Doris Day is the most adorable cowgirl on the planet and refuse to see the original. I watched Calamity Jane for over ten years in ignorant bliss before I saw the original for the first time, and when I finally did, I was properly chagrined. Doris Day obviously patterned herself after Betty Hutton, and the production values of Annie Get Your Gun are infinitely higher.
I’d recommend watching Calamity Jane first, because you’ll probably love it. Then, when you watch the original, you’ll love that one, too! Now, let’s get to the good parts of the movie musical: Doris Day is absolutely adorable! She’s incomparably cute in her cowgirl digs, rough-talking slang, and blustering bravado. Because underneath it all, we know it’s still the feminine, beautiful, bright Doris Day, and we know it’s only a matter of time before she takes Howard Keel’s advice and fits herself into a dress. One of my favorite lines is when she’s mistaken for a man, and she laughs herself silly. Suddenly she stops—“Come to think of it, that ain’t so funny.”
Howard Keel is utterly yummy and manly in another of his wonderful musical roles. It’s only fitting that they cast Charlton Heston’s look-a-like, Philip Carey, to distract Doris from Howard. If Philip had been replaced by someone less handsome, we’d be wondering what was wrong with Doris, why she’d set her cap at anyone else besides Howard Keel. As it is, Howard is pretty irresistible, and he and Doris have fantastic chemistry together.
The one fly in the ointment is Allyn Ann McLerie, a woman so beautiful and genuine every man in town falls for her. She’s not beautiful, and her character isn’t written to be genuine or trustworthy or nice or grateful—so why does she turn every man’s head? It doesn’t make any sense, but with the cute songs, energetic charm of Doris Day, macho presence of Howard Keel, and the extremely likable Dick Wesson in a surprising and hilarious role—even when he’s not the focus of the scene, he adds subtle touches to his performance—there’s plenty else to love about Calamity Jane. Plus, you’ll never think of honey the same way again after Dick’s song!
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Doris Day movies here!
More Howard Keel movies here!
Hot Toasty Rag Awards:
Best Actress of 1953: Doris Day
Hot Toasty Rag Nominations:
Best Original Song: "The Windy City"