Cat Ballou

This is a great movie and funny for older kids and adults. Lee Marvin gives an incredible performance and truly deserved the Oscar he won for it. The satire is very biting and on target. I cannot recommenced this movie more highly.

I've always loved the Cat Ballou movie and recall seeing it many times over the years, but I only just now purchased the DVD. The movie has a great cast, headed up by a young Jane Fonda and others who were just starting or who were in the prime of their careers. Lee Marvin won an Oscar for his work, even though he was only in 2/3rds of the movie. That said, he played two very different roles and was included in a photo that had everyone talking back in 1965 when the film was made. The famous picture has one of his drunken characters leaning against a building, nearly passed out, while atop his horse. The infamous part of the photo, though, is the pose is that the horse trainer coaxed that horse into by giving him lots of sugar (so I've read). The horse was actually crossing his front legs, so that the horse appears drunk, too. It's a fabulous shot, so much so that at the Oscars when he won, Marvin didn't thank his co-workers, but he thanked the horse! At any rate, this movie is an off-beat western comedy that includes awesome musical narration by Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye. Those two tell the story of Cat Ballou very entertainingly. It's a story of vengeance and romance as Cat (Fonda) goes after the person responsible for her father's death and ends up falling in love. Michael Callan and Dwayne Hickman provided much of the comedic elements. These two performers got together to provide commentary for the movie and they were a hoot. They told stories about making the movie and talked about the actors and how it was working with one another. To me, they seemed honest and respectful. They laughed a lot and apparently have remained good friends over the passing decades. They teased each other a lot about their performance in the movie and other things. They kept in time with the movie, talking about the making of it as they remembered it. I really enjoyed hearing what they had to say. There is a feature on the making of the movie and a trailer for it, as well as trailers for other movies For me, the commentary makes me a happy buyer because Callan and Hickman truly did enjoy themselves and pass on whatever information they could to viewers.

good movie

I saw this when I was a kid, loved it then and LOVED it all over again. Jane Fonda has never been so luscious to look at and a joy to watch. Michael Callhan gives a wonderful performance and this film should've led to bigger parts. Why it didn't remains a bit of a mystery. Lee Marvin shows great comedy chops and commands the screen with the underlying sadness of the character with perfect restraint. Stubby & Nat add a considerable amount of charm as does the old-fashioned Hollywood western attention to details. I'm surprised no one has turned this into a big Broadway musical. In the hands of the right group of inventive Broadway pros, this would be box-office gold

Many people will never have heard of this old comedy western, but it remains a classic in its way, and Lee Marvin's horse ALONE deserved an Oscar.

Cat Ballou is one of the funniest Western spoofs, if not the funniest, to come out of Hollywood. Made in 1965, it features taut writing, songwriting, direction and one of the greatest performances ever by Lee Marvin as Kid Shelleen. Tom Nardini's performance as Jackson Two-Bears is also noteworthy. The movie is narrated by 2 minstrels played by Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye. The songs shine. This movie also features one of the most complex dance sequences I've ever seen in a film. The 2 romantic leads are played by Jane Fonda and Michael Callan. John Marley plays the father of Cat Ballou who speaks Hebrew to Jackson in his belief that Native Americans are a lost tribe of Israel. Lee Marvin, with his elastic long torso, long arms and legs, large head, small eyes & underbite, uses his physical form to hilarious comic effect playing the washed up, drunken, gun fighter. The movie also features the winsome Dwayne Hickman who played Dobie Gillis. The movie asks what happened to the Old West in 1894 with development arriving and Native Americans protected by the 14th amendment? What other comedy would ask these questions? The costumes are well-done particularly the richly colored jacket worn by Nat King Cole. Jane Fonda's eyes in about half of the movie glisten as tho filled with tears (glycerin?) in scenes that don't call for tears. Her hair and makeup are a little distracting but then it's 1965. And, the set design looks like it was constucted from cardboard and balsa wood. However, this movie didn't call for great set design. It works well despite it. I gave it 5 stars.

An iconic Sixties comedy. Between Lee Marvin, our balladeers-Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye, the inept but lovable trio Dwayne Hickman, Michael Callan, and Tom Nardi, and of course, the horse, it’s terrific in every frame. Only downside is the rollicking theme song will stick in your head for days- “Cat Ballooooo!” If you’re familiar with this movie from way back, does this disc have a treat for you: Michael Callan and Dwayne Hickman do the commentary and it is a hoot. It’s just what you want, a fun look back and they are ACTUALLY WATCHING the movie, not droning on about the slightest tangential trivia while ignoring the film scenes play by as most “bonus commentary” does. It’s the best commentary I’ve heard since Burt Reynolds did it for his Longest Yard dvd. Yep, beware of those Film Historian dudes and dudettes. They sit around pretentiously yakking back and forth while totally ignoring the movie onscreen. That’s just plain disrespectful. So you really get two versions of Cat Ballou here. I sat through the movie again just to hear a delightful conversation with Callan and Hickman. Somebody deserves real credit for getting their services.

Very funny movie