Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

mark.waltz It seems fitting that if Annie Oakley could get her own musical comedy, so could Calamity Jane! And if a brassy blonde like Betty Hutton could get MGM to cast her as Annie (replacing the brunette Judy Garland), why wouldn't Warner Brothers repeat the same formula by casting their biggest blonde star, Doris Day? Joining Jean Arthur (in "The Plainsman") and Yvonne DeCarlo (in "Calamity Jane and Sam Bass") as other actresses who played "Calam" (as Howard Keel constantly refers to her as), Day has become the most famous. Unlike Arthur and Russell, Ms. Day got songs, and an Oscar Winning one, too, "Secret Love", which was her most popular hit until a certain children's song in Alfred Hitchcock's "The Man Who Knew Too Much" came along and became her theme.While "Annie Get Your Gun" is still a fable of Ms. Oakley's life, there are more more truths in that story than this one, but that doesn't matter, because as entertainment, "CJ" is fantastically fun. The fictionalizes story has Calamity as the sharp-shooting guard of the Deadwood Stage, in love with Philip Carey, scrapping with Keel (who played a similar role in "AGYG"), and upset when a stage star's maid (Allyn Ann McLearie) shows up pretending to be her employer and wins the affections of both men. A few of the songs are parallels to other Broadway hits. "The Windy City" was obviously influenced by "Oklahoma's" "Kansas City", while the absolutely disappointing "I Can Do Without You" is an obvious rip- off of "Anything You Can Do" from "AGYG". But "Deadwood Stage" is a fun opening, mixing into "I'm Glad to Say He's a Very Good Friend of Mine", which introduces the townspeople in Calamity's community. ("Guaranteed to put hair on a billiard ball!" is my favorite lyric.) Keel's presence (on loan from MGM) made me wonder the circumstances surrounding his casting, whether or not Day's regular partner Gordon MacRae turned the role down or was unavailable. (MGM & Warner Brothers swapped a lot of stars that year.) Keel brings a masculine presence to the role and his deep base voice was one of the finest on screen. Future soap star Philip Carey ("One Life to Live"), already a rising western star, makes a fine friendly rival for Keel. McLearie, fresh from her own Broadway stardom in "Where's Charley?" and "Miss Liberty", gets to be both lovely and humorous, and her duet of "A Woman's Touch" with Ms. Day (turning Calamity from masculine but pretty plain Jane into a clothes horse with mud on her train) is fresh and charming. The usually annoying Dick Wesson offers some genuine laughs in a campy drag number, and fortunately is not on screen long enough to be irritating.As for Day, this is probably her most popular Warners musical (although I find "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" and "The Pajama Game" to be the best ones) and definitely her feistiest performance. She goes from rough and tough to sweet when she sings the beautiful "Secret Love" which is a lovely sequence. "The Black Hills of Dakota" for me was another major highlight. While this has not (yet) made it to Broadway, there was a brief touring production in the 60's with Carol Burnett (who would star in the TV version and later spoof Doris and Rock Hudson on her TV show) and a fun concept stage recording with Debbie Shapiro Gravitte. The 1984 TV movie on Calamity Jane's "real" life with Jane Alexander is one that will never be confused with this musical. Que Sera Sera!

mike48128 The reviews for this little movie are funnier than the film. Complaints about "cross-dressing" and shooting "Indians". Lighten up! It's a 1950's musical Western after all. It's not going to be "PC" but it's mostly innocent fun for all. Certainly not "Annie Get Your Gun", but a light, happy show with a few good tunes (not all) and an Oscar-winning song:"Secret Love". Howard Keel is in good form here, but the songs are not up to "7 Brides" or "Showboat" quality. Doris appears to do some of her own stunts, some of the riding, and appears to be hauled-up to the 2nd floor of the saloon (probably on a wire). She's quite athletic. Watch this with either of the Bob Hope "Paleface" movies and you will see the easy comparison between the two. Like I said, fun to watch.

Spikeopath Calamity Jane is directed by David Butler and written by James O'Hanlon. It stars Doris Day, Howard Keel, Allyn Ann McLerie, Phillip Carey & Dick Wesson. The score features music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster. Out of Warner Brothers, the film is seen as a response to the success of MGM's production of Annie Get Your Gun in 1950, where Keel was also starring. Plot here is loosely based on the life of Wild West heroine Calamity Jane (Day) and explores the relationship between Wild Bill Hickok (Keel) and herself. I guess the first thing that should be said is that this is no biography of one Martha Jane Cannary Burke (AKA: Calamity Jane), In truth this is more a comedy musical romp built around the famous frontiers woman. And with it being very basic on narrative and direction, this really only appeals to the film fan with musical leanings. But on that score the film is delightful, with spirited lead performances from Day & Keel and a handful of truly great tunes headed by the Oscar winning "Secret Love". The film also earns some bonus points for giving Day the chance to play something other than the naive innocent girl next door type (it was a personal favourite role of hers). She gets to be spunky and brash without ever losing that adorable appeal that carried her throughout her career. The play on sexual stereotypes is rather humorous without being twee, something that you feel Butler was under appreciated for, and Wilfred M. Cline's colour photography enhances the playfulness of it all. Seen now as a feminist fantasy with a gay following thanks to "Secret Love", there's no denying the film is all very Hollywoodized; with characters so animated they could burst. But all told, if one is able to forgive and see past its flaws then it's a film guaranteed to light up the darkest of wintry days. 7/10

krisroboneil Make it this one ! With so many wonderful performances to pick from, I think of this as her best performance. She is so dynamic and alive in this role.It's a very cute story. The supporting cast members are all excellent. It's a beautiful movie to look at. The songs are wonderful. They're infectious. I love the Deadwood Stage - Whip crack away ! It's not just one of the best Doris Day musicals - it's one of the very best musicals on film. Doris Day is an amazing powerhouse. She looks incredible in her leather outfit and stunningly beautiful in her dress for the ball. There's a wonderful scene where she transforms a run-down cabin into a darling cottage while singing a merry song. Not very realistic, but that's why musicals are so fun. I now call Chicago "Chi-caw-gee" because of this movie. Really cute. Don't miss.