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Visitors Review

2013-05-21 20:03:43

A very funny offbeat western!

This original script became a cult movie from its instantaneous release. Lee Marvin received the Academy Award and also the coveted Silver Bear as Best Actor.It's a true treat!

2013-05-21 02:51:14

Great Movie

This review is from: Cat Ballou [VHS] (VHS Tape) I have always enjoyed watching this movie. It is wonderful to have it in my collection. Lee Marvin is wonderful!

tamstrat 2013-05-19 14:37:23

My my that whiskey will do your mind

This is my all time favorite Jane Fonda movie. She plays the role of"Cat Ballou" as a lark, very funny, sexy and sweet. The schoolmarmturned outlaw due to the death of her father is a very fun movie towatch. The supporting characters, including the amazing Lee Marvin areunforgettable. Lee Marvin, in dual roles of Kid Sheelan and the baddieTim Strawn leaves a lasting impression. His drunken gunslinger stealsevery scene he is in bar none. He plays the part with hilariousconviction and Jane Fonda plays her role with just the right amount ofinnocence, anger and sexiness. Always worth watching. John Marley playsCat's father. He is hilarious as the rancher who refues to cooperatewith the local authorities. This movie holds up well and is just as funto watch today as it was when it was released all those years ago.

2013-05-19 11:04:20

Very special memories

I have loved this movie since I was a little girl. Being from Wyoming, this movie always held a special place in my heart--I even know where Hole In The Wall is located. After school, my younger brother and I would gather up the neighbor kids and we all got on our horses and took off to play "Cat Ballou." We had a great time being "outlaws." This movie was so much fun. It may poke fun at the classic western, but it is such a joy to watch that even the most hard core western fan would have to get a kick out watching this group of misfits. And it carries on the true western theme--good conquers evil--even if it is outside what the powers that be considers legal. I just love this movie. Now my children love it too. Soon my grandson will also love it!

2013-05-19 05:41:06

Steiger Wuz Robbed

This review is from: Cat Ballou (Special Edition) (DVD) I'm a little ambivalent towards this genteel western comedy. Lee Marvin is one of my all-time favorite actors giving masterful turns in "Point Blank" and "The Big Red One" among many others. Marvin is more than adequate as Kid Shelleen but, be real, it's a glorified supporting turn. Marvin's work here does not hold a candle to the work of Rod Steiger in "The Pawnbroker" and Richard Burton in "The Spy Who Came In From the Cold" who both lost the Oscar to Marvin. Oscar righted itself two years later by rewarding Steiger for "In the Heat of the Night" but gold was never bestowed on Burton despite seven nods. I also recall that years ago TBS was showing "Cat Ballou" ad nauseum when Ted Turner was sparking Jane Fonda. Despite these peeves Marvin is engaging and Fonda does a winsome turn as the schoolmarm turned outlaw. I also can't diss any flick that features the great character actor, John Marley, who plays Fonda's father and doesn't fail to disappoint here. Marley gave similarly memorable turns in "Love Story" and "The Godfather".

2013-05-18 16:44:45

How The West Was REALLY Won!

This review is from: Cat Ballou [VHS] (VHS Tape) This is easily one of the funniest Westerns ever filmed! Jane Fonda plays the bad good girl Cat with the same verve she has in real life; Dwayne Hickman puts the "Good Book" to unexpected use; Lee Marvin earned his Best Supporting Actor several times over! Nat "King" Cole and Stubby Kaye were good as a latter-day Greek Chorus! Best idea? Watch a serious Western such as "High Noon", then get a few laughs with this "oater"!

2013-05-12 07:43:01

Classic comedy's

This review is from: Cat Ballou (Special Edition) (DVD) Another great old movie with good actors of the day, funny, clean humor and enjoyable for all to see. Really enjoyed seeing this again, hadnt seen since i was young.

2013-05-11 20:09:53

Great Seller!

This review is from: Cat Ballou (Special Edition) (DVD) Very nice product, fast shipping! Thanks, I enjoyed the DVD very much!

2013-05-03 08:55:10

Funny

This review is from: Cat Ballou (Amazon Instant Video) What a wonderful campy film. I love all the characters but Lee Marvin as Kid Shelleen really makes this film for me. If you love funny campy movies, you will love this one.

2013-05-02 22:49:29

I will not inflict myself on you further

This movie combines the seriousness of western with light humor to create a movie that nearly holds a niche by itself. Catherine "Cat" Ballou is an innocent school teacher returning home to the family ranch, where she finds that her father is slowly being driven off the ranch. She also encounters characters during her return home and on the family ranch that are quite unusual.Initially Catherine (Jane Fonda) plays a complete innocent. We meet Catherine on a train, where she encounters two men, one, Clay Boone (Michael Callan) is in handcuffs. The other is a drunken preacher named Jed (Dwayne Hickman), who carries a bible that has hidden attributes. Jed's often repeated line is "Ma'am, I apologize for my disgusting condition and I assure you I will not inflict myself on you any further." Soon Catherine finds herself in her delicates with Clay Boone next to her as he makes his escape from the sheriff and leaves the train, stealing a kiss from beautiful Catherine in the process.On her return home, Catherine quickly realizes that something is wrong. The cattle and horses are gone, and everything appears run down. Native American Jackson Two-Bears (Tom Nardini) is now working for her father. Jackson behaves in a most uncharacteristic fashion compared to the typical stereotype of Native Americans as usually portrayed in the 1960s. Jackson frequently makes comments on things white men usually think about Native Americans, with the point typically being that they are wrong. Soon Clay Boone and Jed also show up, and Catherine begs them all to protect her father from noseless killer Tim Strawn (Lee Marvin). In spite of Catherine's best efforts Strawn cold-bloodedly murders her father. Soon Catherine is being thrown off the family ranch.To help protect her father, Catherine wrote to gunfighter Kid Shelleen (Marvin, in a second role), sending him $50 as a retainer. When Shelleen shows up it turns out that he is a drunkard. However, having read a number of stories about the famous Kid Shelleen, Catherine retains faith in him.Soon Cat is encouraging the others to rob a train to get back at those who harmed her father. When the robbery nets far more than expected, Sir Harry Percival (Reginald Denny) sends Strawn after Cat, initially to encourage Cat to return the money. When Kid Shelleen realizes that Strawn is about, he sobers up quickly, and in an excellent series of scenes, transforms from a drunken slob into a genuine gunfighter. After Kid Shelleen and Strawn take care of their business, Cat goes to talk to Sir Harry Percival to get him to sign a confession that he ordered her father's death. When he refuses, the gun goes off and Cat ends up in jail, on a trip to the gallows, once more looking heart-breakingly beautiful and innocent.We have musical narrators throughout this movie, in the form of Professor Sam the Shade (Nat King Cole) and The Sunrise Kid (Stubby Kaye).While the pair are occasionally distracting, the songs are generally good, and are often used to introduce the upcoming scene. This appearance was Cole's last, as he passed away several months before the release of the film.There are several standout performances in this movie, including Jane Fonda's. However, the best performance is that of Lee Marvin in the dual roles. Lee Marvin was awarded the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 1966 for his performance. He also won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts award for Best Foreign Actor, the Silver Berlin Bear at the International Berlin Film Festival, the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actor in a Musical or Comedy, the Laurel Award for Male Comedy Performance, and the National Board of Review award for Best Actor. In total, this movie received 12 nominations for various awards and won 10 awards. If there had been such an award, the horse Marvin used near the end of the film should have received an award as well, as the horse appears to look as down and out as the horse's rider.This movie does not have the raw and riotous humor of "Blazing Saddles." The book on which this movie was based was a serious western. The humorous elements were added to change the tone of the movie. The humor is not as subtle as the humor in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." However, there are numerous places where the script gets a smile, and there are several worthy of a laugh.This DVD contains a number of extras of varying value. The "Legend of Cat Ballou" may be the best feature. The audio commentary is interesting, if you like hearing nostalgic memories of how a movie was made.One small detail I noticed. Kid Shelleen sang "Happy Birthday" at one point in the movie. The lyrics for "Happy Birthday" were not written until the next century, and each time I see that scene I must admit I am slightly distracted by the relatively glaring inaccuracy. There are other inaccuracies, but they are typically more subtle.I originally saw this movie in 1965 when it was released. I am surprised and pleased that the movie has aged well. While some recall Jane Fonda with distaste for her behavior a few years later, here Fonda is beautiful and perfect for this part. Lee Marvin reminds us all of why he was considered a great actor. If you consider yourself a fan of westerns, or Lee Marvin, and if you liked movies like "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "Blazing Saddles," and "Two Mules for Sister Sara," I think you will enjoy this one as well.

Geordie-4 2013-04-25 22:58:33

Wacky, funny, goofy movie

Well, this is an odd movie. A Western with a (beautiful) femaleprotagonist, the young Jane Fonda. She seeks to avenge the death of herfather and is "helped" by four differing types. A very light-hearted film,really a piece of fluff. Nevertheless, Tom Nardini as Jackson Two Bears hassome sly commentary on the plight of the Indians. I thought Lee Marvin wasquite creative in this role, but I don't really know why he won an Oscar. However I do think it's good that the Academy actually gave out Oscars forcomedies, something they seem to do very little these days, fearingappearing too light-hearted. Anyway, Fonda does fine, although I foundStubby Kaye and Nat King Cole a bit offputting with their narration. Perhaps it was meant to be a nice diversion, but, perhaps given my moreironic viewpoint of this day and age, I thought that it seemed out of placein the film. It seemed counter to the tone of the movie and intrusive. Itworked in "There's Something About Mary", but not here-though they both havegreat voices. Anyway, a nice little bit of fluff, not much else.

2013-04-25 01:40:17

Wonderful western film spoof, with an amazing soundtrack too

This review is from: Cat Ballou (DVD) Cat Ballou is a movie spoof unlike any other, and a great parody of the Western film genre. Jane Fonda appears in one of her most playful film roles ("Barbarella" is another light and funny Fonda classic), and Lee Marvin gives one of his finest film performances (he won his Oscar for his dual roles). Add to this mix a wondrous soundtrack, with Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye as minstrels of sorts who stroll and sing throughout, making the film almost seem like a musical; an outstanding supporting cast including Michael Callan (who later appeared on TV's "One Life to Live"), and Dwayne Hickman (TV's Dobie Gillis), and the result is this hilarious, thoroughly entertaining film that was nominated for five Academy Awards (Marvin was the sole winner).Catherine Ballou (Fonda) is a recently graduated-from-training schoolteacher returning home to live with her father on his ranch, but he is gunned down upon her arrival. She enlists the help of a loyal ranch-hand, a couple of outlaws, and most notably, a has-been alcoholic gunman by the name of Kid Shelleen (Marvin) to help her get revenge. The result is a thoroughly enjoyable film that still stands up today, and Lee Marvin stealing the entire film in his amazing dual role performance as both Tim Strong and Kid Sheleen. Lee Marvin alone makes the film well worth seeing.The dialogue is great. Take this exchange as an example:Jackson Two-Bears: "Kid, Kid, what a time to fall off the wagon. Look at your eyes."Kid Shelleen: "What's wrong with my eyes?"Jackson Two-Bears: "Well they're red; bloodshot."Kid Shelleen: "You ought to see 'em from my side."I was thrilled when the widescreen special edition of this long-time favorite of mine came out in 2003, and on DVD. I have the soundtrack on vinyl, but I have always wished that it would come out on CD; Nat King Cole is one of my all-time favorite singers, and his rendition of "They'll Never Make Me Cry" always makes me...anyway. This film still hasn't lost any of its humor or fun with the passing of time, and stays on my personal "top ten list" of great comedies.

2013-04-24 17:18:49

Review of Cat Ballou movie

This review is from: Cat Ballou [VHS] (VHS Tape) The movie works which is major considering the low price I paid for it. Good job!

2013-04-24 04:16:15

How The West Was REALLY Won!

This review is from: Cat Ballou [VHS] (VHS Tape) This is easily one of the funniest Westerns ever filmed! Jane Fonda plays the bad good girl Cat with the same verve she has in real life; Dwayne Hickman puts the "Good Book" to unexpected use; Lee Marvin earned his Best Actor Oscar several times over! Nat "King" Cole and Stubby Kaye were good as a latter-day Greek Chorus! Best idea? Watch a serious Western such as "High Noon", then get a few laughs with this "oater"!

2013-04-18 01:52:51

Hilarious Western Spoof That Ages Very Well!

This film is a strange one for me as I remember I actually hated it the first time I watched it years back but when I started looking seriously at old films and especially Westerns I began to appreciate "Cat Ballou" a lot more and now after seeing this a few times, I have to say that this is an excellent, hilarious spoof on Westerns and the jokes age very well even to today. As a big fan of all kinds of music myself, I really appreciated the role that Nat King Cole in one of his last performances ever before his death by lung cancer together with Stubby Kaye in the hilarious sung narrative that runs throughout the film. It's amazing what was accomplished on clearly a tiny budget and I thought the cast was very good and especially Lee Marvin was the alcoholic gunfighter.The dvd is also good value for money as it has very good picture quality stemming from a very well-preserved master which ironically means that it wasn't as popular as other films as the more popular films have masters that are heavily used and hence require the most restoration although the sound quality in Mono could do with more surround sound options. Those with Dolby Pro Logic capabilities at home though can somewhat simulate the surround sound experience with this dvd version in any case.An extremely funny and entertaining cowboy spoof that surprisingly ages very well; I found myself humming the Cat Ballou theme many hours after watching the film too.Recommended.

2013-04-17 20:53:15

A classic

Always been in love with this film! Now that I have it on DVD, I can watch it and watch it and watch it! The price was really good too.

JohnRouseMerriottChard 2013-04-12 21:00:37

Some gang! An Indian ranch hand, a drunken gunfighter, a sex maniac, and an uncle!

Funny at times, but really it's not "THAT" funny. Western spoofstarring Jane Fonda as Cat Ballou who employs drunk has-been gunslingerKid Shelleen {Lee Marvin} to kill his own outlaw brother Tim Strawn{Marvin again}, whom has killed Cat's father.Perhaps it's because I'm a real latecomer to the film that I fail tosee what's so good about it?. I'm the first to suggest that it's impactback in the mid 60s, at a time when the Western genre was ripe for itsmyths being filleted, was probably high, but outside of a strong Marvinturn and a little bit of novelty value, what else has it got?. Somepoint to Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye's roving balladeers musicalinterludes as innovative?, enjoyable enough for sure, but dig deeperand it seems to be a masking tool to hide the mundane periods in thescreenplay. Periods that are all too frequent I might add.Not all bad tho, the aforementioned Lee Marvin entertains royally inhis dual role {along with his horse}, garnering the Best Actor Oscar inthe process, and Jane Fonda's transformation from uppish schoolmarm tosexy outlaw is delightful and sparky. Sadly the rest of the cast aren'tworth mentioning, which is probably why everyone remembers the horsemore than the support cast. No, not for me this one, it has many fansby all accounts, but I'm most definitely not one of them. 4/10 ForMarvin's performance and Jane's flirty beauty.

2013-04-12 11:18:08

Good fun!

Perhaps the last time a Best Actor Oscar was awarded in a comedy role, CatBallou is a lot of fun and excellent escapism. Beauty, humor, gun play,andNat King Cole all in one package. If you don't like this film, you need toseriously lighten up.

RHKLWK 2013-04-09 04:21:02

Creaky Film Shows Its Age

Perhaps it's my age, or perhaps it's my disappointment in Lee Marvin'sOscar-winning role, but I have to say this is not a good movie. Today, itwouldn't be made for the wide screen, and it is questionable whether itcould even find financial backing for TNT or HBO.It was released in 1965, and those of us who were in our teens, ortwenties,or thirties at that time will remember that it was an era of "cute" movies.Does the name "Tom Jones" mean anything to you? Or, "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad,Mad World"? Or, "What's New, Pussycat?"? Or, "Those Magnificent Men andTheir Flying Machines"? Or, God forbid, the Beatles' "Help!"? Remember?Ugh.I can honestly say that, if it weren't for American International's bikerflicks, I would have stopped watching movies for about fiveyears.But, I digress. It is astonishing that Lee Marvin won the Oscar for BestActor. His part is too small, and he played himself. Contrast the demandsof his role to the demands placed on any of this year's nominees for BestActor. Do you see what I mean about movies in the mid-60's? The story,itself, could have been told in a one-hour segment of the TV show,"Bonanza," when the Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe needed a "humorous" episode.On a brighter note, Jane Fonda is very attractive, and does very welldespite the silly lines she is made to say and the non-entities who are onsite to provide support. One has to wonder why she ever submitted to"Barbarella" three years later.This is a pleasant, yet silly, movie made in the mid-60's, when viewers hadtoo few diversions and too much time on their hands.

2013-04-08 14:19:52

Fun Western movie from yesteryear

This review is from: Cat Ballou (Special Edition) (DVD) Great fun watching some A-list actors in this spoof of westerns. Great story & remember the music from this movie even years later. Never could figure out why Hollywood never made a sequel.