Wolff rating: NOT BAD
Plot summary: Rogers and Hammerstein musical which is a liberal interpretation of the rise to stardom of Annie Oakley, the greatest woman rifle shooter.
Biased, pithy comments: Western musicals, especially those of Rogers and Hammerstein, are awash in cultural coding. The cultural coding of this film is clear---women, act dumb and pretty, and you'll get what you want, which is a MAN. Gack. If my wife, who is smarter than I am, acts dumb, it's annoying, not desirable. Anyway, if you can get past that stumbling block, you have some really nice moments including one of the best performances of ``Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)'' and the famous shooting contest. Hutton plays the humor pretty broadly, and Keel is sort of hateful as the shallow Frank Butler, but they are balanced by good supporting work by Louis Calhern and Keenan Wynn. Some good tunes and some big spectacle---your mileage may vary. Me, I prefer the real-life story of the quiet, unassuming Annie Oakley to this one.
Other Notes: The production was plagued by problems. The DVD shows parts of the original version with a haggard Judy Garland staggering through two production numbers before she retired of ``exhaustion'' (drugs), along with another version of the opening number with the soon-to-be-dead Frank Morgan as Buffalo Bill. DVD also includes creepy introduction with Susan Lucci which should be fast-forwarded through. Movie was tied up in ghastly intellectual property red tape for decades and only recently released on home video.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Betty Hutton, Howard Keel, Louis Calhern, J. Carrol Naish
Directed by: George Sidney