A comedy Western musical film starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin, who won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual role.
The story involves a woman who hires a notorious gunman to protect her fathers ranch, and later to avenge his murder, but finds that the gunman is not what she expected.
The supporting cast features Michael Callan, Dwayne Hickman, and singers Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye, who together perform the movies theme song.
The film was directed by Elliot Silverstein from a screenplay by Walter Newman and Frank Pierson from the novel The Ballad of Cat Ballou by Roy Chanslor. Chanslors novel was a serious Western, and though it was turned into a comedy for the movie, the filmmakers retained some darker elements. The film references many classic Western films, notably Shane. |