Calamity Jane [Blu-ray]

Director: David Butler

Overview

Doris Day looks no more like the real Calamity Jane than you or I do, but this 1953 film is intended as a lighthearted musical, not a historical tract. As portrayed by the freckled Ms. Day, Jane is a rootin', tootin' shootin' hoyden in the western town of Deadwood. When she isn't tearing up the town, Jane spends her time cussing out Wild Bill Hickok (Howard Keel). The plot gets under way when Jane promises the citizens of Deadwood that she can persuade classy Chicago stage star Adelaide Adams (Gale Robbins) to perform at the local opry house. Through a case of mistaken identity, Jane brings Adelaide's maid Katie (Allyn Ann McLerie) back to town. Katie proves to be a success all the same, and out of gratitude promises to make a "lady" out of Jane, who is sweet on handsome Lt. Gilmartin (Philip Carey). When the lieutenant chooses Katie over Jane, our heroine is heartbroken--until she realizes that she has loved Wild Bill Hickok all along, and that the feeling is mutual so far as Hickok is concerned. The peppy musical score by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster includes the Oscar-winning Secret Love, which became a million-selling hit for Doris Day.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/03/2015
UPC:	0883929444892
Original Release:	1953
Rating:	NR
Source:	WARNER HO
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:41:00
Sales rank:	1,410

Special Features

So You Love Your Dog - 1953 Warner Bros. short; Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century - 1953 Warner Bros. cartoon; Premiere and awards newsreels; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Doris Day	Calamity Jane
Howard Keel	Wild Bill Hickok
Allyn McLerie	Katie Brown
Dick Wesson	Francis Fryer
Philip Carey	Danny Gilmartin
Paul Harvey	Henry Miller
Chubby Johnson	Rattlesnake
Gale Robbins	Adelaide Adams
Victor Adamson	Barfly
Billy Bletcher	Prospector
Stanley Blystone	Saloon Patron
Budd Buster	Prospector
Lane Chandler	Prospector
Roydon Clark	Soldier
Edmund Cobb	Saloon Patron
Kenne Duncan	Ad Lib
Bess Flowers	Officer's Wife in Reception Line
Fritz Ford	Soldier at Dance
Terry Frost	Prospector
Clem Fuller	Barfly,Young Man with Flowers
Augie Gomez	Barfly
Herman Hack	Barfly
Bill Hale	Ad Lib
Dick Wessel	Francis Fryer
David Buttolph	Composer
Fain and Webster	Composer
Sammy Fain	Composer
Ray Heindorf	Composer

Technical Credits

James O'Hanlon

James O'Hanlon	Screenwriter
William Jacobs	Producer
Stanley Jones	Sound Effects
William A. Mueller	Sound Effects,Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Doris Day got a real change-of-pace role when she took on Calamity Jane. Day pushes a little too hard as she tries to convince viewers that she's a rough, tough tomboy, and therefore is never quite believable, but Day puts so much energy and effort into it that most viewers will be willing to go along with her. The picture as a whole is one of Day's better musical vehicles. While it's undeniably derivative -- mostly of Annie Get Your Gun, but there's more than a dollop of Oklahoma! and The Harvey Girls as well -- it's well made and appealing. It also boasts a very generous Sammy Fain-Paul Francis Webster score -- some dozen numbers, most of which are winners. The opening, "Deadwood Stage," is a rouser, "Higher Than a Hawk" is an intriguing ballad, and the Oscar-winning "Secret Love" is charming, and very well performed by Day. Even "I Can Do Without You" and "Just Blew in From the Windy City," which are too obviously inspired by Annie's "Anything You Can Do" and Oklahoma's "Kansas City," are entertaining on their own terms. Aside from his sturdy baritone, Howard Keel doesn't contribute much to his part, but Allyn Ann McLerie is a delight, especially in her duet with Day, "A Woman's Touch." Director David Butler had worked with Day on several previous efforts and helmed her next effort, By the Light of the Silvery Moon.