When All Else Fails, Rob a Train

The 1965 film Cat Ballou is one of those films that has it all. Though the genre it settles into is definitely Western, Cat Ballou has elements of comedy, drama, and still remains a family film. Directed by Elliot Silverstein, the screenplay for the film was written by Walter Newman that was based on a novel written by Roy Chanslor.

The film stars Jane Fonda as Catherine "Cat" Ballou, who is traveling home to Wolf City, Wyoming after spending time at teacher's college. She is going to meet her father Frankie Ballou (John Marley), a rancher, but on the train there, she aids in the escape of Clay Boone (Michael Callan) from the sherrif transporting him while Boone's Uncle Jed (Dwayne Hickman) distracts the sheriff. When Cat arrives home, she finds out the local government is trying to take away her father's ranch, which her father works with the help of Jackson Two-Bears (Tom Nardini). The goverment has sent out a murderer-for-hire with a silver nose name Tim Strawn (Lee Marvin). Clay and his Uncle Jed come to help Cat and she also hires legendary gunfighter Kid Shelleen (also played by Marvin) to help. Unfortunately, the years have not served Shelleen well and he is down a drunken mess who can't even hit the side of a barn when he shoots. When silver-nosed Strawn kills Cat's father, it is up for her and her four accomplices to bring justice to Wolf City before the noose literally tightens around their own necks.

The film's plot is narrated by two "Shouters" known as Professor Sam the Shade and The Sunrise Kid, played by Nat 'King' Cole and Stubby Kaye, who with their banjo, guitar, and Western ballads, serve as a sort of Greek chorus for the movie, laying out the plot and mixing in a little of their own opinions about what is going on. Cole died of lung cancer before the film was released. Lee Marvin won an Oscar for his part in the film, mainly do to a comedic rough riding scene in the film. When he accepted his award he thanked "a horse someplace out in the valley".

Though this film is not particularly well-known or high on the popularity meter, it did manage to rank #10 on AFI's List of Greatest Western films. An article you can read here talks about a group who tried to track down the filiming locations for this movie and their own adventures in the American West. The blogspot No Smoking in the Skullcave has a review of the film, which can be read here. All in all, Cat Ballou is a great film full of comedy, suspense, and all of the horseriding, gunfighting action a good Western requires. As a special treat, here is a trailer that gives a brief synopsis of the film:

Three Wisemen: Western Style

Though it is obviously a western, the film 3 Godfathers is much more than that. It is a feel good move, a drama, and a comedy all in a western package. The film is set around Christmas time, but you wouldn't know it because of the dessert scenery. Then again, though it doesn't fit our stereotypical idea of a white Christmas, it fits in well with the desert scene from the first Christmas and the biblical allusions throughout the film are quiet obvious. It mixes elements of tragedy and hope in a way that embodies the Christmas spirit and the idea of doing the right thing, even after getting yourself into the wrong situation.

Three bank robbers, Robert Hightower (John Wayne), Pedro Rocafuerte (Pedro Armendáriz), and William Kearney (Harry Carey Jr.), come to the town of Welcome, Arizona and first thing they do is meet Sheriff Perley Buck Sweet (Ward Bond) and his wife (Mae Marsh). The second thing they do is rob the local bank, sending Sheriff Sweet and a posse after them across the Arizona dessert. Sweet cuts off all their water supplies and the threesome find themselves backtracking, where they run into a woman in a covered wagon (Mildred Natwick). Her husband has destroyed the water supply, lost his cattle, died, and left her for dead. Worst of all, she is about to deliver a baby. The three robbers help bring the baby into the world and vow to raise it for her when she dies. The robbers turned godfathers find themselves trying to trek to the town of New Jerusalem to bring the baby to safety before Christmas Day, disregarding their own well-being and facing many obstacles in the way.

Done by John Ford, this one is a remake of the 1916 silent film The Three Godfathers. The star of the original film was a long time friend of Ford's, Harry Carey. After Carrey's death, Ford remade the film in Technicolor and cast Carey's son in one of the lead roles. The film also features legendary cowboy ballad "Streets of Laredo", also known as the "Cowboy's Lament" as a lullaby sung to the baby. You can access screenshots of the film, thanks to The Art of Memory blog, and you can find a messageboard about the film, thanks to filmspotting.com.

Though I really like this film, the reviews on it are mixed and there are many places you can look for another opinion. This review is offered by cinema100.com. The Diary of a Mad Movie Fanatic blog has a review, which you can read here. Frank's Movie Blog has a review of the film as does Monstersandcritics.com, which can be read here. As an early Christmas present, here is a trailer for the film.