Cat Ballou

Name: Cat Ballou
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Western
Released: June 24, 1965
Duration: 97 min
Rating: 60
Cast: Dwayne Hickman, Jane Fonda, Jay C. Flippen, John Marley, Lee Marvin

1965

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 7 Critic Reviews

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Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Ratings

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6.6

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6.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Ratings

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Cat Ballou

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Movie Details & Credits

Columbia Pictures | Release Date: June 24, 1965 | Approved

Starring: Dwayne Hickman, Jane Fonda, Jay C. Flippen, John Marley, Lee Marvin, Michael Callan, Nat 'King' Cole, Reginald Denny, Stubby Kaye, Tom Nardini

Summary: A young schoolteacher turns into an outlaw to avenge her murdered father.

Director: Elliot Silverstein

Genre(s): Comedy, Romance, Western

Rating: Approved

Runtime: 97 min

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Critic Reviews

Empire Ian Nathan

Great performances and an innovative approach to a tired old story make this one to watch out for. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Staff (Not Credited)

Funny--but not that funny--western spoof. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Middlingly successful, sparked by an amusing way-out approach and some sparkling performances. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Marvin is consistently brilliant, but the film is patchy. Read full review

Bosley Crowther

Cat Ballou does have flashes of good satiric wit. But, under Elliot Silverstein's direction, it is mostly just juvenile lampoon. Read full review

Andrew Sarris

Pleasantly inoffensive. [29 Jul 1965, p.8]

Pauline Kael

Mainly it's full of sort-of-funny and trying-to-be-funny ideas. The director Elliot Silverstein's spoofy tone is ineptitude, coyly disguised.

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User Reviews

DawdlingPoet

Nov 28, 2021

This film felt a bit bland and possibly a little slap-dashed, although some scenes I enjoyed more than others. The main memorable aspect of it were the songs, a bit like 'trail of the lonesome pine' - that sort of song, mostly upbeat but some are sorrowful too, sung by two men with I believeThis film felt a bit bland and possibly a little slap-dashed, although some scenes I enjoyed more than others. The main memorable aspect of it were the songs, a bit like 'trail of the lonesome pine' - that sort of song, mostly upbeat but some are sorrowful too, sung by two men with I believe a banjo present too. There are some cliches but there are also some mildly entertaining plot elements. Its an easy enough watch and its somewhat amusing at times, in a cheesy way (the comedy is slapstick) - suffice to say, its certainly not a film to take at all seriously and I suppose I maybe somewhat liked some of the tongue in cheek-ness it has, although the naivete of the titular character irked me.

Its an alright watch overall - not especially good but mildly amusing enough to pass the time I guess. I wouldn't especially recommend this film though, no. If your interested in a Western oriented comedy/parody film then I'd recommed 'A Million Ways To Die In The West' instead (although that film is less family friendly due to strong language and sex references - Cat Ballou being suitable for most kids to see). Oh and one more thing - after seeing this film, I'll bet money you'll find yourself humming/singing along to 'Cat Ballooooo', whether you like it or not.… Expand

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