SYNOPSIS

Catherine "Cat" Ballou (Jane Fonda), a prim young schoolteacher, travels to Wolf City, Wyoming to visit her father (John Marley) after completing a proper Eastern education. When her father is murdered at the hands of the greedy Wolf City Development Corporation, Cat vows revenge. With the help of two charming young misfits (Michael Callan, Dwayne Hickman) and drunken over-the-hill gun-for-hire Kid Shelleen (Lee Marvin), Cat forms an unlikely band of outlaws. The gang must get its act together quickly in order for Shelleen to face off against the developers' silver-nosed hired killer Tim Strawn (also Lee Marvin, in a dual role).

Director: Elliot Silverstein
Producer: Harold Hecht, Mitch Lindemann (Associate Producer)
Screenplay: Walter Newman, Frank R. Pierson
Based on the novel The Ballad of Cat Ballou by Roy Chanslor
Cinematography: Jack Marta
Editing: Charles Nelson
Music Composer: De Vol
Costume Designer: Bill Thomas
Art Direction: Malcolm Brown
Cast: Jane Fonda (Catherine "Cat" Ballou), Lee Marvin (Kid Shelleen/Tim Strawn), Michael Callan (Clay Boone), Dwayne Hickman (Jed), Nat King Cole (Shouter), Stubby Kaye (Shouter), Tom Nardini (Jackson Two-Bears), John Marley (Frankie Ballou), Reginald Denny (Sir Harry Percival), Jay C. Flippen (Sheriff Cardigan), Arthur Hunnicutt (Butch Cassidy), Bruce Cabot (Sheriff Maledon), Burt Mustin (Accuser), Paul Gilbert (Train Messenger), Robert Phillips (Klem), Charles Wagenheim (James), Duke Hobbie (Homer), Ayllene Gibbons (Hedda), Everett L. Rohrer (Train Engineer), Harry Harvey, Sr. (Train Conductor), Hallene Hill (Honey Girl), Gail Bonney (Mabel Bentley), Joseph Hamilton (Frenchie), Dorothy Claire (Singing Tart), Charles Horvath (Hardcase), Chuck Roberson (Armed Guard), Ted White (Gunslinger), Erik Sorenson (Valet), Ivan L. Middleton (Train Fireman), Carol Veazie (Mrs. Parker), Elizabeth Harrower (1st Lady), Maxine Gates (2nd Lady), Jack Pepper (1st Undertaker), Patrick Campbell (2nd Undertaker).
C-96m. Letterboxed.

Why CAT BALLOU is Essential

While Jane Fonda is perfect as the title character in Cat Ballou, it is Lee Marvin who steals the show in his hilarious dual role as bumbling drunkard Kid Shelleen and silver-nosed villain Tim Strawn. Before this film, Marvin had spent years playing tough guys and heavies in mostly supporting roles. His performance in Cat Ballou surprised and delighted everyone with his heretofore untapped comic abilities. Marvin showed the world that he could play comedy as well as drama, and he was rewarded by winning the Academy Award as Best Actor for his effort. His success in the film opened up a whole new career as a leading man for the 40-year-old Marvin, who enjoyed major stardom and better roles than ever throughout the 1970s and 80s.

Cat Ballou was the film that finally made Jane Fonda a major star. While Lee Marvin may have received most of the accolades for his performance, Fonda holds her own in the title role. While Fonda had starred in a few films already, none had given her the major success she had hoped for. Cat Ballou was the first major box office hit she had ever been in and it catapulted her into a distinguished acting career that continues to this day.

Cat Ballou started out as a low budget B-movie, and while the people involved knew that the film was good, they had no idea that it would go on to become a classic and win Lee Marvin an Oscar®. The film that had cost peanuts to make ended up becoming the seventh most successful film of 1965.

While Cat Ballou was not the first film to parody the Western genre, its success helped revive interest in the comedy Western. It has influenced everything from Blazing Saddles (1974) to Bobby and Peter Farrelly's There's Something About Mary (1998) in which the filmmaker brothers pay homage in their use of a musical Greek chorus (Jonathan Richman), not unlike the roles of Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye in Cat Ballou.

by Andrea Passafiume