Calamity Jane (1953)

A rollicking musical western, featuring Doris Day and Howard Keel both singing their hearts out. It's a simple story and none the worse for that. Above all it's a vehicle for Doris Day - showcasing that sparkling voice. The opening sequence is memorably vibrant and her exuberance also comes to the fore in "Windy City". Howard Keel has a fine solo but perhaps the most memorable moment is Doris's rendition of "Secret Love". This whole sequence has a serenity that is absent from the rest of the film and Doris wears a wonderfully elegant shirt and trouser combination - which shows that a more casual look - a very simple outfit- is what makes a lady look her best. I find it amusing that designer gowns about which so much fuss is made in the media and whose labels and creators are so over praised are here comprehensively put in the shade. These few minutes of film show how bogus the fashion industry is!

First and foremost, CALAMITY JANE is a fun musical. The 29-year-old Doris Day thoroughly enjoys herself in the central role as a gun-totin' tomboy, the fastest draw in the city of Deadwood, South Dakota - apart from Wild Bill Hickok (Howard Keel). She demonstrates an apparently limitless capacity for telling tall stories, as well as a unique ability to ride a horse. She and Keel make a lovable double-act, especially in their song "I Can Do Without You" - which is of course completely ironic in tone. They clearly cannot do without one another, as proved at the end of the film when they celebrate their nuptials. Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster's score contains at least two classics, "The Deadwood Stage (Whip Crack-Away," which opens and closes the film, and "Secret Love," a typically schmaltzy Day song that topped the charts on its initial release. Yet perhaps the film's most interesting aspect today is the way in which it embodies early Fifties attitudes towards gender. Calamity Jane's decision to don male attire is perceived as something aberrant; she is tolerated by her fellow-citizens of Deadwood, but no one really takes her very seriously. It is only when she is 'educated' in feminine ways by visiting singer Katie Brown (Allyn McLerie) that she understands what her 'proper' role should be. She should accept that females (unlike males) are capricious in nature, apt to make spontaneous decisions without rhyme or reason. In a ball scene towards the end of the film, Calamity appears in a long gown, her blonde hair neatly tied at the back - the male guests stare at her in disbelief, as if they cannot believe they have a "true" woman within their midst. Calamity feels uncomfortable in the role, and returns briefly to her male attire; but when the citizens refuse to speak to her later on (punishing her for her decision to banish Katie from their town), she understands the "error" of her ways. At the film's end she wears a bridal gown and tosses her six-shooter away, in symbolic acknowledgment that she should no longer try to adopt masculine attitudes. Rather she should accept her designated role as wife and (probably) mother.

music, West atmosphere, Doris Day and Howard Keel.slice of a period , nice, seductive, crazy, funny.and itself. this is basic point because, in a ocean of musicals, it has its individuality not exactly for story or for songs but for charming manner of Doris Day to create her character. it is a modern fairy tale, fascinating for innocence slices and joy who has it axis. for the spirit of a childish play and for the sweet feminism. maybe, it is far to be memorable but the link between Keel and Doris is so amusing than whole chain becomes, formally, credible. it is a sunshine film and best cure for cloudy days from every windy city.

I've just watched "Calamity Jane" and it really is one of the most lovely films I've ever seen.I am by nature suspicious of "musicals". In fact I'd normally say I don't like 'em. But although the characters in this film do burst out into spontaneously synchronised and practised song somehow the songs they sing are short enough to be less than a mild irritation and pertinent enough to keep the story moving.I'm a straight guy but must admit to being a sucker for women with their feet firmly on the ground and that's why I find Doris Day's portrayal of the character so intriguing. Some might say that this is an "ugly duckling" film but in this case and for me the "before" look is much more interesting than the "after" one. She prances around in scruffy attire, walks like a man and often sits or poses with her legs wide open but however much she plays the tomboy and tries to hide her femininity under a bushel she fails. Why? Because she just is a very beautiful woman; heck you could cover her in mud (and this actually happens at one point in the film) and she wouldn't lose her femininity.I've seen lots of cabaret in Berlin - Victor, Victoria type stuff and this film is reminiscent of that although not quite so refined but all the same it's a woman dressed as a man and looking good for it! The film verges on homo-eroticism at times although it never features as a central theme. There is about 10 minute's worth of pure homo-eroticism however that takes place in a log cabin that would do Barbie proud but the main themes focus on a woman who doesn't know how to be one and learns as well as people who are oblivious to the fact that they are in love perhaps because they are such good friends; then Cupid strikes suddenly. As I say, I'm a straight guy but although a part of me appreciated the "ugly duckling" changing her spots another part of me ended up wishing that she'd stayed the way she was.The sets are wonderful as are the lush costumes.This is not a film to watch on a small monitor. If you have a projector then fire her up for this one. Lovely colour and sound just as one would expect from a musical of this era.