Cat Ballou was released in 1965 and is popularly loved for its comedy. This western film revolves around a woman who hires a gunman to protect her father’s ranch. The gunman is quite notorious in the film and later is appointed to help her find his father’s murderer. Only to find out the gunman is not what she expected him to be.
The cast of the film includes Jane Fonda and Oscar winner Lee Marvin. The theme song of the movie is composed by singers Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye. The film is based on a screenplay by Walter Newman and Frank Pierson. The inspiration for the screenplay is based on the novel The Balad Of Cat Ballou.
Ray Chanslor is the author of this novel. Even though the novel’s plot was quite serious, the movie was made into a comedy keeping some of the dark elements the same. Elliot Silverstein is the director of cat Ballou, and the film turned out to be a good reference for several western classic movies.
Also, Read Alaska Daily Filming Locations: Sets Explained
Cat Ballou: Plot
Cat Ballou aspires to be a school teacher and is returning to her home, Wolf city to her father’s ranch. Reaching the ranch, she realises that the development corporation of Wolf City is trying to take over her father’s ranch. Clay and Jed offer to help her, and she thus hires a gunman Kid Shellen to protect her father from the killer Tim Strawn.
Shellen is not able to protect her father, being his drunk self. The town refuses to bring justice to Strawn, and this forces Cat to take matters into her hand, and she decides to seek revenge for the cold murder.
She, therefore, robs a train carrying the Wolf City payroll and hides away from the law. Shellen falls in love with Cat and therefore decides to get his act straight and heads into town to kill Strawn, casually telling him that Strawn is his brother. The humor in this movie is top-notch. The scene where Shellen enters the parlor where Frankie’s body is kept and sings happy birthday before blowing out the candles gets you rolling on the ground laughing.
Finally, Cat confronts Sir Harry, who is the head of the Wolf City Development Corporation, though Sir Harry ends up dead in a struggle after the confrontation. This puts a death sentence on Cat, and the town has no mercy to offer her. Fortunately, Uncle Jed appears in the last scene of the movie as a preacher and helps Cat and her gang to escape.
Cat Ballou: Filming Locations
The shoot for Cat Ballou started in the year 1964. The location for the set for this movie was Canyon City, Colorado. The shoot for the entire film was wrapped up in two months. They had a very enthusiastic and dedicated cast and crew. This low-budget film started filming in November 1964 and was done with its schedule by December end of 1964. Having a low budget for the film was also one of the biggest reasons for not moving to different locations for the movie. Nevertheless, the portrayal of the story was still phenomenal.
Cat Ballou was filmed at Buckskin Joe Frontier Town. This is a theme park located in the Greenhorn mountains and has been very much adored by travelers after the release of the film.
Buckskin Joe Frontier Town is a park/ studio where this western comedy was shot. It was well-established in 1957. unfortunately, due to certain events, the management had to shut it down in 2010, and it is now owned by William Koch. This park/ studio has been a source of filming locations for many other loved movies like The Cowboys, Lightning Jack, true Gift, Comes a Horseman, etc.
Cat Ballou filming location and the film was wildly appreciated by fans and critics worldwide. It drew a connection for the people living in different regions of America. The dialogue and the humor were quite appreciated by the audience.
Where To Watch Cat Ballou?
Cat Ballou is available for fans to stream on Amazon. You can rent the HD version of this film from Amazon for $3.99. You can also buy the movie in HD from Amazon too for $12.99. Watch this American wild western comedy and stream it on your choice of platform. Cat Ballou is a classic and deserves to be appreciated.
