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Cat Ballou Overview:

Cat Ballou (1965) was a Comedy - Musical Film directed by Elliot Silverstein and produced by Harold Hecht and Mitch Lindemann.

The film was based on the novel The Ballad of Cat Ballou: A Lusty, Picaresque Novel of Old Wyoming written by Roy Chanslor published in 1956.

Academy Awards 1965 --- Ceremony Number 38 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best ActorLee MarvinWon
Best Film EditingCharles NelsonNominated
Best Music - ScoringDeVolNominated
Best Music - SongMusic by Jerry Livingston; Lyrics by Mack DavidNominated
Best WritingWalter Newman, Frank R. PiersonNominated
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Cat Ballou BlogHub Articles:

Cat Ballou (1965)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Aug 31, 2022 From 4 Star Films

When the Columbia statue whips off her toga and comes out with western wear and six shooters, the movie’s intentions are made quite clear. And if that’s not enough Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye appear on the scene, decked out, strumming their banjos. They become the accompanying bards re... Read full article

Cat Ballou (1965)

By Beatrice on Aug 30, 2018 From Flickers in Time

Cat Ballou Directed by Elliot Silverstein Walter Newman and Frank Pierson from a novel by Roy Chanslor 1965/USA Columbia Pictures Corporation/Harold Hecht Productions Repeat viewing/Netflix rental Not as funny as when I saw it as a kid but it still has its moments, most of them provided by Lee Marvi... Read full article

Classic Films in Focus: CAT BALLOU (1965)

By Jennifer Garlen on Apr 7, 2014 From Virtual Virago

Director Elliot Silverstein’s 1965 Western comedy turned out to be an important moment in movie history, and not only because Cat Ballou became a box office hit and made Jane Fonda a star. It would provide Lee Marvin with the only Oscar of his exceptional career, and it would be the final scre... Read full article

Classic Films in Focus: CAT BALLOU (1965)

By Jennifer Garlen on Apr 7, 2014 From Virtual Virago

Director Elliot Silverstein’s 1965 Western comedy turned out to be an important moment in movie history, and not only because Cat Ballou became a box office hit and made Jane Fonda a star. It would provide Lee Marvin with the only Oscar of his exceptional career, and it would be the final scre... Read full article

Classic Films in Focus: CAT BALLOU (1965)

By Jennifer Garlen on Apr 7, 2014 From Virtual Virago

Director Elliot Silverstein’s 1965 Western comedy turned out to be an important moment in movie history, and not only because Cat Ballou became a box office hit and made Jane Fonda a star. It would provide Lee Marvin with the only Oscar of his exceptional career, and it would be the final scre... Read full article

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Cat Ballou Quotes:

Cat: I thought you were lying.
Clay Boone: You mean I wasn't?
Clay Boone: Hit him! Hit him! Hit him!
Cat: All right! You all say you love me and are beholden to me, and "take it easy Cat. We're gonna take care of you!"
Cat: They're trying to drive him off his ranch! They put manure in his well, they made him talk to lawyers...
Cat: Mrs. Parker didn't introduce us, I'm Catherine Ballou.
Jed: I'm drunk as a skunk.
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Cat Ballou Facts
Like several other Columbia releases of the 1960s (i.e., Bye Bye Birdie, Strait-Jacket), this film includes a spoof of the studio logo, in this case with the Torch Lady doffing her robes in animation and turning into a cartoon cowgirl.
This film inspired NBC to make two different pilots which aired on consecutive days in 1971. One pilot starred Lesley Ann Warren, and the other, Forrest Tucker.
Roy Chanslor's original novel was a serious western. The comedy elements were added for the film.
Jane Fonda reportedly didn't understand the film when she read the script, but because she was under contract to Columbia Pictures at the time, she had no choice but to take the role of Cat Ballou.
At his acceptance of the Oscar, Lee Marvin opened by saying, "Half of this probably belongs to a horse out in the Valley somewhere".
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