Perfectly adorable

Absolutely brilliant

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

What a weird title for a film. Cat Ballou what does that mean? Jane Fonda plays an attractive young woman Catherine Ballou on her way home from finishing school to become a local Schoolmarm and live with her father Frank (John Marley) on his ranch. When boarding a train the young verdant lass is introduced to a man of the cloth Dwayne Hickman AKA Jed,who is inebriated and says, "I'm as drunk as a skunk." He really isn't a drunken Priest but a diversion to get his nephew cattle rustler Clay Boone(Michael Callan) free from the Lawman (Bruce Cabot). Jed and Cat free his nephew and escort Cat to her Father's ranch. When Cat shows up at her Father's ranch escorted by Jed and Clay they learn that the Wolf City Development company is scheming to take over Frank Ballou's ranch. First by throwing manure down his well and being threatened by gold Nose-less marauder Tim Strawn. Hired hand Native American with no knowledge of the Hebrew language Jackson Two-Bears (Tom Nardini)plus her two criminal escorts are reluctant to protect Frank and his ranch. Cat hires a Gunslinger. Over-the-hill or under the bottle Kid Sheleen played to perfection by Lee Marvin. Sheleen stumbles to the ranch a drunken bum. His pants fall down every time he draws his gun. He can't even hit the barn at close range. The aforementioned Tim Strawn is Sheleen's evil twin brother also played by Marvin. Frank gets killed by Strawn as the townspeople sit back and let it happen. The memorial service was provided spontaneously by Sheleen as he blows out the candles next to the coffin after he sings Happy Birthday. Cat and her new gang go into action despite their weak link Sheleen. All he wants is a drink. They start by robbing a train. The bath scene on the train as Shellen removes the towel to expose the dissatisfied rider was amusing. This leads the gang to a neighboring town where Cat poses as a prostitute to con the head developer of Wolf City the dishonorable Sir Harry Percival (Reginald Denny). Meanwhile Sheleen sobers up, Baths and shaves darns his new white uniform making the Lone Ranger look like a cub scout. Will the gang succeed? Will Sheleen finish off his dastardly twin? On a technical note I like the way the story is intertwined by two minstrel singers Stubby Kaye and Nat King Cole singing the legend of Cat Ballou between scenes. Stubby Kaye who is notably remembered in Guys And Dolls as Nicely Nicely and a Game show host at the time makes a nice book end to the sickly Nat King Cole Battling Lung Cancer in the prime of his life age 45. Although Jane Fonda is the star out of convenience to match the title, Lee Marvin give an Oscar winning performance. Let's not forget his Horse who's memorable leg crossed rivals Sharon Stone's for originality. The screen writing is farcical yet Marvin gets philosophical when he explains getting beat up. "At first you don't think you can stand to get hit,then you realize you can take it 'cause the blood don't matter, and you know your gonna live. It's a great gift I'm going to give you- to know it don't hurt to fight!" Moreover Sheleen explains how the west has changed with commercialization and amusement attractions springing up. Sheleen mentions to paraphrase "That in Tombstone there building a roller rink they laid out over the OK Corral. I use to work for the Buffalo Bill rodeo show and save stagecoach riders from bad guys and Drunkin Injuns in the nick of time twice a day, Three times on Saturday." Great writing throughout and the unconventional horse riding brought the audience to a howling crescendo as Marvin brings his humor to the forefront. It was also great to see Dwayne Hickman co-starring in this movie. Conjured up fond memories of the Many Loves of Dobie Gillis from the earlier part of that decade. Also sadly, honorable mention to our singers Stubby and Nat King Cole as Nat looked weathered and way ahead of his years coughing between scenes batteling lung cancer which took his life a few month after filming. After watching Mel Brooks Version of the old West "Blazing Saddles" this movie in my opinion is much funnier with political correctness I think? Time for my Bath where's my towel?

As he did in, 'Paint Your Wagon,' Lee Marvin definitely stepped out of his comfort zone. Not only did he leave his skin, he stole the entire show. After the first time I saw this movie, I had to see it again and again – just to digest the hilarious scenes of Kid Shelleen and his crazy horse…what a hoot. And if that isn't enough to gnaw on, watching Marvin play his uber-evil, no-good-nick brother – one Tim Strawn – was a total joy, adding the tastiest of frostings to that celluloid cake. And of course there is the great Jane Fonda – I will have to award her one big, 'meh.' She is one talented misguided ideologue who is not really cutout for comedy. As far as the rest of the cast goes, Michael Callan, Dwayne Hickman and Tom Nardini, all did excellent jobs. Some of the most rewarding moments were the scene changes orchestrated by the by the awesome voices of Nat King Cole and Bernard Katzin. Listening to these two sing was almost a spiritual experience in itself. What a magical duet. This is definitely one of the best pick-me-up movies I have seen. 'Cat Ballou,' is a comedy that leaves one with a smile in their heart, wanting to see more. I almost wished it never ended. If you haven't seen it yet, rent it.

One of the reasons I gave this a 1 is because zero isn't an option. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Lee Marvin and Nat King Cole, but this was clearly the lowest point in their careers. The opening song pretty much warns you that what you're about to witness is going to be total cheese. Along with the total disbelief that's actually Nat King Cole singing it as a duet with some unknown ugly fat guy.But it gets worse. The first step down is during the opening credits, when you see somebody actually thought it would be a good idea to cast Jane Fonda in a Western, even worse, a Western "Comedy" (and I use that term loosely in this case). Seriously, Jane Fonda in a Western Comedy???After a few minutes of poor acting, unbelievably bad dialog, out of no where, Nat and the unknown ugly fat guy suddenly appear and lay the same painfully long opening theme song on you again. Why? Maybe in case some people were out getting popcorn during the first time they played it?I guess the best way to describe this "comedy" is that it seems like it was written and directed by the same people that plagued the earth with the Monkees TV show back in the 60's. Same poor script, cheesy acting, lame sight gags, sound effects and twangy background music... that apparently is supposed to make the "funny" antics and double-takes seem funnier. But it greatly fails.Finally, if you loved the Monkees, found that style of "comedy" enjoyable, can suspend disbelief long enough to actually buy Jane Fonda as a comedian in a Western, you'll love this film. Otherwise I advise having a barf bag available.

There have been other comedy westerns since Cat Ballou, and I suppose that there were comedy moments in other westerns before, especially musicals. But Cat Ballou was unusual in the way it played so much for laughs within the framework of a traditional western, and also in the way linking narration was provided by an on-screen singing Greek chorus in the shapes of Stubby Kaye and Nat "King" Cole.Jane Fonda does an excellent job as the central character, playing the comedy absolutely straight (as she did so effectively a couple of years later in Barbarella), but the film is totally stolen by Lee Marvin in twin roles. His Tim Strawn is truly sinister (helped enormously by Frank DeVol's superb music cues), but the drunk Kid Shelleen is the part in which he shines: it might well have been written for Marvin, for it plays to all his strengths.This film is great fun.