bkoganbing Even though there is no record that Calamity Jane and Sam Bass even met and furthermore that by Calamity's own record the only man she ever loved was Wild Bill Hickok, Universal nevertheless made this film Calamity Jane And Sam Bass. Billing should have been in reverse this was really Sam Bass's story.Sam Bass as played by Howard Duff arrives in Denton, Texas completely busted, but he's got a way with the ladies and he attracts the attention of the famous Calamity Jane and the sheriff Willard Parker's sister. The sheriff's sister is Dorothy Hart. He also has a great love and good eye for horses. That and the two women are both the key his success and his downfall.It's fascinating how some of Hollywood's most beautiful actresses, Jean Arthur, Doris Day, and in this film Yvonne DeCarlo are cast as Calamity Jane. In real life, Mary Jane Canary as Calamity Jane was born had a face that could stop a grandfather clock for a couple of generations. She must have had something going to get all the men she did including Wild Bill Hickok. Duff and DeCarlo aren't the most romantic pair going still the western is an interesting one with some well executed action scenes. I think western fans will like it still.

Armand it has all pieces of a classic western. and a lot of clichés. but this is not a problem if it can be more than a poor old recipes result. the presence of Yvone De Carlo and Dorothy Hart is only aesthetic. the characters are sketches of good intentions. and the legendary Calamity Jane remains an empty puppet. Howard Duff does a role without salt, the good guy who takes fundamental decisions is a thin shadow of a really hero. that is all. a film with flavor of a period sensitivity. common, pink and naive, moral lesson and nothing more, scene for old fashion stars, it has the heroic aura who gives taste for memories or it is window for a first image of a lost world.

gridoon2018 ....since Sam Bass is clearly the central character here, and Calamity Jane the peripheral one. Actually, Calamity is just one of the two women between whom Sam Bass is caught - the other is an incredibly sweet, sensible shopkeeper played by Dorothy Hart - and it really is quite the dilemma. I found myself pondering whom I would choose if I were in his place, but I couldn't make up my mind. Calamity is a role that suits Yvonne De Carlo perfectly - you can tell she is very comfortable with it - and Dorothy Hart is very appealing, too. The Technicolor photography is pleasing to the eye, and the story generally keeps your interest and leads to a surprisingly strong (sad & enigmatic) ending. **1/2 out of 4.

rickrudge Calamity Jane and Sam Bass (1949)This is your typical early 50's western (with a little romance thrown in) and it stars some notable and familiar faces from the early days of TV. It's not really a bad movie, just nothing very noteworthy, except... Yvonne De Carlo is smokin' ass hot in this movie! She plays the ultimate bad girl, Calamity Jane, and makes the whole movie worth sitting through. So much so, that I'm giving it an extra couple of stars just because she eats up the scenery. Other than that, this movie hasn't much going for it. It's your typical movie western. A naive farm boy, Sam Bass (Howard Duff) comes into town riding shotgun on the stage without a penny to his name. He strikes up a friendship with the store owner, Kathy Egan (Dorothy Hart) and despite the bad first impression from her brother (and the local sheriff) Will Egan (Willard Parker) gets some farm work for the family.Sam Bass knows his horse flesh and is even able to calm a wild horse like the one Calamity Jane is racing in town. He sort of has that effect on her too. Sam Bass seems to have a lot of bad luck or makes the wrong choices in life. Things just seem to go from bad to worse, no matter how good his intentions are. When he borrows money to bet on a racehorse, Sheriff Egan kicks him out, so he gets a cattle job with Joel Collins (Lloyd Bridges). It doesn't take long before he takes on a life of crime.