Dalbert Pringle (*Calamity Jane-character movie-quote*) - "You thought I was a man!!??"Hey! - Are you ready for a 1953, Hollywood Western/Musical/Comedy/Romance that's a total.... And I do mean "total" gender-bender?.... Well - Then get ready for Calamity Jane.So - As this gender-bending story goes - Even though she's really, truly, hopelessly in love with Katie Brown (and vice-versa) - Calamity Jane (an implied tomboy/lesbian) totally reforms herself (discarding all of her infantry drag, cussing lingo, and macho mannerisms) and (get this!) (in frilly frock and a sweet, feminine demeanour) agrees to marry Wild Bill Hickok.... (Groan!) Anyway - When it came down to her utterly embarrassing, over-the-top portrayal here - (Believe me) - Doris Day's scenery-chewing "Calamity" was completely cringe-worthy from start to finish.I mean - Isn't it just too ironic for words that (years later) Day would claim that her Calamity character was, indeed, her absolute fave of her entire career?.... (Spare me!)

mike48128 The reviews for this little movie are funnier than the film. Complaints about "cross-dressing" and shooting "Indians". Lighten up! It's a 1950's musical Western after all. It's not going to be "PC" but it's mostly innocent fun for all. Certainly not "Annie Get Your Gun", but a light, happy show with a few good tunes (not all) and an Oscar-winning song:"Secret Love". Howard Keel is in good form here, but the songs are not up to "7 Brides" or "Showboat" quality. Doris appears to do some of her own stunts, some of the riding, and appears to be hauled-up to the 2nd floor of the saloon (probably on a wire). She's quite athletic. Watch this with either of the Bob Hope "Paleface" movies and you will see the easy comparison between the two. Like I said, fun to watch.

badajoz-1 A good hearted fifties original film musical with Doris Day and Howard Keel in splendid form. The film showcases how good a musical actress Doris Day was before, now derided, her turn as the eternal virgin in a series of sixties comedies. Singing, dancing and upfront acting without a hint of ironic post modernisms, Day convinces you of a rural tomboy called Calamity Jane - hunting, shooting, fighting and singing/dancing - who realises she has to become a proper woman to get a man!! Her energy is infectious and she almost puts Keel into the shade with such a bravura performance. The songs (not too many, they only filled a 10 inch LP!) are memorable, reaching from the boisterous 'Whip, crack away' to the lyrical 'Secret Love' and crashing into the pop charts of the day! The only quibble is that the musical numbers are staged like stage musicals with the performers almost waiting for the applause after finishing singing with a few seconds of looking at the screen doing nothing soaking up the adulation!

Spikeopath Calamity Jane is directed by David Butler and written by James O'Hanlon. It stars Doris Day, Howard Keel, Allyn Ann McLerie, Phillip Carey & Dick Wesson. The score features music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster. Out of Warner Brothers, the film is seen as a response to the success of MGM's production of Annie Get Your Gun in 1950, where Keel was also starring. Plot here is loosely based on the life of Wild West heroine Calamity Jane (Day) and explores the relationship between Wild Bill Hickok (Keel) and herself. I guess the first thing that should be said is that this is no biography of one Martha Jane Cannary Burke (AKA: Calamity Jane), In truth this is more a comedy musical romp built around the famous frontiers woman. And with it being very basic on narrative and direction, this really only appeals to the film fan with musical leanings. But on that score the film is delightful, with spirited lead performances from Day & Keel and a handful of truly great tunes headed by the Oscar winning "Secret Love". The film also earns some bonus points for giving Day the chance to play something other than the naive innocent girl next door type (it was a personal favourite role of hers). She gets to be spunky and brash without ever losing that adorable appeal that carried her throughout her career. The play on sexual stereotypes is rather humorous without being twee, something that you feel Butler was under appreciated for, and Wilfred M. Cline's colour photography enhances the playfulness of it all. Seen now as a feminist fantasy with a gay following thanks to "Secret Love", there's no denying the film is all very Hollywoodized; with characters so animated they could burst. But all told, if one is able to forgive and see past its flaws then it's a film guaranteed to light up the darkest of wintry days. 7/10