In a small town in Ohio, Annie Oakley's (Betty Hutton) extraordinary shooting skills catch the attention of Frank Butler (Howard Keel), a renowned marksman who works for Buffalo Bill's (Louis Calhern) Wild West Show. Instantly smitten by Frank, the buckskin-clad Annie dreams of joining the show and winning his heart.
Annie happens by the hotel where the show members are staying, shooting the bird off a woman's hat, thinking it's a game bird. A show manager is impressed by her skills and offers her $5 if she beats Butler in a shooting competition. She does beat him, and gives the $5 prize to her three younger sisters and little brother to buy supplies.
As Annie auditions for the Wild West Show, she impresses everyone, including Buffalo Bill himself, with her unmatched marksmanship. Additionally, her dress style becomes much more fancy. However, her success puts a strain on her budding romance with Frank. He is taken aback by her skills and feels emasculated, leading to a clash of egos.
Annie's rise to stardom continues as she becomes the star attraction of the show, overshadowing Frank's own act. She even tours Europe, and becomes Native American chief Sitting Bull's adopted daughter, known to him as "Little Sure Shot". In an attempt to regain his former glory, Frank challenges Annie to another shooting competition.
As the shooting competition approaches, Annie and Frank's relationship becomes strained, with each wanting to prove their superiority. However, during the competition, Annie intentionally misses her shots (with some surreptitious advice, and a doctored rifle, from Sitting Bull, who reminds her of her own dictum that "you can't get a man with a gun"), realizing that her happiness lies not in outshining Frank but in being with him. She sacrifices her own victory for the sake of their love.
Recognizing Annie's selflessness and genuine love, Frank's heart softens, and he realizes that he does not need to be the best to be happy. The two reconcile, reaffirming their love for each other.
The film concludes with a triumphant performance by Annie and Frank, who have mended their relationship and rediscovered their shared passion, and are circled by the show members on horseback, solidifying the pair's place as the stars of the Wild West Show.
The film adaptation cut the following numbers from the original score: "I'm a Bad, Bad Man", "Moonshine Lullaby", and "I Got Lost in His Arms" ("An Old Fashioned Wedding" was written for the 1966 revival). The 2000 compact disc release of the soundtrack includes all of the film's numbers and "Let's Go West Again" (a Hutton number deleted before the film's release), an alternative take of Wynn's "Colonel Buffalo Bill", and Garland's renditions of Annie's pieces.
Production history
The film was originally budgeted at $1.5 million, with $600,000 payable to Irving Berlin and Dorothy and Herbert Fields for the score and the book, comparatively cheap compared to the $2.3 million budget for Berlin's Easter Parade.[2]
Betty Hutton played Annie Oakley, with Howard Keel (making his American film debut) as Frank Butler and Benay Venuta as Dolly Tate. Louis Calhern played Buffalo Bill, replacing Frank Morgan, who died of a sudden heart attack shortly after filming had begun.
Judy Garland, MGM's biggest musical comedy star, was originally cast as Annie Oakley. She recorded all her songs for the soundtrack and worked for two months under the direction of Busby Berkeley and dance director Robert Alton. Berkeley and Garland had worked together previously in the late 1930s and early 1940s in a successful series of backstage musicals teaming her with fellow juvenile star Mickey Rooney. However, Berkeley had been fired from the Garland/Rooney musical Girl Crazy in 1943 due to personality clashes with musical director Roger Edens and for driving Garland to collapse and subsequent doctor-ordered bed rest during the filming of the I Got Rhythm musical number. Six years later, producer Arthur Freed felt Berkeley was the right man to capture the spectacle needed for Annie Get Your Gun. But once again Berkeley was severe with Garland, and they immediately clashed. Unfortunately, Garland was suffering from overwork and exhaustion, the dissolution of her marriage to director Vincente Minnelli, and an addiction to prescription medication. Having recently completed the hit musical In the Good Old Summertime, she was in no condition to undertake a taxing role in another major musical production, and – based in part on her past experiences with him – she resented working with the demanding Berkeley. Struggling to make her characterization of Annie Oakley a real person and not just a broad caricature of Ethel Merman, Garland felt Berkeley had no understanding of how to translate the material to the big screen. She was put off by his bombastic directorial style, often leaving the set when he began shouting at the actors and crew. Garland complained about Berkeley to studio head Louis B. Mayer, attempting to have him removed from the film. After viewing Berkeley's footage to that point, producer Freed was disappointed and fired the veteran director, replacing him with Charles Walters. Despite this change, the underweight and physically exhausted Garland arrived late or not at all for each day's filming schedule. After a couple of warnings, MGM finally suspended Garland's contract and she was fired from the picture. Garland, telling the press she was forced to leave the production against her will, traveled to Boston where she was hospitalized for several weeks to regain her health.[3]
Betty Garrett was considered as Garland's replacement, but her contract with the studio had expired and her agent asked for too much money for her to return. Ginger Rogers lobbied hard for the role, but the producers felt she was too mature and glamorous for the part. According to Rogers, studio head L.B. Mayer told her, "You stay in your silk stockings and high heels, Ginger. This part isn't for you." Betty Hutton, Paramount's top musical comedy star, pleaded for the role with both MGM and her home studio. A loan-out deal was brokered and Hutton won the part of Annie Oakley. Shooting resumed after five months, with George Sidney replacing Charles Walters as director.[3]
According to Betty Hutton, she was treated coldly by most of the cast and crew because she had replaced Garland. During an interview with Robert Osborne (first telecast on Turner Classic Movies "Private Screenings" on July 18, 2000), she recalled the other cast members being hostile and the MGM management as so unappreciative they neglected to invite her to the New York premiere. By all accounts, Hutton clashed with co-star Howard Keel. Years later, Keel recalled Hutton as "a scene stealer" and "insecure". In his autobiography Only Make Believe: My Life in Show Business, Keel wrote that on one occasion Hutton was upset because she felt Keel was upstaging her and they reshot the scene 35 times until she was satisfied with it. Hutton wrote in her memoir Backstage You Can Have that Keel was a "green horn" who tried to pull focus from her performance. Reportedly, she felt the only major cast member who treated her with any kindness and respect was Louis Calhern. Hutton also stated that one day Judy Garland visited the set and when Hutton greeted her with a bouncy "Hiya', Judy!", she was brought up short by a seething string of profanities from Garland. Years later, the two women became friendly while each was performing in Las Vegas. According to Hutton, Garland admitted to her that she never felt she was right for the part of Annie and had been relieved when Hutton took over.
Only two production numbers were completed with Garland, "Doin' What Comes Naturally" and the elaborate "I'm an Indian, Too" and these were officially released by MGM for the first time in the 1994 documentary That's Entertainment III. All of Garland's studio prerecordings for the film exist and were officially released by Rhino Records in 2000 for the film's first complete and remastered soundtrack CD, alongside Betty Hutton's renditions of the same numbers from the film.
Release and reception
The film premiered at Loew's State Theatre in New York City on May 17, 1950.[4] Despite the production problems, the film garnered mostly favorable reviews from critics. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called it "a whale of a musical picture" with Hutton giving the lead role "a great deal of humor and bounce."[5]Variety declared it "socko musical entertainment on film, just as it was on the Broadway stage ... Wonderfully stimulating, always entertaining, 'Annie' should do a lot to push the slogan, 'Movies Are Better Than Ever.'"[6]Harrison's Reports wrote that "it holds one captivated from start to finish with the brilliance of its color photography, the lavish sets, the huge cast, the colorful costumes, the lilting Berlin tunes and, foremost, the truly wonderful performance given by the dynamic Betty Hutton, as 'Annie Oakley.'"[7]Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post called it "a swell musical—a picture everybody will enjoy," adding that "while Annie is a juicy part, it's hard to think of anyone who could have done it as well as Betty has."[8]John McCarten of The New Yorker wrote that it was "far superior to the usual line of Hollywood goods," though in comparison to the stage version, Hutton "never projects the hilarity of the business with anything like the enormous competence of Miss Merman."[9]The Monthly Film Bulletin called Berlin's music "very enjoyable" but faulted the direction because "the staging of the numbers rarely takes advantage of the amplitude of the sets or the mobility of the camera," and thought that Hutton played the role "as a series of turns rather than as an acting performance."[10]
The film was one of the top-grossing pictures of the year.[11] During its initial release, MGM recorded it as earning $4,708,000 in the US and Canada and $3,048,000 overseas, resulting in a profit of $1,061,000.[1][12]
In 1973 it was withdrawn from distribution, owing to a dispute between Irving Berlin and MGM over music rights, which prevented the public from viewing this film for almost 30 years. It was not until the film's 50th anniversary in 2000 that it was seen again in its entirety.
One of Hutton's costumes, the very first "Wild West Show" costume seen in the film for the reprise of "There's No Business Like Show Business" is on permanent display at the Costume World Broadway Collection Museum in Pompano Beach, Florida.
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. She attained international stardom and critical acclaim as an actress in both musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist, and on the concert stage. Renowned for her versatility, she received an Academy Juvenile Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Special Tony Award. Garland was the first woman to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, which she won for her 1961 live recording titled Judy at Carnegie Hall.
Harold Clifford Keel, professionally Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer known for his rich bass-baritone singing voice. He starred in a number of MGM musicals in the 1950s and in the television series Dallas from 1981 to 1991.
Arthur Freed was an American lyricist and Hollywood film producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture twice, in 1951 for An American in Paris and in 1958 for Gigi. Both films were musicals, and both were directed by Vincente Minnelli. In addition, he produced and was a co-lyricist for the film Singin' in the Rain.
Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music by Irving Berlin and a book by Dorothy Fields and her brother Herbert Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley (1860–1926), a sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West, and her romance with sharpshooter Frank E. Butler (1847–1926).
Betty Hutton was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedian, dancer, and singer. She rose to fame in the 1940s as a contract player for Paramount Pictures, appearing primarily in musicals, and became one of the studio's most valuable stars of that decade. She was noted for her energetic and sometimes manic performance style.
Annie Oakley was an American sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West.
Gail Davis was an American actress and singer, best known for her starring role as Annie Oakley in the 1950s television series Annie Oakley.
"Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)" is a show tune composed by Irving Berlin for the 1946 Broadway musical Annie Get Your Gun. The song is a duet, with one male singer and one female singer attempting to outdo each other in increasingly complex tasks.
That's Entertainment, Part II is a 1976 American compilation film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and a sequel to That's Entertainment! (1974). Like the previous film, That's Entertainment, Part II was a retrospective of famous films released by MGM from the 1930s to the 1950s. Some posters for the film use Part 2 rather than Part II in the title.
The Pirate is a 1948 American musical film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. With songs by Cole Porter, it stars Judy Garland and Gene Kelly with costars Walter Slezak, Gladys Cooper, Reginald Owen, The Nicholas Brothers, and George Zucco.
Summer Stock is a 1950 American Technicolor musical film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Charles Walters, stars Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, and features Eddie Bracken, Gloria DeHaven, Marjorie Main, and Phil Silvers. Musical numbers were staged by Nick Castle and Kelly.
"Doin' What Comes Natur'lly" is a song from the 1946 musical Annie Get Your Gun, written by Irving Berlin. The song was introduced by Ethel Merman in the original production of the musical. Other singers to have recorded the song include Betty Hutton, Judy Garland, Bernadette Peters, Suzi Quatro, The DeMarco Sisters, and Dinah Shore.
"They Say It's Wonderful" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the musical Annie Get Your Gun (1946), where it was introduced by Ethel Merman and Ray Middleton. A film version in 1950 again featured the song when it was performed by Howard Keel and Betty Hutton. More recently it was performed in an episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel by Darius de Haas.
"I Got the Sun in the Mornin' " is a song from the 1946 musical Annie Get Your Gun, written by Irving Berlin and originally performed by Ethel Merman. Hit recordings in 1946 were by Les Brown and by Artie Shaw.
"I'm an Indian Too" is a song from the 1946 musical Annie Get Your Gun, by Irving Berlin. It was originally performed by Ethel Merman. It is sung by the main character Annie after Sitting Bull adopts her into the Sioux tribe.
"You Can't Get a Man with a Gun" is a song from the 1946 musical Annie Get Your Gun, written by Irving Berlin. It was originally performed by Ethel Merman.
For Me and My Gal is a 1942 American musical film directed by Busby Berkeley, and starring Judy Garland, George Murphy, Martha Eggerth, Ben Blue and Gene Kelly in his film debut. The film was written by Richard Sherman, Fred F. Finklehoffe and Sid Silvers, based on a story by Howard Emmett Rogers inspired by a true story about vaudeville actors Harry Palmer and Jo Hayden, when Palmer was drafted into World War I. The film was a production of the Arthur Freed unit at MGM.
Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows is a 2001 American two-part, four-hour biographical television miniseries based on the 1998 book Me and My Shadows: A Family Memoir written by Lorna Luft, the daughter of legendary singer-actress Judy Garland. The miniseries was directed by Robert Allan Ackerman and originally broadcast in two parts on ABC on February 25 and 26, 2001.
Francis E. Butler was an Irish American marksman who performed in Wild West variety shows. He developed a shooting act with his performing partner John Graham, and when Graham fell ill the sharpshooter Annie Oakley stood in for him. Butler and Oakley began to perform together and later married, and they joined the Sells Brothers Circus. They became famous as a sharpshooting duo during their time in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show from 1885 to 1901. Butler also worked as a representative and salesman for gun manufacturers.
Let's Dance is a 1950 American Technicolor musical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Norman Z. McLeod starring Betty Hutton, Fred Astaire and Roland Young. It was produced and released by Paramount Pictures.
References
1 2 3 The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
1 2 Green, Stanley; revised and updated by Elaine Schmidt. Hollywood Musicals Year By Year, Second Edition (1999) Hal Leonard Corporation, p. 159 ISBN0-634-00765-3
↑ Arceri, Gene (2009). Rocking Horse - A Personal Biography of Betty Hutton. BearManor Media. ISBN9781593933210.
↑ Crowther, Bosley (May 18, 1950). "The Screen: Three Films Make Their Bows". The Washington Post. p.B7.
↑ "Annie Get Your Gun". Variety. April 12, 1950. p.6.
↑ "'Annie Get Your Gun' with Betty Hutton, Howard Keel, Louis Calhern, and Edward Arnold". Harrison's Reports: 58. April 15, 1950.
↑ Coe, Richard L. (June 15, 1950). "'Annie' a Musical Everyone'll Like". The Washington Post. p.B7.
↑ McCarten, John (May 20, 1950). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker. p.105.
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