Calamity Jane (Doris Day) and Wild Bill Hickok (Howard Keel) at the Deadwood saloon
In the Dakota Territory during the 1870s tough-talking, hard-riding, straight-shooting Calamity Jane rides into town on top of the Deadwood stage, wielding a rifle, and boasts, not always honestly, of her Indian-fighting exploits at a saloon where she has a "sassparilly". She has a crush on Lieutenant Gilmartin, and when survivors of an Indian attack stumble into the saloon and say he was wounded, she even risks life and limb and single-handedly saves him from an Indian war party.
Meanwhile, Deadwood's saloon owner, who sends for beautiful women entertainers to sing on stage, mistakenly hires a male, Francis (not "Frances") Fryer. Fearing a riot, the owner persuades the reluctant actor to perform in drag. Though he is initially convincing, his wig falls off, and the angry audience threatens to tear the saloon down. But Calamity calms the situation, vowing to go to Chicago and bring the renowned singer Adelaid Adams back to Deadwood. However, her friend Wild Bill Hickok expresses doubt, even scoffing at the idea, just as he scoffs at "Calam"'s relatively masculine appearance.
Calamity arrives in Chicago, where Adams is giving her farewell performance before launching a European tour. After the show ends, Adelaid gives her old costumes to her maid, Katie Brown, who dreams of becoming a singer, though Adelaid belittles her ambitions. Later, when Calamity walks in, she mistakes Katie for Adelaid. Katie, posing as Adelaid, agrees to return west with Calamity, seeing it as a chance to perform on stage.
But back in Deadwood, during Katie's premiere performance, stage fright gets the best of her. She bursts into tears, admitting she is not Adelaid Adams. With the stunned crowd on the verge of rioting, Calamity fires a shot in the air and defends Katie. She is allowed to carry on, and ultimately wins the crowd over. Meanwhile, Bill is in the audience, dressed as a "squaw" with a papoose, having lost a bet if Calamity couldn't bring Adelaid to Deadwood. When Katie reveals she is not Adelaid, Bill gets his revenge by roping Calamity and hanging her by the waist from the saloon ceiling.
Katie moves into Calamity's ramshackle cabin, which they fix up together. To attract Gilmartin, Calamity, with Katie's help, dresses and behaves "ladylike". But Gilmartin and Hickok both admire Katie. At one point, they draw straws to see who will take her to the upcoming ball. Gilmartin wins, and Bill agrees to complement the double date by escorting Calamity.
At the ball, everyone is awed by Calamity's transformation. She's beautiful. But she becomes increasingly jealous watching Katie and Gilmartin together. The ball ends when Calamity angrily confronts Katie, shooting a punch glass from her hand.
A day later, though, Katie returns the favor at the saloon, albeit with the help of Bill who is the true shooter of Calamity's glass. Calamity, feeling humiliated, exits with Bill and they drive off in his wagon. A heartbroken Calamity reveals her crush on Gilmartin, while Bill admits his love for Katie. In spite of this, they passionately embrace and kiss. Calamity then realizes she loved Bill all along.
The next day, Katie takes the stagecoach to Chicago, feeling guilty over betraying her best friend. After the stage leaves, a furious Gilmartin confronts Calamity, blaming her for Katie's sudden departure. She responds by mounting her horse and riding out to overtake the stagecoach. There, she tells Katie she loves Bill, and the two women are reunited.
The story ends with a double wedding; as the stagecoach is about to leave town with the foursome, Bill asks why Calamity still has a gun. She says it's in case any more actresses come to town; all laugh, and Bill gives her gun to Fryer, before the foursome ride off, a "JUST HITCHED" sign on the back of the stagecoach.[3]
The music was included in the album of the same name, though some of the songs from the album were re-recorded rather than taken from the soundtrack.
Reception
In its opening week, it finished ninth at the US box office with grosses of $55,000 at the Paramount Theatre in New York City, $18,000 in Philadelphia, $12,000 in Cleveland and $7,500 in Minneapolis.[4][5]
The film has been popular with some lesbian audiences for its depiction of a character which can be read as lesbian, and was screened at the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in 2006.[10] Film critic Jamie Stuart points to the film's lesbian overtones in Jane being played as a strong, independent woman who shares a house with a woman, the two of them painting "Calam and Katie" on its door.[10]Armond White sees the film as approaching sexuality in a way that Hollywood was not openly able to do, describing the empathy and envy (despite this resulting from conflict over a man) between Jane and Katie's characters as "a landmark display of girl-on-girl attraction."[11]Out magazine described the film's award-winning song, "Secret Love," as "the first gay anthem."[11] When asked about her award winning song being embraced by the gay community during a 2011 interview with The Advocate (magazine), Doris Day replied, "I was not aware of that, but that's wonderful."[12]
Accuracy
Though the film portrays Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok as lovers, historians have found no proof that they were more than acquaintances. Jane claimed after Hickok's death that she had not only been his lover but also his wife and the mother of his child, but she offered no substantiation of her claims. Many of her contemporaries considered her a teller of tall tales (as portrayed in the film to humorous effect) who exaggerated her links to more famous frontier figures, and some insisted Hickok did not even particularly like her. But when she died decades after Hickok, friends buried her beside him at her request; four of the men on the self-appointed committee who planned Calamity's funeral (Albert Malter, Frank Ankeney, Jim Carson, and Anson Higby) later stated that, since Hickok had "absolutely no use" for Jane in this life, they decided to play a posthumous joke on him by laying her to rest by his side.[13]
Related Research Articles
Deadwood is a city that serves as county seat of Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was named by early settlers after the dead trees found in its gulch. The city had its heyday from 1876 to 1879, after gold deposits had been discovered there, leading to the Black Hills Gold Rush. At its height, the city had a population of 25,000, attracting Old West figures such as Wyatt Earp, Calamity Jane, Seth Bullock and Wild Bill Hickok.
James Butler Hickok, better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his life on the frontier as a soldier, scout, lawman, cattle rustler, gunslinger, gambler, showman, and actor, and for his involvement in many famous gunfights. He earned a great deal of notoriety in his own time, much of it bolstered by the many outlandish and often fabricated tales he told about himself. Some contemporaneous reports of his exploits are known to be fictitious, but they remain the basis of much of his fame and reputation.
Deadwood is an American Western television series that aired on the premium cable network HBO from March 21, 2004, to August 27, 2006. The series is set in the 1870s in Deadwood, South Dakota, before and after the area's annexation by the Dakota Territory, and charts Deadwood's growth from camp to town. The show was created, produced, and largely written by David Milch. Deadwood features a large ensemble cast headed by Timothy Olyphant and Ian McShane, playing the real-life Deadwood residents Seth Bullock and Al Swearengen, respectively. Many other historical figures appear as characters, including George Crook, Wyatt Earp, E. B. Farnum, George Hearst, Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Sol Star, A. W. Merrick, Jack McCall, and Charlie Utter. The plot lines involving these characters include historical truths as well as substantial fictional elements. Milch used actual diaries and newspapers from 1870s Deadwood residents as reference points for characters, events, and the look and feel of the show.
Charles H. "Colorado Charlie" Utter was a figure of the American Wild West, best known as a great friend and companion of Wild Bill Hickok. He was also friends with Calamity Jane.
"Secret Love" is a song composed by Sammy Fain (music) and Paul Francis Webster (lyrics) for Calamity Jane, a 1953 musical film in which it was introduced by Doris Day in the title role. Ranked as a number 1 hit for Day on both the Billboard and Cash Box, the song also afforded Day a number 1 hit in the UK. "Secret Love" has subsequently been recorded by a wide range of artists, becoming a C&W hit firstly for Slim Whitman and later for Freddy Fender, with the song also becoming an R&B hit for Billy Stewart, whose version also reached the top 40 as did Freddy Fender's. In the UK, "Secret Love" would become the career record of Kathy Kirby via her 1963 remake of the song. The melody bears a slight resemblance to the opening theme of Schubert's A-major piano sonata, D.664.
The Plainsman is a 1936 American Western film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur. The film presents a highly fictionalized account of the adventures and relationships between Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Buffalo Bill Cody, and General George Custer, with a gun-runner named Lattimer as the main villain. The film is notorious for mixing timelines and even has an opening scene with Abraham Lincoln setting the stage for Hickok's adventures. Anthony Quinn has an early acting role as an Indian. A remake using the same title was released in 1966.
The Pajama Game is a 1957 American musical film based on the 1954 stage musical of the same name, itself based on the 1953 novel 7½ Cents by Richard Pike Bissell. The film was produced and directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen, with most Broadway cast members repeating their roles in the movie with the notable exception of star Doris Day. The choreography is by Bob Fosse, who also staged the dances for the Broadway production.
The Plainsman is a 1966 American Western film directed by David Lowell Rich and starring Don Murray and Guy Stockwell. It's a remake of the 1936 Cecil B. DeMille film of the same name.
Romance on the High Seas is a 1948 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz, and starred Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore and Doris Day in her film debut. Busby Berkeley was the choreographer. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, for Original Song for "It's Magic", and Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture.
"I Can Do Without You" is a popular song, with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster.
American actress Doris Day appeared in 39 feature films released between 1948 and 1968. Day began her career as a band singer and eventually won the female lead in the Warner Bros. film Romance on the High Seas (1948), for which she was selected by Michael Curtiz to replace Betty Hutton. She starred in several minor musicals for Warner Bros., including Tea for Two (1950), Lullaby of Broadway (1951), April in Paris (1952), By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953) and the hit musical Calamity Jane, in which she performed the Academy Award-winning song "Secret Love" (1953). She ended her contract with Warner Bros. after filming Young at Heart (1954) with Frank Sinatra.
Sally Payne was an American actress. She featured in several B-Westerns in the 1940s.
Wild Bill is a 1995 American biographical Western film about the last days of legendary lawman Wild Bill Hickok. The film was written and directed by Walter Hill, and based on the 1978 stage play Fathers and Sons by Thomas Babe and the 1986 novel Deadwood by Pete Dexter. It stars Jeff Bridges, Ellen Barkin, John Hurt, and Diane Lane, and was released by United Artists on December 1, 1995. It was a box-office bomb, grossing $2.1 million on a budget of $30 million, and received mixed reviews from critics.
Martha Jane Canary, better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, sharpshooter, and storyteller. In addition to many exploits, she was known for being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok. Late in her life, she appeared in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show and at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. She is said to have exhibited compassion to others, especially to the sick and needy. This facet of her character contrasted with her daredevil ways and helped to make her a noted frontier figure. She was also known for her habit of wearing men's attire.
"The Deadwood Stage (Whip-Crack-Away!)" is a song in the 1953 film Calamity Jane, written by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster, and performed by Doris Day. It was also used in the London stage show Calamity Jane in 2003 and the musical based on Doris Day's greatest hits, A Sentimental Journey.
Calamity Jane (A Musical Western) is a stage musical based on the historical figure of frontierswoman Calamity Jane. The non-historical, somewhat farcical plot involves the authentic Calamity Jane's professional associate Wild Bill Hickok, and presents the two as having a contentious relationship that ultimately proves to be a facade for mutually amorous feelings. The Calamity Jane stage musical was an adaption of a 1953 Warner Bros. musical film of the same name that starred Doris Day. First produced in 1961, the stage musical Calamity Jane features six songs not heard in the film. According to Jodie Prenger, star of the Calamity Jane 2014–15 UK tour, the songs added for the stage musical had been written for but not included in the Calamity Jane film ("Love You Dearly" had been used in the 1954 Doris Day musical film Lucky Me).
"Deadwood" is the first episode of the first season of the HBO original series of the same name. The episode was written by David Milch and directed by Walter Hill. It first aired on March 21, 2004.
The Old Style Saloon No. 10 is located in Deadwood, South Dakota, United States. The original location is best known as the site where the American Old West legend Wild Bill Hickok was assassinated by the Coward Jack McCall while playing a game of poker on August 2, 1876. Saloon No. 10 was originally located on placer claim number 10 from which its name is derived. Fire swept through the mining camp in 1879 destroying the original structure, and a bar was later built at its former location.
References
↑ 'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1954', Variety Weekly, January 5, 1955
↑ For music, lyrics and libretto of subsequent stage play and musical adapted after the Warner Bros Film, also see: Vocal score- "Calamity Jane (Operetta in Two Acts)" Amateur Operatic Version Warner Chappell Music Ltd copyright 2006 by Faber Music Ltd ( ISBN0-57152792-2). Libretto- "Calamity Jane A Musical Western" adapted by Ronald Hanmer & Phil Park from the stage play by Charles K. Freeman after the Warner Bros Film written by James O'Hanlon. Licensed to Josef Weinberger Ltd, London by arrangement with Tams-Witmark Music Library NYC. (Copyright 1962 by Tams-Witmark Music Library, New York. ISMN979-0-57005-498-5)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
