MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Up 825 this week

Cat Ballou (1965)

Approved  |   |  Comedy, Western  |  24 June 1965 (USA)
6.9
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 6.9/10 from 9,881 users  
Reviews: 84 user | 32 critic

A woman seeking revenge for her murdered father hires a famous gunman, but he's very different from what she expects.

Director:

Writers:

(screenplay), (screenplay) (as Frank R. Pierson) , 1 more credit »
Watch Trailer
0Check in
0Share...

Watch Now

From $2.99 on Amazon Video

ON DISC

Celebrate IMDb's 25th Anniversary with Photos We Love

IMDb turns 25 on October 17! To celebrate, we put together a gallery of some of our favorite movie, TV, and event photos from the last 25 years.

See the Photos We Love

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 35 titles
created 02 Feb 2012
 
a list of 37 titles
created 01 Feb 2013
 
a list of 40 titles
created 28 Aug 2013
 
a list of 33 titles
created 09 Mar 2014
 
a list of 28 titles
created 7 months ago
 

Related Items

Search for "Cat Ballou" on Amazon.com

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: Cat Ballou (1965)

Cat Ballou (1965) on IMDb 6.9/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of Cat Ballou.

User Polls

Won 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 14 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Comedy | Drama | Musical
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X  

Two unlikely prospector partners share the same wife in a California gold rush mining town.

Director: Joshua Logan
Stars: Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood, Jean Seberg
Comedy | Romance | Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

A con artist arrives in a mining town controlled by two competing companies. Both companies think he's a famous gunfighter and try to hire him to drive the other out of town.

Director: Burt Kennedy
Stars: James Garner, Suzanne Pleshette, Jack Elam
Action | Adventure | Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

An arrogant Texas millionaire hires four adventurers to rescue his kidnapped wife from a notorious Mexican bandit.

Director: Richard Brooks
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan
Action | Comedy | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X  

In the old west, a man becomes a sheriff just for the pay, figuring he can decamp if things get tough. In the end, he uses ingenuity instead.

Director: Burt Kennedy
Stars: James Garner, Joan Hackett, Walter Brennan
Action | Adventure | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

A US Army Major is assigned a dozen convicted murderers to train and lead them into a mass assassination mission of German officers in World War II.

Director: Robert Aldrich
Stars: Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson
Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

Ranch owner Katie Elder's four sons determine to avenge the murder of their father and the swindling of their mother.

Director: Henry Hathaway
Stars: John Wayne, Dean Martin, Martha Hyer
Klute (1971)
Crime | Mystery | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

A small-town detective searching for a missing man has only one lead: a connection with a New York prostitute.

Director: Alan J. Pakula
Stars: Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi
Coming Home (1978)
Drama | Romance | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

A woman whose husband is fighting in Vietnam falls in love with another man who suffered a paralyzing combat injury there.

Director: Hal Ashby
Stars: Jane Fonda, Jon Voight, Bruce Dern
Drama | Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.1/10 X  

A senator, who became famous for killing a notorious outlaw, returns for the funeral of an old friend and tells the truth about his deed.

Director: John Ford
Stars: James Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles
Big Jake (1971)
Action | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

In 1909, when John Fain's gang kidnaps Big Jake McCandles' grandson and hold him for ransom, Big Jake sets out to rescue the boy.

Directors: George Sherman, John Wayne
Stars: John Wayne, Richard Boone, Maureen O'Hara
The Chase (1966)
Crime | Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

The escape of Bubber Reeves from prison affects the inhabitants of a small Southern town.

Director: Arthur Penn
Stars: Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford
True Grit (1969)
Certificate: M Adventure | Western | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

A drunken, hard-nosed U.S. Marshal and a Texas Ranger help a stubborn teenager track down her father's murderer in Indian territory.

Director: Henry Hathaway
Stars: John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell
Edit

Cast

Complete credited cast:
...
...
Shelleen--Strawn
...
...
Jed
...
Shouter (as Nat King Cole)
Stubby Kaye ...
Shouter
Tom Nardini ...
...
...
...
Sheriff Cardigan
Arthur Hunnicutt ...
...
Sheriff Maledon
...
Accuser
Paul Gilbert ...
Train Messenger
Edit

Storyline

Cat(herine) Ballou's family farm is being threatened by the Rail Road. She sends for Kid Shelleen, finding him to be the drunkest gunfighter in the west. When her father is killed by the rail road magnate's gunman, she vowes to fight on. Shelleen manages to ride sideways in several scenes, while minstrels sing the ballad of Cat Ballou in between scenes. Written by John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

A gen-u-ine movie first! A way-out whopper! A funny movie? YOU BET IT IS...! See more »

Genres:

Comedy | Western

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

24 June 1965 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Cat Ballou skjuter skarpt  »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

(Eastman Color)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nat King Cole had a nightly singing engagement at a Lake Tahoe nightclub. He would commute daily between Lake Tahoe and the set in order to do both. Everyone noticed that Cole was coughing a great deal whenever he was on the set and losing weight, but most figured he was just running himself down with such a gruelling schedule. Unbeknownst to them and to Cole himself, he was already very sick with lung cancer. See more »

Goofs

The hot "steam" vapors which emerge from Kid Shelleen's bath should rise rather than sink as they are ostensibly lighter than air; they sink because they are actually heavier-than-air dry ice vapors. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Professor Sam The ShadeThe Sunrise Kid: [singing] Well now friends just lend an ear for you're now about to hear the Ballad of Cat Ballou.
See more »

Crazy Credits

Opening credits are shown on the pages of a large book; an uncredited pair of hands turn the pages in time with the music. See more »

Connections

Referenced in There's Something About Mary (1998) See more »

Soundtracks

Happy Birthday to You
(uncredited)
Written by Patty S. Hill and Mildred J. Hill
Performed by Lee Marvin
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

Riotous, slam-bang Western comedy!
26 January 2003 | by (Chicago, Illinois) – See all my reviews

In the most lighthearted roles of their careers, Academy Award-winner Jane Fonda (Klute, Coming Home) and Lee Marvin (winner of the Best Actor Oscar for this performance) shine as the title character, a virtuous young schoolmarm who sets out to avenge the death of her father Frankie (played by John Marley), and as drunken sharpshooter Kid Shelleen, who agrees to help the young woman go after the killer(s). Along for the ride are Clay Boone (Michael Callan), a handsome young felon who is sheltered by Cat and falls in love with her; Jed (Dwayne Hickman), Clay's Bible-thumping uncle, and Jackson Two-Bears (Tom Nardini, who is hilarious), the Ballou's hired hand who philosophically comments on the treatment of Native Americans. Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye are enjoyable as troubadours who sing the plot of the movie as it moves along. Fonda never looked more beautiful, Marvin is a hoot (as Shelleen and his twin brother, the silver-nosed Tim Strawn), and the screenplay (by Walter Newman, Frank R. Pierson and Roy Chanslor, from his novel) is remarkable. Memorable scenes include the opening train sequence, the brawl at the square dance, the showdown between Cat and Sir Percival (played by character actor Reginald Denny) and the conclusion at the gallows. Delightful from start to finish! ***1/2 out of ****


19 of 22 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Best western comedy? Theo87
A very HOT Jane Fonda lympog
What did you think of this film? Sandy86
Cloumbia torch lady turns into Cat Ballou clive-ihd
Strawn's nose pilot4591
horses name cindy-holley
Discuss Cat Ballou (1965) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?