Cat Ballou

(1965)

Cat Ballou is a movie spoof unlike any other, and a great parody of the Western film genre. Jane Fonda appears in one of her most playful film roles ("Barbarella" is another light and funny Fonda classic), and Lee Marvin gives one of his finest film performances (he won his Oscar for his dual roles). Add to this mix a wondrous soundtrack, with Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye as minstrels of sorts who stroll and sing throughout, making the film almost seem like a musical; an outstanding supporting cast including Michael Callan (who later appeared on TV's "One Life to Live"), and Dwayne Hickman (TV's Dobie Gillis), and the result is this hilarious, thoroughly entertaining film that was nominated for five Academy Awards (Marvin was the sole winner).

Catherine Ballou (Fonda) is a recently graduated-from-training schoolteacher returning home to live with her father on his ranch, but he is gunned down upon her arrival. She enlists the help of a loyal ranch-hand, a couple of outlaws, and most notably, a has-been alcoholic gunman by the name of Kid Sheleen (Marvin) to help her get revenge. The result is a thoroughly enjoyable film that still stands up today, and Lee Marvin stealing the entire film in his amazing dual role performance as both Tim Strong and Kid Sheleen. Lee Marvin alone makes the film well worth seeing.

The dialogue is great. Take this exchange as an example:

Jackson Two-Bears: "Kid, Kid, what a time to fall off the wagon. Look at your eyes."
Kid Sheleen: "What's wrong with my eyes?"
Jackson Two-Bears: "Well they're red; bloodshot."
Kid Sheleen: "You ought to see 'em from my side."

I was thrilled when the widescreen special edition of this long-time favorite of mine came out in 2003, and on DVD. I have the soundtrack on vinyl, but I have always wished that it would come out on CD; Nat King Cole is one of my all-time favorite singers, and his rendition of "They'll Never Make Me Cry" always makes me...anyway. This film still hasn't lost any of its humor or fun with the passing of time, and stays on my personal "top ten list" of great comedies.

I Married A Monster From Outer Space

(1958)

"The bride wore terror!"

The Fifties were a noteable decade for Sci-Fi films. The Cold War was on, and there was rampant paranoia about Communism; a generalized paranoia that was fueled in large part by McCarthy and his "House Un-American Activities Committee". Personal example of the time: I was born in the same year as this film was made, and I grew up in a house that had been built to my parents' specifications to include a real bomb shelter in its basement. Movies such as the classic "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", and "I Married a Monster From Outer Space" played on this theme, as translated into Sci-Fi films.

The sensationalist title belies the quality of the film and its well-told storyline. Although I am also fond of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", which has a similar theme, it lacks the heart of the subject of this review, in my opinion.

Marge (Gloria Talbott) and Bill (Tom Tryon) are getting married, but Marge doesn't realize at first that the night before the wedding her groom's body was taken over by an alien being. She notices the differences in his personality but brushes them aside. She soon comes to realize the true nature of what she has married, and of course tries to warn everyone, and stop the invasion of aliens...aliens who are taking over the menfolk of her town in the hopes of breeding with the women and establishing a colony on Earth. The theme is: "They look just like us....but they aren't! And they'll take over!" This is Communism as represented by the Sci-Fi genre, and it was very popular in the Fifties. The movie industry was feverishly pumping out lots of low-budget films meant to distract the American public at the local drive-in theatre. However, "I Married a Monster From Outer Space" seems to be one of the accidental gems.

Tom Tryon makes for a very likeable alien. He's tall, handsome, and manages to make his character very sympathetic as the film progresses. He starts to understand and appreciate Earth, its culture, and his beautiful wife Marge, as she simultaneously pulls away upon discovering that what she is living (and sleeping) with isn't really her husband. And as always in Sci-Fi, the dogs always know who's the alien and who's the human. Marge's present of a dog to Bill results in an episode that jolts her into realizing that something is truly wrong.

Subtle performances by both Tryon and Talbott help immensely. Both were highly respected and capable actors of the time, and Tryon in particular manages to go from gentle and kind to menacing with a very subtle and believable ease in this film. Tryon was in several well-known films, and received especially good critical reviews for his role in the film "The Cardinal". Interesting bit of trivia: he was also considered by Alfred Hitchcock for the role of Sam Loomis in "Psycho."

There are the typical Sci-Fi low-budget special effects, but what makes the film really work is the telling of the story in a manner that pulls you into all of the characters, despite the obvious shortcomings of the budget.

Note: Tom Tryon retired from acting in the late 1960's and became a successful novelist, publishing as Thomas Tryon; my mother had some of his books, such as the bestselling "The Other", "Harvest Home", and "Crowned Heads", all of which I thoroughly enjoyed and inherited.