Starring Betty Hutton, Howard Keel, Keenan Wynn, and Louis Calhern
Directed by George Sidney
Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin
Let's start the week of the 4th of July by celebrating some real-life American legends. Annie Oakley was a real person who toured the world with her rival, and then husband, Frank Butler doing trick shots in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. MGM bought the rights to the hit Broadway musical as soon as it's run ended.
The filming was anything but smooth. The original Annie, Judy Garland, was suffering from exhaustion an dealing with her drug problems and was eventually replaced by brash Hutton. They went through three directors and two Buffalo Bills after the first actor in the role, Frank Morgan, died shortly after filming began. For all that, how did the story of Annie, Frank, and their contemptuous relationship come off today? Let's begin with the arrival of Buffalo Bill's (Calhoun) Wild West Show to a small town in Ohio and find out...
The Story: Annie Oakley (Hutton) is the best shot in all of Ohio. She's so good, she accidentally shoots the bird off the hat belonging to Dolly Tate (Benay Venuta), one of the female performers in the Wild West Show. Manager Charlie Davenport (Wynn) offers her $5 to beat the show's major star Frank Butler (Keel) at a marksmanship competition.
When Annie beats him hands down, Davenport and Butler convince her to audition for the Wild West Show. She's an unqualified success, and Frank is smitten...at least until Annie's star eclipses his own. He ends up joining Pawnee Bill's (Edward Arnold) show when he sees Annie's increasing popularity.
Buffalo Bill's show tours Europe, and Annie is a smash with all the heads of state. She's even adopted into Chief Sitting Bull's (J. Carrol Naish) tribe. Frank's not as impressed and challenges her to another shooting competition. Annie's ready to beat him again, until Sitting Bull reminds her that "you can't get a man with a gun," or a relationship without sacrifice.
The Song and Dance: For all the trouble they had making this movie, it didn't turn out too badly. I actually think charming Calhoun works out better as Buffalo Bill than blustery Morgan would have anyway. You believe Calhoun would go out and shoot buffalo and tame the west. Keel makes a smashing debut as Butler, equally believable singing and as the tough marksman who finds himself falling for the backwoods gal.
The costumes in particular are gorgeous, from the ruffly dresses and ribbon-trimmed hats for the ladies who crowd around Frank in the opening to Annie's scarlet gown worn at the reception in England. Sidney does pretty well for someone who was brought in at the last moment to replace Busby Berkeley, especially with more intimate numbers like "They Say It's Wonderful" and the hilarious "Anything You Can Do."
Favorite Number: We open with Dolly, Frank, and Charlie explaining how "Colonel Buffalo Bill" tamed the west and got their show together. Annie and her siblings explain how she's such a good shot in "Doin' What Comes Naturally." Frank tells Annie that "The Girl That I Marry" will be a dainty lady who will be pretty in his arms. Annie realizes after he leaves that "You Can't Get a Man With a Gun."
Charlie, Buffalo Bill, and Frank tell Annie that "There's No Business Like Show Business" when she hesitates on joining the Wild West Show. We hear this famous anthem twice more, when Annie sees herself solo on the posters for the first time, and in the big finale as the two shows come together. She and Frank admit "They Say It's Wonderful" to fall in love, while Frank tells the men at the show that "My Defences are Down." "I'm an Indian Too" is the exhausting ritual that brings Annie into the Native tribe...or would, if she didn't try to hide from them! She exuberantly performs "I've Got the Sun In the Morning" for the heads of state in England. After challenging her to another marksmanship competition, Annie claims "Anything You Can Do," she can do, too, though Frank doesn't buy it.
Trivia: Judy Garland filmed "Doin' What Comes Naturally" and "I'm an Indian Too" before she was dropped from the production. They still exist and can be found on the DVD and Blu-Ray, along with a cut Hutton number, "Let's Go West Again."
The original Broadway cast of Annie Get Your Gun in 1946 featured Ethel Merman in the title role and Ray Middleton as Frank. It was a smash hit, running over four years. There would be two short-lived revivals in 1958 and 1966, the latter featuring Merman. The heavily revised 1999 Broadway revival with Bernadette Peters and Tom Wopat also ran for four years, nearly as long as the original. It's been seen in London at least three times. The 1947 production with Dolores Gray outran the Broadway show, but three revivals were short-lived.
Annie made it to TV twice, in 1957 with Mary Martin, and in 1967 with Merman. Alas, the Merman version seems to be lost except for one clip and its audio. The Martin version does exist, and I'll likely cover it sometime later this year.
Annie Oakley was a sharp-shooter in the 1880's and 1890's who did travel and perform with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. She did marry rival Frank Butler...but unlike what you see here, Frank knew his wife was the better shot and stepped down to manage her career.
What I Don't Like: There's a reason the book for the 1999 revival was so heavily re-written. This show is neither good to its female characters, nor the Natives. In fact, one thing they got right in the 1999 revival was having Annie and Frank tie in that final match. It's more interesting and historically accurate. Hutton tries way too hard. Her belting and clowning works for comic numbers like "Indian Too" and "I've Got the Sun In the Morning," but her "Doin' What Comes Naturally" lacks intimacy, and she has no chemistry whatsoever with Keel except for when they're sparring in "Anything You Can Do."
In the original show and 1999 revival, Dolly's sister Winnie and her boyfriend Tommy had a pair of major numbers that covered scene changes. They and their songs were deemed extraneous in 1950 and 1966 were deleted. Other songs that didn't make it into the film version include the ballad "I Got Lost In His Arms" for Annie, Frank's introductory number "I'm a Bad, Bad Man," and Annie's "Moonshine Lullaby" that she sings to her siblings on the train. Surprised they didn't retain at least the lovely "Lost In His Arms," which would have been gorgeous on Hutton and Garland.
The Big Finale: Even with the multitude of problems and dated script, this is still worth checking out for fans of Berlin, Hutton, Keel, or the big MGM musicals of the 40's and 50's.
Home Media: Legal troubles kept this off home media until the 1999 revival's overwhelming success prompted Warner Bros to finally release it in 2000. It's currently disc-only from the Warner Archives.
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