Cat Ballou

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Cat Ballou

Directed by	Elliot Silverstein
Written by	Walter Newman
Starring	Jane Fonda Lee Marvin Michael Callan Dwayne Hickman Nat 'King' Cole
Release date(s)	June 24, 1965
Running time	97 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Cat Ballou is a 1965 comedy-western film which tells the story of a woman who hires a famous gunman to avenge her father's murder, but finds that the man she hires isn't what she expected. It stars Jane Fonda, Lee Marvin, Michael Callan, Dwayne Hickman, Nat King Cole, and Stubby Kaye.

It was adapted by Walter Newman and Frank Pierson from the novel by Roy Chanslor. It was directed by Elliot Silverstein.

It won the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Lee Marvin), and was nominated for Best Film Editing, Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment, Best Music, Song (Jerry Livingston and Mack David for "The Ballad of Cat Ballou") and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.

The novel was originally a serious Western, but was turned into a comedy for the movie. Nat King Cole died of cancer several months before the film was released.

There is a scene in which Lee Marvin is shooting cans thrown into the air. If one pays attention to the background, it is possible to see a small plane in the sky, not something to be found in the Old West.