Calamity Jane

• Directed by David Butler / Musical numbers staged and directed by Jack Donohue
• November 4, 1953

Calamity Jane romances Wild Bill Hickok and causes problems.

The meat of the comedy of Calamity Jane is Calamity Jane (Doris Day) exaggerates her stories. Her tall tales and wild promises cause problems which drives the film. Those exaggerations are acknowledged by those around her, who understand just how much she stretches the truth.

Doris Day as the titular Calamity Jane causes, well, calamity wherever she goes. It took me a bit to feel that Day was actually good casting here. As an actress she’s trying too hard to appear tougher and better than everyone around her and that’s the point of the character. She tries too hard and reacts before she thinks causing a great many issues.

Day not only carries a tune great but is just an excellent performer here. The right amount of enthusiasm and physicality to make the numbers a hook. She gives Calamity a mix of bluster and pushiness coupled with a lack of brains yet an earnest heart.

The plot of Calamity Jane is about the alleged romance between Wild Bill Hickok (Howard Keel) and Calamity Jane. I would say heavily alleged after reading a bit on her so don’t go into this thinking you’re getting anything near the truth. This is like a reboot of a film rather than a fanciful retelling of history.

There are those that  have seen some suggestion of lesbianism with the brief portion of the film that Calamity Jane and Katie Brown (Allyn Ann McLerie) are living under the same roof. I can certainly see where that thought comes from but if anything I think it implies bisexuality because both Katie and Calamity end up with men at the end. It’s like saying Yogi and Boo-Boo are gay and that Yogi’s girlfriend Cindy is just a cover. Some things are just a reflection of the era and not a quiet way to insert anything.

This goes along with Calamity Jane being a strong and independent woman being seen by some as indicative of being a lesbian. She’s a strong independent woman. A feminist if you will who is friends with men and is often their equal. Maybe a little uncultured at times. Both are an example of viewing the past through a modern eye.

A personal issue for mine are over produced musical numbers where all those singing and dancing exceed the limits of the town population. That doesn’t happen here. They’re big but they’re not overdone. It’s just the people present that get to participate and not those in the next 10 buildings.

I can’t call Calamity Jane bad. The music and the performances were all great but something about it just didn’t connect with me. It lacked that special element and I think some of that can go down to the chemistry between Doris Day, Howard Keel, and Second Lieutenant Daniel Gilmartin (Philip Carey). While they were all excellent at doing what they did you just couldn’t believe either of them could be a couple. The same goes with Katie and Gilmartin. In any romcom you need to feel that the people could be together. In a love triangle (or quadrangle) there needs to be some doubt on who the successful party will be or even if there will be any success. I just don’t have that here.

I enjoyed Calamity Jane. I had a good time but ultimately something did not quite click for me. I would not watch it again unless somebody else put it in.