The movie starts with Catherine 'Cat' Ballou (Jane Fonda) about to be hanged. Then it flashes back to when she boards a train to Wolf City, Wyoming and her father Frankie Ballou (John Marley). She's a prim schoolteacher. For a reason that she doesn't even know, she helps Uncle Jed (Dwayne Hickman) free his nephew Clay Boone (Michael Callan) from the sheriff. The Wolf City Development Corporation is scheming to take over her father's water rights. He only has one ranch hand Jackson Two-Bears (Tom Nardini). They are threatened by metal-nosed gunfighter Tim Strawn (Lee Marvin). Clay and Jed show up at a town dance and join Cat. She hires legendary Kid Shelleen (Lee Marvin again) but he's a hopeless drunk. When Strawn kills Cat's father, the town protects him. Cat takes matters into her own hands.
This tries to reinvent the western genre. It does a terrific job at that. Fonda continues with her sexy naive kitten bit and move right into gun toting wildcat. She has shown her comic timing. The standout is Lee Marvin. He doesn't just do double duty but he has some of the best lines and does great comic drunk acting. This is fun action western.
This tries to reinvent the western genre. It does a terrific job at that. Fonda continues with her sexy naive kitten bit and move right into gun toting wildcat. She has shown her comic timing. The standout is Lee Marvin. He doesn't just do double duty but he has some of the best lines and does great comic drunk acting. This is fun action western.