• Calamity Jane (1963 TV version)

11/9/20 (Mon), YouTube

Thirty-year-old Carol Burnett had just performed in the stage adaptation of the Doris Day film musical in Kansas City when CBS scooped her up for a television version. This marked her television special debut, but with a Tony nomination (Once Upon a Mattress) and Emmy Award already under her belt at this point, she was completely at home. Plus she appeared here with most of the co-stars from the stage production, giving it a real theatrical feel.

The show itself is no great shakes, an obvious (and inferior) rip-off of Annie Get Your Gun with songs that, while fun, are pale imitations of infinitely better numbers like “Anything You Can Do” and Oklahoma‘s “(Everything’s Up to Date in) Kansas City”. The story would never pass muster today with the woman ultimately seeking a man; the stage version never seems to have made it to Broadway and is unlikely to do so without significant rewriting, though it’s popular in the UK. But it doesn’t aspire to profundity, just entertainment, and it easily passes that test with its Wild West setting, unflagging high spirits, and boisterous star cowgirl role.

The movie works above all because of Doris Day, and this version works because of Carol Burnett. She is a clown of the first order, taking full control of every scene she’s in. She’s a great belter and, though not exactly a dancer, a fantastic mover, as in her hilarious loose-limbed high jinks when first meeting the handsome captain. Her shtick is perfectly suited for the corny material. On the other hand, she wasn’t convincing at all in “Secret Love”, the show’s Oscar-winning hit, which seemed out of character at that point (though not when Day did it). But I guess she needed her romantic moment. Burnett abandoned the stage after absentee problems with a subsequent musical that led to lawsuits, but from the evidence here, that’s Broadway’s loss.

The choreography was surprisingly creative and dynamic, especially in a lively “Windy City”. The show was a taped made-for-TV version, but it definitely benefited from having been performed on stage for a live audience. This wasn’t a name cast – the only actor I recognized was Art Lund (The Most Happy Fella) as Day’s love interest – and all the mugging made me think at times of a silent film. But it was impossible to take this seriously anyway, and the cast was basically just there to give Burnett something to play against. Not much of a show, but with a performance like this at the center, it’s hard not to give in and enjoy it.