Tonight in Palm Springs, director Elliot Silverstein will be presenting his 1965 Oscar-winning Western satire, Cat Ballou. He was extremely pleasant to speak with and I look forward to meeting him in person. My interview with him can be read on The Desert Sun, but there’s always good stuff that can’t fit onto the page. Below are a few good tidbits:
Nat King Cole Chorus:
The original script had two singers in the town -- bums who sang occasionally for pennies. Silverstein had just staged Kurt Weill’s Three Penny Opera and was struck by the Greek chorus. The bums thus became the ever-present chorus.
Silverstein didn’t quite know how to cast it properly. They wanted Stubby Kaye, and then the late Mike Francovich, head of production, just got on phone and asked Nat Cole if he’d be interested the moment his name was suggested (note: this was Cole’s last performance). The duo perfectly fit the idea of everything upside down in the film -- fat man and thin man, black and white.
Maverick Lee Marvin:
There was a large conference to decide how to cast the part of Kid Shelleen. The company wanted Kirk Douglas. Silverstein was concerned as he was directing his first movie and knew that he was going to ask the actor of that role to do dumb things and be willing to risk any image of masculine fortitude with pratfalls.
He called Douglas, who thought the role was cute, but “not large enough for a starring part, not small enough for a cameo.” Silverstein was actually relieved, though offered to expand or reduce the role for Douglas, who said he just wasn’t comfortable with it.
Silverstein then suggested Lee Marvin. He had seen him in The Wild One and had noticed how Marvin got off his motorcycle in a strange way. As it was getting close to shooting time, Silverstein got his way.
Silverstein remembered taking a picture of Marvin on his horse and asked him to sign it for posterity, unable to predict Marvin would win an Oscar for the role.
Shelleen’s Suit of Lights:
Before Kid Shelleen prepares to do battle, Jackson Two-Bears carries in basin of hot water, shaves Shelleen and helps him put on his suit of lights.
The scene was staged according to a metronome in order to be in specific motion as a ritualistic sequence. When a matador puts on his suit of lights, it’s very solemn and portentous. The scene was a satire of some of the Spanish bullfighting preparations, such as in Blood and Sand.
Silverstein told Marvin he would use Spanish guitar marked by metronome settings, and he was fine with that. During dubbing however, the producer was worried about having a Spanish guitar in a Western. As a compromise, he told Silverstein to electrify the guitar.
Silverstein was very upset when asked how he could put Spanish guitars in a Western, to which Silverstein replied, “Los Angeles? San Diego? San Antonio?!” But the producer thought it had been done.
Yakima Canutt:
Silverstein was adamant that it’s too risky for actors to do their own stunts -- a sign of bravado that makes insurance companies nervous. Instead, he hired one of the greatest stunt coordinators to grace film -- Yakima Canutt (his son Tap doubled for Marvin’s riding).
Canutt was the same man who invented a trick in Stagecoach where a man is dropped between horses. A stunt master since the beginning of westerns (IMDb lists his first of 207 stunt roles as 1915’s Foreman of Bar Z Ranch), this was his only project with Silverstein (and one of his last roles). Silverstein gushed over the talents of this incredible man.
42 years later, audiences will still be laughing.
Comments (1)
Yes, Cat Ballou is one of the all-time greats, enjoyable and watch-worthy, no matter how many times seen previously. Glad to have it in my personal film collection, sorry not to be able to come to P.S. for the special showing and interview!
Posted by A. Sue | August 3, 2007 12:19 PM
Posted on August 3, 2007 12:19