Calamity Jane (1953)

Calamity Jane (Doris Day) goes to Chicago to bring the actress Adelaid Adams (Gale Robbins) back to Deadwood, South Dakota. Instead, she mistakes Adams' maid (the always welcome Allyn Ann McLerie) for Adams and takes her back instead. Problems arise when both Day and McLerie fall for the same man (Philip Carey). Comparison to Irving Berlin's ANNIE GET YOUR GUN are inevitable. Day's Calamity Jane and Berlin's Annie Oakley are sisters under the skin and both films share the same leading man, Howard Keel. Even the score can't shake off the Berlin tinge, I Can Do Without You sounds suspiciously like Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better from ANNIE. That being said, I find CALAMITY JANE much more enjoyable than the film version of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN. The likable Day doesn't grate on your nerves after awhile like Betty Hutton does in ANNIE. The catchy songs by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster includes the Oscar winning Secret Love. One of the musical delights of the 1950s and a highlight in Day's career. Directed by David Butler. With Dick Wesson.