Cat Ballou

“Cat Ballou” is a comedy western starring Lee Marvin and Jane Fonda. 

When schoolteacher Catherine Ballou (Jane Fonda) goes to visit her father, she discovers that the Wolf Development Company is trying to get his land.  Unwilling to let them take it, Cat Ballou hires a gunman named Kid Shelleen (Lee Marvin) to help defend the property.  But her hired gun, Kid Shellen, didn’t tell her that he has a drinking problem and can’t shoot very well.

Undaunted, “Cat Ballou” takes matters into her own hands and uses a hodge-podge group of men to help her protect her land from the Wolf Company.

A box office success, “Cat Ballou” is considered one of the best early films to parody the western film genre.

• “Cat Ballou” is based on the novel, “The Ballad of the Cat Ballou” by Roy Chanslor.  The novel is a serious story, but the movie is a comedy. 

• Lee Marvin plays two roles in "Cat Ballou." He is Kid Shelleen and Tim Strawn. For his outstanding acting in "Cat Ballou" he won two major Best Actor Awards - The Academy Award and The Golden Globe.

• Nat “King” Cole died of cancer several months before “Cat Ballou” was released. This was Nat King Cole's last screen appearance as an actor in a film.

• Lee Marvin and Jane Fonda became major box office stars after their appearances in “Cat Ballou.”

• Lee Marvin won the Academy Award and Golden Globe Awards for Best Actor for his dual roles as Kid Shelleen and Tim Strawn in “Cat Ballou.”

• “Cat Ballou” was also nominated for four 1966 Academy Awards: Best Screenplay Writing, Best Original Song (“The Ballad of Cat Ballou”), Best Music Scoring and Best Film Editing.

• “Cat Ballou” was also nominated for four 1966 Golden Globe Awards:  Best Motion Picture, Best Actress (Jane Fonda), Best Original Song (“Ballad of Cat Ballou”) and Most Promising Newcomer (Tom Nardini)