User Reviews

SYNOPSIS: Accused and then acquitted of killing her husband, Doris Day tries to run a sheep farm, much to the amusement and/or dismay of the locals.

NOTES: Doris Day's fourth last movie. After this one she made Caprice (1967), Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? (1968) and With Six You Get Egg Roll (1968).

COMMENT: Doris Day's first western since Calamity Jane (1953) isn't half as bad as most critics (including Doris herself) make out. It not only boasts bright color and sets, but our Day looks quite attractive. The support cast is worthwhile too, featuring wonderfully scatty performances by Andy Devine, William Talman, Paul Fix and John Fiedler (as a nervous storekeeper). One of the funniest touches is provided by the uncredited cafe proprietor whose eyes roll delightfully every time Miss Day moves from one accident to another in what is undoubtedly the film's best scene. A pity director Andrew V. McLaglen's control of the rest of the film is not as tight. George Kennedy is pretty well wasted, though he does figure in some exciting action highlights. Milton Krasner's color photography also impresses as a major asset.

One big disappointment, however, is that Doris herself doesn't sing a note, the warbling chores being handled by The Sun Set Group and Ronnie Dante. DeVol's excellent score, with its astute combination of familiar folk airs, would seem to provide some excellent opportunities for vocalizing, but this doesn't happen. Ronnie Dante does an excellent job with the pleasant title tune, but this was no doubt added after the movie was completed, as the song is not used at all once the credits roll by.

OTHER VIEWS: "Ballad of Josie" was nothing more than a second-rate television western. A terrible movie! —Doris Day.

It is a shame that the writing is so poor, with just a little bit of work this could have been a very good movie. The supporting cast was very strong and went out of there way to do the best they could but the lines were very poor. It was a Doris Day comedy so one doesn't expect a deep movie but with the cast they had , with a little bit of work it could have been a very cute good Doris Day film. However, it turned out to be one of her poorer films. I would love to ask the writers the reason they turned out such sloppy work, they are professionals and I know they put the time in. I am sure they know who the actors are and wonder why they felt they could do such a poor job here.

1st watched 6/18/2007 - 4 out of 10(Dir-Andrew V. McLaglen): Severely confusing women's lib "kind of" movie with Doris Day playing Josie who loses her abusive husband and then decides to do things her own way without a man and raise sheep in cow country so that she can raise her son on her own. The setting appears to be the late 1800's before Wyoming was a state in the union. The problem is the film-makers aren't sure how far they want this all to go. Maybe it wasn't the right time for a feminist movie(the late 60's) -- maybe we had to wait until the Norma Rae's etc.. later on. Day is OK in the role, but the movie throws too many attempts at Lucy-like situation comedy routines despite the serious subject matter. Peter Graves plays a guy trying to get into Josie's life even though he doesn't care for the women's lib thing. He eventually gets behind her ( sort of) and he ends up saving the day from the evil George Kennedy character. This is kind of a "1/2 women's lib" movie, and "1/2 we still need our men" film and that's where the confusion lies. It also has a kind of Disney(let's feel good when it's all over) feel to it that wreaks. OK, I guess I didn't like this movie, but it wasn't all bad. Day's persona was the best part of the movie, but as far as the movie it was pretty meaningless and silly.

This is a decent if typical 60's comedy that could have been better if it had less focus on gimmicky cliches and site gags and more character development. The widowed Doris Day gets involved in sheep ranching in hopes of getting her son back who has gone to live with his paternal grandfather. This stirs up the populas of chauvanistic men against her but stirs up the other local women before some minds of the men get changed.

The dependable Peter Graves joins MacRae, Hudson, Garner and Taylor as a memorable leading man, initially just trying to protect her and eventually fully supporting her as he encourages her to fight against the big cattle ranchers who are fighting her for use of the cattle grazing land she has inherited. It's a fight against corruption as well as for women to own property,

George Kennedy (who would win an Oscar for the same year's "Cool Hand Luke"), Andy Devine, William Talman and John Fiedler are among the men with Kennedy as the heavy, and Audrey Christie as the town matriarch who helps stir up the others. There's so much potential for a modern period story of how women helped win the west, but the script weakens that potential.

Still, there's a lot to like here, and how can you ever say Do Dah to Day? Fortunately she does not have to sing the horrible theme song over the credits, and as much as she apparently dislike the script, she makes the most of it all, particularly in a scene where she spends a day working in a busy restaurant catering to the cattlemen, catching fly paper in her hair.

Doris had worse films at the time that she didn't want to do ("Caprice" and "Where were you When the Lights went Out?"), So in spite of the fact that this supposedly was so bad that it ended her film career, that is not so. It may have been limited to neighborhood theaters rather than get the big movie palaces, but it looks good for its natural vistas and Day still looks good, even in dungarees.

Very entertaining blend of war between obstinate opponents in a stock-raising corner of Wyoming(WY), intertwined with a pioneer women's rights movement, and interspersed by periodic bouts of slapstick comedy, mostly involving star Doris Day. I'm very surprised that no one has commented on the very similar theme of this story to that of Doris's reported favorite film: "Calamity Jane", made about 15 years earlier. In fact, the even earlier "Anne Get Your Gun", which Doris so wanted to star in, also has the same theme. Of course, these two earlier films were musical romantic comedies, whereas the musical part is absent from the present film, except for a couple of background songs, including the title song. But, all 3 films involved a women in the Wild West or a Wild West show trying to show that she can be as tough or skilled as a man doing something(s) generally considered an exclusively male skill or occupation, trying to be an independent woman, while also wanting to be desired by the man of her choice.Calamity Jane eventually turns into contemporary Doris Day at the end. It's the same in this film, after a wild ride of Jose(Doris) trying to prove that, as a newly widowed townie, she can cut it as a sheep owner in cattle-only WY country, with only a couple of shepherds and sheep dogs as aids. Unfortunately, we never get to find out if this would have worked out well, because a 'posse' of cattlemen are determined to destroy her operation. Urbane Jason(Per Graves), who obviously has had the hots for Jose for some years, is caught in the middle, trying to dissuade Jose from sticking to her very unpopular dream, while helping to protect her and her flock from the intended depredations of the adversary cattlemen. We never learn what Jason does for a living, but he clearly has political skills, which are severely tested throughout this story,and is running for US senator for the new state of Wyoming in the finale scene.

This story supposedly takes place in Arapahoe county, in the SE corner of Wyoming, around 1890, when the citizens of WY are applying for statehood. Well, there never was an Arapahoe county here, But, due south, in north central Colorado(CO), there was(and still is) an Arapahoe county, which at that time included Denver. Historically, most of the sheep-cattle wars in this region involved northern CO cattlemen attacking sheepmen in or from neighboring WY.However, the screenwriters wanted to include the issue of women's civil rights in the story. Thus, they wanted to site the story in WY since, historically, that's where women first acquired voting and some other civil rights within the US. Although it is briefly alluded to in the film(by DA Charlie Ward and Jose), you may not have caught the complicated situation regarding women's civil rights at this time. WY territory women had been granted voting and certain other civil rights in 1869: the first in the US, after a minimal campaign. When this story takes place, the US Congress is strongly opposed to approving a proposed WY state constitution which includes the civil liberties women enjoyed under the territorial government(historically true). That's what the fuss is about, with the cattlemen's opposition to Jose's legal right to choose to raise sheep being transformed into a political battle between the sexes. But, that's not what Jose wants! She just wants to be left alone to pursue her dream. Unfortunately, that's not to be, as the men, including Jason, finally convince her to change her dream. She decides her revolutionary sheepwoman dreams aren't worth people killing each other, barns being burned, and WY territory being rejected for statehood. She also confides in her pet skunk that too much independence and daring tends to make a miserable life for a woman.(Incidentally, Congress finally gave in and allowed WY state women to vote).

Doris may have been in her early 40s when she made this film, but she was just as spunky, funny and adorable as she was 15 years earlier in the making of "Calamity Jane". I don't understand why she likes the earlier film, but not this one. Maybe she didn't like the then unfashionable message in the unexpected ending? No matter, she still gives it her all.

Like Errol Flynn, in "Montana", Jose herds her sheep through the town's main street to clearly announce her unpopular intentions to all. However, unlike Jose, Flynn succeeds in keeping his flock and convincing some cattlemen to include sheep, despite the vigorous opposition of a cattle queen. The men(man) win the war of persistence against a woman in both films!

Why didn't Jose defend herself against the accusation that she deliberately pushed her chronically unemployed drunk abusive husband down the stairs to his death? Did women have the right to testify in court on their behalf then?

George Kennedy(as Arch) is good as the leader of the opposition to Jose's sheep flock, as well as the most vocal opponent to women's civil rights. Andy Devine tries to be an impartial judge, and William Telman makes an often sympathetic forceful DA(and seemingly acts like the territorial governor). Timothy Scott, as one of Jose's shepherds, does a great impression of a sympathetic southern hillbilly. The other character actors and actresses generally were also good.