Tom Nardini

Cat Ballou -- Classic Western spoof about a notorious female outlaw (Jane Fonda) and her devoted gang of followers. Highlighted by Lee Marvin's Oscar(r)-winning performance (Best Actor, 1965) as the legendary gunslinger--and town drunk--Kid Shelleen.

Used as the pilot for the TV series "Cowboy in Africa," this action-packed film stars Hugh O'Brian as Texan Jim Sinclair, who travels with his Navajo partner, John Henry (Tom Nardini), to the Kenyan lands owned by Hayes (John Mills), where they establish a Texas-style ranch. Cattle rancher Karl Bekker (Nigel Green) opposes Hayes's plan to domesticate wild animals, but with the aid of African youngster Sampson, Jim rounds up the local critters.

The sleeper hit of 1965, Cat Ballou was declared an instant classic when its sly blend of Western parody and rapid-fire action hit the screen. Lee Marvin won an Oscar(r) for Best Supporting Actor in his dual role as both Tim Strawn, a noseless ("it got bit off in a fight") gunslinger, and as Kid Shelleen, the woozy, boozy, has-been who goes up against Strawn at high noon. In accepting the award, Marvin said, "I think half of this belongs to a horse somewhere in the Valley," referring to the hilarious scene where Marvin and the horse both lean against a shed in a drunken stupor (certainly one ofthe most famous sight gags ever). Jane Fonda, at the height of her sex-kitten period, stars as Catherine "Cat" Ballou, the schoolmarm-turned-outlaw who teams with Kid to protect her father's ranch from a greedy railroad tycoon. Filmed in just 32 days, Cat Ballou went on to become one of the biggestbox office hits of 1965, proving the popularity of the Western spoof. Singer Nat King Cole and comedian Stubby Kaye also appear in this wild and wooly Western comedy classic, singing the title song, "The Ballad of Cat Ballou."

Classic Western spoof about a notorious female outlaw (Jane Fonda) and her devoted gang of followers. Highlighted by Lee Marvin's Oscar(r)-winning performance (Best Actor, 1965) as the legendary gunslinger--and town drunk--Kid Shelleen.