User reviews

Despite the fact that Ethel Merman wasn't even considered by MGM to repeat her Broadway triumph and Judy Garland fell by the way side, Annie Get Your Gun is still as alive and as fresh as the day it debuted on Broadway and for 1147 performances starting in 1946. It was Irving Berlin's biggest stage success both quantitatively and qualitatively. It sure had the most hit songs coming out of it, maybe the most for any Broadway show.

Because they had Garland, so they thought at MGM, for box office, producer Arthur Freed felt they could go with an unknown for Frank Butler. Both John Raitt and Howard Keel tested for the role and Keel won the toss. Then Keel broke his ankle falling off a horse on the set and they shot closeups and around him, putting pressure on Judy Garland's fragile psyche. On top of that Frank Morgan who was playing Buffalo Bill died suddenly in the middle of the film. Most of it had to be reshot when Betty Hutton was borrowed from Paramount.

Annie Get Your Gun was the perfect musical to appeal to the Rosie the Riveter crowd who competed and won in a man's world during World War II. Those women who became feminist icons certainly identified with another feminist icon in Annie Oakley.

The real Annie Oakley was not as brassy as her character in Annie Get Your Gun. By all accounts Phoebe Annie Mosee, aka Annie Oakley was a quiet retiring woman when away from the spotlight. She let her skill with weaponry do her talking.

Irving Berlin wrote so many hits out of this film it's staggering. Ballads like They Say It's Wonderful and The Girl That I Marry were recorded by many artists down to the present. My Defenses are Down also sold quite a few platters back in the day.

But of course the theatrical profession got its anthem when Irving Berlin wrote There's No Business Like Show Business. There's a really fine recording of it that Bing Crosby, Dick Haymes and the Andrews Sisters did of it with the flipside being Anything You Can Do also another gem from this show.

Some songs didn't make the cut. A good one that Ethel Merman did called I Got Lost in His Arms is absent from this film, a pity. And Berlin wrote a song called Let's Go West Again which was to be done on the cattle boat by Hutton and the ensemble was cut. Al Jolson made a recording of it for Decca though.

Louis Calhern and Edward Arnold as Buffalo Bill and Pawnee Bill play a fine pair of frontier rogues. Calhern captured the character of the real later Cody quite well.

With feminist issues by now means settled, Annie Get Your Gun is maybe more relevant now than when it first came out.

... many of them fans of Judy Garland, some of them fans of the actual characters in the film, insulted by how Annie Oakley is portrayed as a backwoods hick, how Frank Butler (Howard Keel) is turned into a jerk that the real Annie would have shot full of buckshot, and how Irving Berlin's music may be as toe-tapping as ever, yet his lyrics strip every bit of dignity, and intelligence from these two fascinating people and gives us whining stereotypes in their stead. Their feelings not mine.

Yes, the film is a bit over-produced in typical MGM fashion, but is generally very good. Too bad a few lovely tunes from the Broadway show were cut, as well as Betty Hutton's touching "Let's Go West Again" number. As much as I adore Judy Garland, Betty Hutton is fabulous as Annie and far more similar in temperament to original creator Ethel Merman than Judy could ever have been and especially by 1949-50. Annie was tailor made for Betty and her energy and talents. The film was a tremendous box office hit and MGM attempted but failed to buy Hutton's contract from Paramount, despite how she was treated on the set.

I saw Annie Get Your Gun at a special screening for lovers of music from the 30s to the 50s. I found it very entertaining with marvellous songs from Irving Berlin. In fact, while I am an admirer of Berlin, his songs from this movie exceeded expectations. However, the absolute star of the show is Betty Hutton whose dynamic rendition of Berlin's music just blew me away. She had enthusiasm and energy unrivalled in that genre with the possible exception of Ethel Merman. Yet Betty could sing softly and sweetly in songs such as "They Say It's Wonderful".

Howard Keel was perfect for his role as Frank Butler and the competition between Frank and Annie is the cornerstone of the movie.

I have to cringe at the patronising portrayal of the American Indians but, of course, together with black Americans, this was typical of the culture and attitudes of the time -- all of which was to change radically during the next 15 years.

I disagree with those who feel Judy Garland would have been better than Betty Hutton. As a youngster, I saw the released version, and I've also seen a take with Garland singing "I'm an Indian too." I know Judy had a great voice, but Hutton was dynamite. She gave the role everything she had. No, I'm afraid this time, I think destiny gave us the best.

1950's ANNIE GET YOUR GUN was originally planned to star Judy Garland in the title role; however Garland had just finished a stint in rehab and doctors recommended a year off. Instead she was given two weeks off and was assigned to report to wardrobe tests for the film. She even filmed a few scenes and a couple of musical numbers (which are included on the DVD), but Garland looks worn and haggard and she clearly was in no shape, physically or emotionally to work, so she was replaced by that bundle of bombastic( an adjective which I think the actress has the patent on)energy, Betty Hutton, who makes the most of this role and the classic Irving Berlin score (not Rodgers and Hammerstein as a previous poster stated). I have to admit I wouldn't have minded hearing Garland's interpretation of "I've Got the Sun in the Morning" or "They Say that Falling in Love" (Hutton's weakest moment) but for the most part Hutton shines as Annie and gets solid support from handsome Howard Keel as Frank Butler. Their duet "Anything you can do" is another highlight. A first rate stage musical gets first rate screen treatment from the MGM dream factory.

The MGM high production values are the "stars" of this film. The role of Annie is a challenge for any performer. She must dominate the show, as Ethel Merman did on stage, even when I saw her in a 60s revival when she was in the 60s herself. Hutton did not have the star power to do this. But the outtakes from Garland, in which she appears rather listless,with "health problems" suggest that her performance would not have been among her best. Hutton does her best work in the novelty numbers, which were previously her stock in trade. Her athleticism could not have been matched by any other performer of her time. But when delivering a ballad or serious dialogue she simply was not up to the task. Who would have been a better choice, to combine some of Hutton's and Garland's strengths? Maybe Debbie Reynolds, who was not a major figure at that time. Frank Morgan was missed. His brief outtake as Buffalo Bill calls to mind his Wizard: a lovable fraud. Howard Keel was always dependable as a leading man. Here he is the strongest presence on the screen, which is in itself a comment on the remainder of the cast.

Despite some INCREDIBLE mistakes by MGM executives, "Annie Get Your Gun" is a terrific movie, a triumph for three reasons: Betty Hutton, Betty Hutton and Betty Hutton. Those who might quibble that "Garland would have been a LOT better" should take an objective look at the the outtakes on the DVD. Garland is terrible; way too modern, urbane and understated for the "larger than life" role of Annie Oakley. Rogers and Hammerstein understood what type of person ot took to

play Annie. That's why they hired Ethyl Merman, who triumphed on Broadway in the role. I've always loved Garland and always considered Hutton to be too bombastic. But, here, she is perfect and carries this movie on her the strengh of her "hit 'em in the rafters" performance. In fact, only four actors play it right. Hutton, Brad Muro (Lil' Jake), J. Carroll Naish (Sitting Bull) and Keenan Wynn. Louis Calhern is usually wonderful; here, his continental, understated style is horribly out of place, turning "Buffalo Bill" into a bore . The usually reliable Edward Arnold seems lost in his unattractive "Pawnee Bill" makeup. Perhaps the biggest disappointment, however, is Howard Keel, who displays little of the charm he revealed in the same year's "Calloway Went Thataway". This MUST have been the decision of Louis Mayer and George Sidney. Hutton reported that Mayer didn't want her, had no confidence in her and didn't even invite her to the New York premiere. Hutton, radiant even at 80, revealed to Robert Osborne, that she was so miserable by her treatment at MGM (no one applauded ANYONE at the end of shooting a scene), that it finished her career (though another triumph for Hutton, "The Greatest Show on Earth" was just two years away).

Despite its flaws, "Annie Get Your Gun" is a keeper. Why? Betty Hutton, Betty Hutton and Betty Hutton.

This is MGM musical film-making at its polished best and, considering the raft of memorable songs the film contains and the potential for spectacle within its storyline, it's surprising that Annie Get Your Gun is nothing more than passable entertainment. For me, the main reason for this is Betty Hutton's performance – I'm no fan of her bombastic delivery, and don't understand why so many comediennes of the era felt it necessary to pull faces and eschew their femininity in order to obtain laughs. Judy Garland was a fine movie comedienne as well as a first-rate singer and she never resorted to the overblown style of Hutton and her ilk. Garland would have been much better in the role had her health been good but, from the numbers she did film it's clear from her gaunt features and skeletal frame that she was not well, and this illness is sadly reflected in her performance. Watching her in these out-takes it's difficult to believe that only ten years before she had portrayed Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.

The trouble with Hutton's style is that when she is called upon to come over all sensitive for her romantic numbers she has to become a completely different person, someone whose gentle sensitivity is totally at odds with the comical hayseed that she is portrayed to be most of the time. She even loses her hillbilly accent. Her love interest here is Howard Keel who booms out his numbers with gusto but comes across as bland when sharing the screen with her, which makes their romance that much less believable. The highlight of their pairing – and the film – is 'Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better,' a comedy number that elevates the film above the ordinary for a while. Like Keel, Louis Calhern is curiously understated in his role as Buffalo Bill, but Keenan Wynn gives a fine performance as Charlie Davenport, Bill's right-hand man.

If you grew up listening to the Broadway soundtrack of Annie Get Your Gun, you'll come to associate Ethel Merman's fantastic, belting voice with Irving Berlin's songs. It's completely understandable that you'd watch the film adaptation and be disappointed by Betty Hutton's less-than-stellar vocals. But I appeal to you, as a fellow musical lover, to give the film a fair shot.

The original casting choice for the tomboy cowgirl Annie Oakley was Judy Garland, and if you buy the DVD, you can watch her perform a couple of songs. Only after watching the outtakes can you see just how far she would have dragged the film down. Her energy was low, her timing was slow, she was too old for the part, and her expressions were too troubled. Annie is supposed to be innocent, fresh, exciting, and endearing: all qualities a 1950 Judy Garland wasn't. Betty Hutton might not have been able to sing all the songs as well as the immortal Ethel Merman, but she was young, innocent, fresh, exciting, and endearing. Her energy was off the charts! And while the part was practically made for Doris Day-Warner Brothers wrote and filmed a knock-off version, Calamity Jane, for the blonde star three years later-Betty was an excellent choice. She made the audience care about her, and she delivered the lines with such sincerity, she even made the audience take the silly story seriously.

Howard Keel played the big-voiced, ridiculously handsome, self-assured Frank Butler. Every time Betty looks at him during their first few scenes together, her jaw drops and she turns to jelly. It's very funny, and I'm sure you'll find yourself mimicking her-I did! He's so incredibly handsome and charming in this movie, it's no wonder he was cast in basically the same role in Calamity Jane-Hollywood just didn't want him to take his cowboy hat off! His handsomeness aside-I know, it's impossible not to notice-he does a very good job in what was only his second film!

Louis Calhern plays Buffalo Bill, and when he meets Betty, she asks if he's really the famous Colonel. He says he is, and he's so convincing throughout the movie, I found myself believing that he really was! I didn't even recognize the veteran actor until the movie was almost over, and he actually looked handsome and distinguished in his long hair and goatee. Also, he was very warm-hearted, a choice of delivery that was welcomed, since Betty wasn't often met with warmth throughout the film.

All in all, this is a great film adaptation of a Broadway show, combining elements that seem to come directly from the stage-hammy but lovable songs-with additions that could never have been seen onstage-rodeo performances. The production values are very good, including breathtaking costumes by Walter Plunkett. Give it a try, even if you're skeptical of Betty Hutton. She's cute as a button!

Betty Hutton is all wrong for Annie Oakley. She overplays every scene and she mugs unmercifully in almost every song. But that's her style. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think Judy Garland would have been right for this film, either. My real wish is that they'd have hired Ethel Merman to recreate her Broadway smash. Merman would have been much more "natural" in the part and she knew where the jokes and the comedy were. And The Merm only had to open her mouth and the great songs came out. Hutton screams almost everything, usually off pitch. After Merman, I would have preferred someone like the cowgirl comedienne Judy Canova play Annie. Now, that would have been funny!

Still, I'm glad we have the film of this great Irving Berlin show. Howard Keel is great in his first movie role, and the politically incorrect Native American issues are handled delicately and with taste.

Now,I'm the first one to abhor overacting (there is one particular leading lady that I can't watch anymore) but I think Betty Hutton is the perfect Annie Oakley. I'm not interested in comparing her to anyone else;Betty is in the finished product and that's it.Most of the other reviews indicate that "Annie Get Your Gun" is remembered,and newly appreciated,with joy and affection.That's what entertainment is all about.Every song bounces off the screen and I love all of them.'There's No Business Like Show Business' is thrilling and Betty responds to the men with both vulnerability and unbridled enthusiasm.By the time 'They Say It's Wonderful' comes along we are ready for romance and I relish the way Betty positively purrs in response to Howard Keel's masculine charm (the whisper in her voice is exactly right for this lovely duet).Betty Hutton may have been a force to be reckoned with,on and off screen but she deserves recognition as a truly unique talent,never more so than with her ebullient interpretation of Annie Oakley.

I'm constantly amazed at how people's opinions vary at watching the same film. How anyone can say they enjoyed watching this confuses me. This film was awful from start to finish. I bought the dvd as my wife and I both enjoy watching musicals. We've got the excellent King and I and The Sound Of Music, both fantastic films. Then we sit to watch Annie Get Your Gun. It starts with a very poor opening number and continues with cringe type performances of Doing What Comes Naturally and You Can't Get A Man With A Gun. The constant overacting from Hutton, poor sets, unforgettable songs along with a terrible storyline make this one dvd to avoid. The Judy Garland outakes are interesting to watch, although she is clearly uncomfortable playing this role. What a dreadful film.

I think this was one of the best films ever made and would love to be able to buy it on video. I adore Howard Keel and I think the part was made for Betty Hutton. It is a shame generations are missing out on this movie.

The only reason to recommend this fluffy film is the great works of Irving Berlin. The fact that Berlin wrote the score and songs for the musical makes it the more impressive. Some film musicals pick the ideal songs from the existing works of a song writer.

Other than that, there is not much to the film. The art direction is disappointing for a MGM film musical, despite of its huge budget. The film provides some mild humours.

Betty Hutton is a talented actress and singer, but she don't have the right acting range for the role (Her over-acting gets annoying sometimes) and the perfect vocal range for the songs (Her rendition of the songs is slightly below satisfactory. Comparing her with Ethel Merman and Judy Garland makes the casting of Hutton for the title role more regrettable). Beside, she don't have much chemistry with her co-stars. Howard Keel has a great singing voice, but doesn't display much of his acting talent.

Give this film a try if you like musicals.

I disagree with the previous reviewer who said Garland would have been better in this role. Betty Hutton was great. She may not have been the singer that Garland was, but she did a excellent job of looking really unpolished in the beginning and cleaning up to be a very attractive woman. Her portrayal of Annie has a lot personality and humor. If you rent or buy the anniversary tape or DVD for this movie, they've included some scenes that had been already shot with Judy before they decided to recast her role. There is no comparison. Judy was not up to the role at that point in her life and it really shows. I'm glad Betty was cast. I think it's a great movie/musical due to her performance.

The story of "Annie Get Your Gun", based on the stage musical of the same name, is a fairly simple one. (Musicals often did have quite straightforward stories; so much time was taken up with all those song- and-dance numbers that there was no room left for complicated plot twists). In the late 19th century Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show visits a town in Ohio. Annie Oakley, a local girl from a poor rural family, accepts a challenge to take on the show's resident sharpshooter, Frank Butler. She defeats him, and Buffalo Bill is so impressed that he invites her to join his show. Annie accepts eagerly, as she has already fallen in love with the handsome Frank. The film then charts the course of their romance, the chief obstacle to which is Frank's reluctance to admit that he can be bested by a woman.

If the story told in the film is a simple one, the story of its production is far more complex. Judy Garland was originally cast as Annie, but was sacked from the film after she repeatedly clashed with the then director, Busby Berkeley, and repeatedly turned up on set late, if at all. This debacle would lead to Garland's departure from MGM and the film therefore plays an important part in what might be called the "Judy Garland legend", the idea that she was a tragic victim of circumstances and of the studio. (There is some truth in this legend, but its proponents tend to under-estimate her own self-destructive tendencies).

Betty Hutton was brought in to replace her, but thereby earned herself the enmity of most of the rest of the cast and crew, who had sided with Garland and resented what they saw as Hutton's profiting from Garland's misfortune. According to Hutton the only cast member who treated her with any politeness was Louis Calhern, himself a replacement for the original Buffalo Bill, Frank Morgan, who had died during filming. Busby himself was replaced as director by Charles Walters, who in turn was replaced by George Sidney.

Despite all these shenanigans, the film was a box-office success when released in 1950 and is actually pretty good. Musically, it is very good- with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin that is perhaps not surprising- and won the Academy Award for "Best Score". Hutton did not, perhaps, have the greatest voice- Garland would probably have been better in this respect- but she throws herself into the role of the happy-go-lucky Annie with great energy and enthusiasm and earned herself a Golden Globes nomination. Howard Keel, who plays Frank, had a wonderful bass-baritone voice, and it is shown off here to good advantage in such well-known numbers as "The Girl That I Marry", "There's No Business like Show Business" and "Anything You Can Do". Keel seemed to specialise in musicals with a Western theme- he also appeared in "Oklahoma!", "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" and "Calamity Jane".

Dramatically, as opposed to musically, the story is a bit thin, and the "I'm an Indian, Too" number does not sit too well with modern concerns about "cultural appropriation". (It doesn't help that the main Indian character, Sitting Bull, is played by a white actor). In other respects, however, the film still stands up well more than sixty years after it first appeared. 7/10

I saw Annie Get Your Gun as a teenager at our local small town movie. I loved it. The comedic energy of Betty Hutton and the chemistry between her and the talented Howard Keel was unforgettable. I have tried for years to find the video, writing and phoning various sources. With the revival of "Annie" on Broadway, I was hoping MGM would realize what a treasure they have in the 1950 version and issue it on video. It's good to know I'm not the only one wanting to see this wonderful movie again. They don't make musicals like that anymore.

Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical play based on real-life female sharp-shooter Annie Oakley comes agreeably to the screen, with Irving Berlin's tuneful songs intact and Betty Hutton filling in nicely for Ethel Merman (who played it on the stage). Annie is a whoopin' & hollerin', unrefined and uneducated hillbilly who is asked to join Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, where she falls head over heels in love with her male-counterpart, Frank Butler. The plot is something of a pre-feminist nightmare; it all comes down to Annie winning the guy by hiding her light under a bushel (and Butler, being an egotistical lunkhead, falling for it--or pretending to). However, the songs are colorfully presented and the art direction has surprising dollops of awe and beauty. George Sidney stepped in to direct after two others had been let go; he keeps the spirit of the piece rambunctious and happy. Hutton (a replacement for Judy Garland, who was fired by MGM after roughly four weeks of work) plays to the rafters, as she is supposed to, and keeps the familiar plot chugging along in full-throttle. **1/2 from ****

The play is surely a classic (from what I've heard) but this is a pretty troubled film.

For one, the misogynistic attitude of the Frank Butler character makes Seven Brides for Seven Brothers look progressive by comparison and Annie Oakley is portrayed as so stereotypically backwater that the Beverly Hillbillies would probably have boycotted this film. While we have to accept that cultural values have shifted just a little bit, some of the blame rests with the way Howard Keel and Betty Hutton approached their parts.

I hate to say that because they were two of MGM's most underrated treasures but Hutton's aw shucks hillbilly demeanor was over-the-top and her overeffusiveness of Keel's Butler in the opening scene bordered on cartoonish (I was half-expecting a heart to start visibly beating out of her chest like Pepe le Pew).

Similarly, Keel's Butler seemed to have little more than a passing interest in Hutton's Annie Oakley and it never really felt like a love story in that respect. Without the chemistry, the film falls apart because it almost seems like Oakley has an unhealthy obsession with this Frank Butler who kissed her once but otherwise treated her like either dirt and Buffalo Bill is just an enabler.

The number "Anything you can do I can do better" is still a showstopper and "You Can't Get a Man with a Gun" still has some enthusiasm although Hutton's hillbilly diction takes away from it.

The film has many of the trademarks of the MGM films of the era with the rich color palette, lavish period details, and orchestral backing to the songs.

This really is one of the greatest musicals ever written. It has 11 songs of which 10 are instantly memorable (only "I'm an Indian Too" is not up to scratch). The scene "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better" is one of my favourite screen moments. I never grew up with this film (I'm 37) since it was never on TV screens on the UK due to legal wrangling. I had to make do with the inferior (but still good!) Calamity Jane. Betty Hutton's performance is one of the great musical performances- up there with Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music. She carries the whole film. I cannot believe anyone who thinks that Judy Garland would be better. I have shown this film to all of my friends and relatives (sad, I know!) and all of them without exception agree that Judy Garland is no patch on Betty Hutton-she is too refined and completely miscast! The deleted song "Going West Again" is fantastic and should have been included in the stage show and film.

What dynamo Betty Hutton turned out to be in this show. She carries the whole movie on her dynamic personality. With good actors the likes of Keenan Wynn,Louis Calhern and J.Carrol Naish in support nobody manages to steal the attention from Hutton. Howard Keel is so overwhelmed by her performance you hardly remember him except in the classic song duel "Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)" where he is magnificent.Hutton has two really great numbers: "You Can't Get a Man with a Gun" and "Doin' What Comes Naturally". The rest of the musical is pretty standard stuff,but with the usual production values poured into an MGM musical it's bound to be greatly entertaining,though not a masterpiece.

A loud, garish, headache-inducing screen adaptation of the stage musical, with an unwatchable performance by Betty Hutton in the title role.

Hutton mugs and grimaces her way through the film like she's performing on the biggest of big Broadway stages, an acting technique that, when confined to the cozy quarters of your living room, sails right past annoying and becomes downright disturbing. There's a fun story to be had, and a boatload of popular Irving Berlin songs, but it's all ruined by the leading lady.

Louis Calhern shows up briefly as Buffalo Bill, which, taken together with his performance as an oily villain in "The Asphalt Jungle" and his Oscar-nominated turn as Oliver Wendell Holmes in "The Magnificent Yankee," made him perhaps the most prolific actor of 1950.

The DVD of "Annie Get Your Gun" shows some early takes of Judy Garland in the role, before her failing health caused her to be replaced. Even wan and obviously not well, Garland's scenes tease us with the promise of what might have been had she been cast instead of Hutton. Alas....

Grade: C-