CAT BALLOU **

This spoof western won Lee Marvin the Oscar for Best Actor but considering the opposition included Riichard Burton in "The Spy who came in from the Cold", Laurence Olivier in "Othello", Rod Steiger in "The Pawnbroker" and Oscar Werner in "Ship of Fools" perhaps giving Marvin the Oscar was overly generous. The film itself is highly enjoyable, a good follow-on from the Bob Hope spoofs and a nice precursor of "Blazing Saddles". It's got a good script from Walter Newman and Frank Pierson, lively direction from Elliot Silverstein and best of all, a first-rate cast that includes Jane Fonda, excellent in the title role of "Cat Ballou", Michael Callan, Dwayne Hickman, Tom Nardini, John Marley and as the balladeers Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye. It could be funnier I admit but it is also a very hard film to dislike.