Cat Ballou

About this Broadcast

A schoolteacher returns to her home town to find a ruthless railroad developer is trying to snatch her family's land. When her father is murdered by a hitman for refusing to sell his ranch, she resolves to defend the property, enlisting the aid of two small-time crooks and a drunken gunslinger with an equally inebriated horse. Musical comedy Western, starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin, with music by Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye

1965

Comedy Movie/Drama Music/Ballet/Dance Musical Western

Cast & Crew

Jane Fonda (Actor) .. Catherine `Cat" Ballou

Lee Marvin (Actor) .. Kid Shelleen/Strawn

Michael Callan (Actor) .. Clay Boone

Nat King Cole (Actor) .. Professor Sam the Shade

Stubby Kaye (Actor) .. The Sunrise Kid

Tom Nardini (Actor) .. Jackson Two-Bears

John Marley (Actor) .. Frankie Ballou

Dwayne Hickman (Actor) .. Jed

Elliot Silverstein (Director)

More Information

Did You Know..

Jane Fonda (Actor) .. Catherine `Cat" Ballou

Born: December 21, 1937 in New York

Best Known For: Her exercise videos.

Early-life: Born Lady Jayne Seymour Fonda on December 21, 1937, in New York. Her parents were actor Henry Fonda and socialite Frances Seymour Brokaw, who committed suicide when her daughter was 12. Jane's younger brother, Peter, is also an actor. Jane showed little interest in the profession, despite family friend and director Joshua Logan persuading her to appear alongside her father in a stage production of The Country Girl in the 1950s. Instead, she concentrated on art and dabbled in modelling before studying drama with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio.

Career: Fonda's movie debut came in 1960's Tall Story. By the end of the decade she was a major star thanks to such films as Cat Ballou, Barefoot in the Park and Barbarella. She later won Oscars for Klute and Coming Home. Other memorable movies are On Golden Pond, Nine to Five, The Electric Horseman and California Suite. In 1982 she launched her first exercise video, and became a fitness guru to millions. Fonda announced her retirement from acting in 1990, but returned to the big screen in 2005 in Monster-in-Law. Her recent work has included roles in The Newsroom, The Butler and This is Where I Leave You.

Quote: "People think actresses find public speaking easy, and it's not easy at all; we're used to hiding behind masks."

Trivia: In 2005, she published her autobiography, My Life So Far. Her second memoir, Prime Time, arrived in 2011.