Calamity Jane

"C'mon, you redskin naked heathens. Come up and get your one-way ticket to the happy hunting grounds." That would be a pre-PC-era Doris Day as Calamity Jane addressing a group of Native Americans bearing down on a stagecoach bound for Deadwood City, home of Millie's saloon, where the nearly all-male population gathers to toss back shots and grouse about the lack of female entertainment. In this 1953 tune fest, created on the heels of Annie Get Your Gun's success, Day shines as the titular tomboy who goes to the Windy City in search of "cigarette-picture girl" entertainer Adelaide Adams but unknowingly brings back her maid Katie Brown (Allyn McLerie) instead…ushering in--what else?--romantic complications, as not only does Calamity's archrival Wild Bill Hickok (Howard Keel) take a shine to Katie, but so does her own heartthrob, Lt. Danny Gilmartin (Philip Carey). While the story's no great shakes, Day's spunk and a slew of hit songs--including "The Deadwood Stage," "I Can Do Without You," "Just Blew in From the Windy City," "Higher Than a Hawk," and the anthem "Secret Love"--offer more than ample entertainment. On the technical side, the transfer is solid (with occasional fuzzy edges) and the colors relatively rich, while the audio is sharp (although you can't help but lament the decision to not release this in Dolby Digital 5.1). The very skimpy extras include text production notes, brief newsreel footage of the premiere, and a clip of Doris Day accepting an award. Enthusiastically recommended. (R. Pitman)