Cecil B. DeMille’s 1936 film The Plainsman features the real-life heroes Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok, and Buffalo Bill Cody. However, the fact that these people existed in real life is pretty much the only attachment to reality in this film. DeMille creates a whole new story with these characters. It is an entertaining romp, but some of its elements have become less enjoyable with the passing of time.
After an almost Star Wars-esque opening title sequence, we see the adventures of Wild Bill (Gary Cooper), Calamity Jane (Jean Arthur), and Buffalo Bill Cody (James Ellison) unfurl over a number of years. Romance blossoms between Hickok and Calamity Jane, as the three are involved in the control of the Plains over a number of years.
Classic Western motifs abound: save for a sheriff (one can argue Cooper’s Hickok serves as a stand-in for the lawman), you have stagecoaches, saloons, and a plethora of trigger-happy gunslingers. You also have various Native American characters.
DeMille was never a subtle filmmaker (there’s a nod to Abraham Lincoln “needing to go to the theater” in the beginning, if you needed convincing). The treatment of the Native Americans in the film…well it’s not P.C. AT ALL. This may dissuade viewers from diving into the film, yet Cooper, Arthur, and Ellison’s performances all carry the movie.