The Ballad of Josie

I like Doris Day and try to get all her films in german. You cannot imagine how happy I was, when I received "The Ballad of Josie" ( Das Teufelsweib aus Texas )( german title). It's a rare film, but I like it because of Doris. Well, people who enjoyed "Pillow Talk" won't like to watch this one, I guess. In this film are some funny moments, for example when Doris wears jeans and surprise the men or when she is falling on the bed. But you can't compare it to her better films. I can only say, Doris is in it, some other good actors and the plot isn't bad at all.

The Ballad of Josie for Doris Day marked the beginning of the end of her film career. Her agent/husband/svengali Martin Melcher forced her into a whole lot of mediocre films because he knew and she would find out that their wealth was something done with mirrors. She had to keep working.

Not that it's a bad film, just not a terribly good one. It's populated with a whole good cast of veteran players and her leading man in this is Peter Graves. Graves is someone who should have had a good career as a screen lead in his youth. Unfortunately he got to do a lot of bad science fiction movies(and some real classic good ones) which didn't help. He opted for the small screen instead.

William Talman makes his farewell appearance here. He's a big shot politician who sees his dream of statehood in Wyoming going down the tubes because of the controversy of Doris Day trying to raise sheep in what has been traditionally cattle country.

Doris's husband Robert Lowery is killed in the first few minutes of the film. She has to raise her son alone now and lots of professions and trades were closed to her as they were to women back in that day. She decides to become a shepherd as she's told it doesn't have the overhead expense of cattle on the 460 acres she's inherited.

That starts a whole big controversy with a shooting range war about to break out.

Granted that women were kept barefoot and pregnant in those days, but it's hard to believe that Doris might not have heard SOME discussion about the cattle and sheep problem and why there was this unofficial line of demarcation in Arapahoe County, Wyoming.

Fans of Doris will want to see her in anything though.

By this time in her career Doris was being forced into roles by her husband Marty Melcher. The forever beautiful Doris looked a little worn out on this production. Filmed on location, the scenery is beautiful and Doris' performance makes up for the simple plot. Its too bad the script was just so so. The best scenes are when she is defending her land and causes a "womens riot" in the town. It is enjoyable to see David Hartman ( 70's host of Good Morning America )and supporting star Elisabeth Fraser ( who played Doris Day's sister in Young at Heart). Doris is Hollywood royalty although she has never received the recognition she deserves.

Josie tackles the west in the time before women had a say. It's a good and fun movie.

... without Dan Blocker and with Doris Day. It's basically about a Wyoming woman (Doris Day) who finds herself minus a husband who shocks the men of the town by deciding to herd sheep instead of cows and by wearing (OH THE HORROR!) mens' pants!!! You know, I haven't seen this since I was twelve and I actually remembered it fondly until I saw it today. George Kennedy plays the cattle ranch owning buffoonish bully who wants Josie's sheep dead. Peter Graves is the love interest who threatens to do endearing things like spank Josie if she doesn't shut up. Andy Devine is still playing the same character he was thirty years before. William Talman, after so many years of losing to Perry Mason, plays a district attorney who is trying to get Wyoming statehood. In the end, the lesson seems to be "who needs the vote anyways ladies, and wear a dress if you want a man!" Oh, the sexism. I guess I just didn't notice this in 1970. And what's worse, this is what passed for feminism in 1970.

This is the problem with so many 60s films. They have one foot in the 50s, one foot in the 70s, and nothing works. This thing might just reach a 5/10 mainly because of its star power, even if those stars are being badly used.