Cattle Annie and Little Britches

An adorable Diane Lane ("Unfaithful") and a wonderfully spunky Amanda Plummer ("Pulp Fiction"), the latter making her film debut, play the title roles in this highly engaging Western. Cattle Annie (Plummer) and Jenny a.k.a. Little Britches (Lane) are two young orphan girls who hook up with the remnants of the Doolin (Burt Lancaster, "Gunfight at the O. K. Corral") / Dalton (Scott Glenn, "The Silence of the Lambs") gang. Bill Doolin decides that the old gang still has some life left in it, and the girls inspire them to pull a few more jobs.

Overall, the film is good enough to make you think that it in no way deserved its fate. (It was "thrown away" by Universal, who distributed it in 1980.). Only in more recent years did it get released to Blu-ray & DVD, so people can now take pleasure in a slightly adult (there is some profanity, and some male nudity, albeit shot from behind) but still largely harmless bit of entertainment. Just like the Cattle Annie of the title, it has a lot of spirit, and a charismatic Lancaster and a low-key Glenn are just two top players in a cast that also includes Rod Steiger ("In the Heat of the Night") as lawman Bill Tilghman, John Savage ("The Deer Hunter"), William Russ ('Boy Meets World'), Redmond Gleeson ("Dreamscape"), Buck Taylor ("Tombstone"), Michael Conrad ('Hill Street Blues'), John Quade ("Every Which Way But Loose"), and Perry Lang ("Alligator").

The story, based on a novel and screen story by Robert Ward, has a great theme about idolization of outlaw characters and the need to see the reality behind the legend. It's a solid, entertaining tale with some choice bits of dialogue, and a rousing finale guaranteed to have viewers cheering.

The fact that this got such a limited release 44 years ago is in no way indicative of quality (or lack thereof), so give this one a look whenever you can.

Seven out of 10.

Good old-fashioned Western movie with a good shot of comedy. A great production and fine working cast (Diana Lane and Amanda Plummer are all too gorgeous as drifters) make this one a gem for everyone who like Western movies a la True Grit, Cat Ballou, Waterhole and so on.

In her film debut, Amanda Plummer took on a bold, strong role and declared herself as a force to be reckoned with. She and Diane Lane play the title roles, two little girls in the Wild West who idolize outlaws. Caught up in the drama of paperback novels, they leave their small town and "loving" environments to catch up with a gang led by Burt Lancaster. Burt, as usual, has his larger-than-life energy that attracts both girls and makes it difficult for even the audience to think it's a bad idea for pre-teen girls to run around with guns and grown men.

Parts of this movie are cute, like when Diane confesses her crush on Burt. Amanda's invigorating speeches are charming and pick up where True Grit left off. But some of the movie feels inappropriate, and I was unsure at times if it was supposed to be a comedy or a drama. It's not the best western out there, but I did appreciate that it starred an actor who made a few westerns in his day. What's missing is simple: the tried-and-true heart-stirring feeling that all westerns from the golden age had. If you're uncertain whether the good guys are going to win, or if you're not even sure who the good guys are, it's a sure bet the western was made post-1965.

Amanda Plummer and Diane Lane are perfect complements in the title roles. Cattle Annie, as played by Plummer, is assertive, questioning, and somewhat rambunctious. In contrast, Lane's character is a lot like Barbara i One Day At A Time. The two young ladies get in the middle of Legendary Marshal Bill Tilghman's attempts to take the gang led by Burt Lancaster. The dialogue is sensational, and the acting, including terrific performances by Scoot Glenn and John Savage, could not be better. This is one to savor.

Two teen girls (Amanda Plummer & Diane Lane) hook up with the Doolin-Dalton Gang in 1890's Oklahoma Territory, but Bill Doolin (Burt Lancaster) is tired and the gang's heyday is behind them. Meanwhile Marshal Tilghman (Rod Steiger) is intent on putting the kibosh on the wild bunch. Scott Glenn and John Savage are on hand as members of the gang.

"Cattle Annie and Little Britches" (1981) is similar in tone to "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969) and, like that film, was based on the real-life account, albeit loosely. "Young Guns" (1988) and "Young Guns II" (1990) did the same with the Billy the Kid story. The film starts off like "Bad Company" (1972) mixed with the fun spirit of "Butch Cassidy," but becomes weightier as it moves along with some pretty moving moments.

Plummer was 23 during filming while Lane was only 15. The former is utterly convincing as the sassy Annie and Savage is notable as her taciturn quasi-beau. The superb folk songs by Sahn Berti & Tom Slocum are stirring and sometimes profound. It's an inexplicably obscure Western, hardly promoted and barely released. I guess studios were gun shy after the devastating failure of "Heaven's Gate" (1980).

The film runs 1 hours, 37 minutes, and was shot in Durango, Mexico, about 1200 miles southwest of the real-life events.

GRADE: B