The Magic of Doris Day... Too Marvelous for Words
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    • Doris Day Appreciation: Why Did Oscar Elude A Shining Star Of So Many Talents?Link Page
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    • 2020 Doris Tribute
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  • Tributes to an American Icon
    • A Tribute
    • Beneath wholesome image, Doris Day was an actor of depth
    • Doris Day Changed Us Forever
    • Why Doris Day reigns as one of the great jazz singers
    • Lucky Me
    • 60th Anniversary of “It Happened to Jane”
    • A Letter to an American Icon
    • What Singers Can Learn from Doris Day
    • Meeting My Idol
    • Doris Paved the Way for Women through Her Roles
    • Uptown Pluck
    • Reel Revival Doris Day
    • Not the Girl Next Door: Doris Day Reconsidered
    • Blonde and Blameless: Why I Love Doris Day Movies
    • A Tribute to Alma Sophia Welz Kappelhoff Day
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    • No More Que Será Será: Give Day Her Due
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    • The Peak Years for Doris Music and Hits
    • 1957 and Beyond
    • The Studio Albums
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    • Doris Day Jukebox
    • Some Rare Recordings >
      • Rare Recordings, Part Two
    • Doris and Les "Those Were the Good Old Days"
    • Sheet Music Covers
  • Movies
    • Doris Day Co-Stars
    • Romance on the High Seas
    • My Dream Is Yours
    • It's a Great Feeling
    • Young Man with a Horn
    • Tea for Two
    • The West Point Story
    • Storm Warning
    • Lullaby of Broadway
    • On Moonlight Bay
    • I'll See You in My Dreams
    • Starlift
    • The Winning Team
    • April in Paris
    • By the Light of the Silvery Moon
    • Calamity Jane
    • Lucky Me
    • Young at Heart
    • Love Me or Leave Me
    • The Man Who Knew Too Much
    • Julie
    • The Pajama Game
    • Teacher's Pet
    • The Tunnel of Love
    • It Happened to Jane
    • Pillow Talk
    • Please Don't Eat the Daisies
    • Midnight Lace
    • Lover Come Back
    • That Touch of Mink
    • Billy Rose's Jumbo
    • The Thrill of It All
    • Move Over Darling
    • Send Me No Flowers
    • Do Not Disturb
    • The Glass Bottom Boat
    • The Ballad of Josie
    • Caprice
    • Where Were You When the Lights Went Out
    • With Six You Get Eggroll
    • Top 20 Girls Next Door in Movies
    • Press Books
    • Movie Memorabilia
  • Radio
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    • Doris Day Show Season 1
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  • Interviews, Appearances on TV and Radio
    • 40's & 50's
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    • Radio Calls on Doris' Birthday
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    • Doris Day rejected Lifetime Achievement Award about six times
  • Doris Day Fashion
    • Doris Day in Pillow Talk: Couture Allure
  • Doris in Carmel
    • DayDreamers
  • Doris through the Years
    • Cover Girl (Magazine Covers)
  • Quotes by and about Doris
  • Doris Talks to Her Fans (Fan Club Tapes)
    • Fans Talk To Doris
  • Who Knows What Might Have Been
    • Who Knows What Might Have Been, PART 2
  • Creative Video Collection
  • Doris Day Collector
  • And a few rounds of applause...
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“In 1953 I made one of my favorite musicals, Calamity Jane... I loved portraying Calamity Jane, who was a rambunctious, pistol-packing prairie girl (I lowered my voice and stuck out my chin a little). I can’t say that the physical high jinks of jumping on horses, bars, wagons, and belligerent men or doing pratfalls in muddy streams seemed to be particularly exhausting…I had a great working relationship with my costar, Howard Keel, and absolutely first-rate songs to sing (by Sammy Fain and Paul Webster), one of which, ‘Secret Love,’ became my third million-plus recording and won that year’s Academy Award.” - Doris Day, Her Own Story

"When I first heard 'Secret Love' I almost fainted, it was so beautiful. When we finally got around to doing the pre-recording, Ray Heindorf, the musical director at Warner's, said he'd get the musicians in about 12:30 so they could rehearse. That morning I did my vocal warm-up, then jumped on my bike and rode over to Warner's - we lived in Toluca Lake at the time, which was just minutes from the studio. When I got there I sang the song with the orchestra for the first time. When I'd finished, Ray called me into the sound booth, grinning from ear to ear, and said, 'That's it. You're never going to do it better.' That was the first and only take we did." - Doris Day, Her Own Story

"It is no accident that “Secret Love” hit number one on the pop record charts, garnered Day a gold record single, won the 1954 Academy Award for Best Song, and in 1999 was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Like any great piece of popular art, its appeal has lasted through the years, and five decades later, when people speak of Calamity Jane, this is the sequence imprinted upon their memories." - Santopietro, Tom (2008-08-05). Considering Doris Day (Kindle Locations 1379-1381). St. Martin's Press. Kindle Edition.


"There's a kind of crisp androgynous something that is nice--she has backbone and spunk that I think give her a kind of stiffness in the mind." - John Updike


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Directed by  

Produced by

Written by



Starring









Music by









Cinematography


Editing

Distributed by   

Release date(s)   

Running time

Country

Language


Box-Office Gross (USA)


David Butler

William Jacobs

James O'Hanlon




Doris Day
Howard Keel
Allyn Ann McLerie     
Philip Carey
Dick Wesson
Paul Harvey
Chubby Johnson
Gale Robbins


Ray Heindorf
Paul Francis Webster
Sammy Fain

Frank Comstock
Norman Luboff
David Buttolph
Howard  Jackson



Wilfred M. Cline


Irene Morra

Warner Brothers

November 4, 1953

101 Minutes

USA

English

$5,000,000.00



UK Polls list this as their all time favorite musical film; it was popular in the US as well, costarring Howard Keel. This film gave Doris her first Oscar for Best Song with “Secret Love”. The soundtrack was one of the biggest sellers of the year. It is Doris’s favorite of all her films, along with “Pillow Talk”.

It is loosely based on the life of Wild West heroine Calamity Jane and explores an alleged romance between Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok in the American Old West. The film  was devised by Warner Brothers in response to the success of Annie Get Your Gun.

Deadwood, Dakota Territory, is largely the abode of men, where Indian scout Calamity Jane is as hard-riding, boastful, and handy with a gun as any; quite an overpowering personality. But the army lieutenant she favors doesn't really appreciate her finer qualities. One of Jane's boasts brings her to Chicago to recruit an actress for the Golden Garter stage.

Arrived, the lady in question appears (at first) to be a more feminine rival for the favors of Jane's male friends...including her friendly enemy Wild Bill Hickok. Calam's attempt to bring in Adelaide starts a series of events which make Calam examine her feminine side, and what it may take to get Danny to propose. But in doing so, Calam ultimately realizes that what she really wants in life has been there all along.  Songs like "Deadwood Stage" and "Just Blew In From The Windy City" keep this lively comedy right in the groove and quickly explains why it has become one of Doris's most shown films on television.



Movie Quotes

Calamity Jane: Make mine sarsparilly!


Wild Bill Hickok: [finds a gun hidden in Calamity's wedding dress] What's this fer?
Calamity Jane: Awww... just in case any more actresses come in from Chicagy!


[the singer is a man in drag]
Wild Bill Hickok: She ain't very good lookin'
Calamity Jane: That ain't all she ain't.



Calamity Jane: That's better. Next time I tell a story, keep your hands in your pockets you toothless old buffalo!



Lieutenant Gilmartin: Why do we both have to ride the same horse? We could have grabbed one of those Indian ponies.
Calamity Jane: It's cozier this way!




Songs

"The Deadwood Stage (Whip-Crack-Away!)" - Performed by Doris Day

"I Can Do Without You" - Performed by Doris Day and Howard Keel

"It's Harry I'm Planning to Marry" - Performed by Gale Robbins, then by Allyn Ann McLerie

"Just Blew in from the Windy City" - Sung and danced by Doris Day

"Hive Full of Honey" - Performed in drag by Dick Wesson

"My Heart Is Higher Than a Hawk (Deeper Than a Well)" - Performed by Howard Keel

"A Woman's Touch" - Performed by Doris Day and Allyn Ann McLerie

"The Black Hills of Dakota" - Sung by Howard Keel, Doris Day, with Allyn Ann McLerie, Philip Carey and chorus;
also danced at ball

"Secret Love" - Performed by Doris Day, which topped the Billboard and Cash Box musical charts at number one.

"Keep It Under Your Hat" - Performed (twice) by Allyn Ann McLerie



Trivia

"Secret Love" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

From Wikipedia:

"Though the film portrays Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok as lovers, historians have found no proof that they were more than acquaintances. Jane claimed after Hickok's death that she had not only been his lover but also his wife and the mother of his child, but she offered no substantiation of her claims. Many of her contemporaries considered her a teller of tall tales who exaggerated her links to more famous frontier figures, and some insisted Hickok did not even particularly like her. But when she died decades after Hickok, friends buried her beside him at her request."

From moviemistakes.com:

"In the scene after the dance, when Calamity and Wild Bill Hickok return to her place, she is wearing a fancy, floor-length off-the-shoulder dress - no straps. Calamity asks Bill to turn around so she can change. After Bill turns, the cut back to Calamity reveals her wearing an undergarment with wide straps over the shoulders and a pair of bloomers."

"When Calamity and Katie arrive in town after leaving Chicago an extra bag appears on the roof beside the large suitcase. This bag was not there during the shoot out with the Indians."

From IMDB:

"A Columbia Records album of selections from the Sammy Fain-Paul Francis Webster film score was comprised of four songs directly from the soundtrack (supervised by Ray Heindorf), and four tunes commercially rerecorded by Doris Day alone (arranged and conducted by Paul Weston). The original 10-inch LP has been transferred to CD in Britain by Prism Platinum. In 1995, another English label, Jay Records, re-created the complete film score, adding five numbers from the 1979 British stage production. "

"During early 1954, music from this film reigned supreme in Billboard. Number one among the singles was a Doris Day trademark, the Oscar-winning, tender ballad, 'Secret Love' (music by Sammy Fain, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster). Also, the Day-Howard Keel 10-inch LP of songs from the score, issued by Columbia Records, zoomed to second place amongst the popular albums."

"Doris Day recorded the song 'My Secret Love' in only one take."

"When Calamity rides into the Indian camp to rescue Dan, she fires seven shots from her six-shooter in such rapid succession she would have had no time to reload."



Movie Images

 

Movie/Song Clips

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  • Home
  • Magic Blog
  • Remembering Doris
    • Sentimental Journey Personal Tributes to the Magic of Doris Day
    • Doris Day was more complicated, and more forward-thinking, than she ever got credit for
    • Lifelong friend, business partner remembers Hollywood legend Doris Day
    • Doris Day, America's box-office sweetheart of the '50s and '60s, is dead at 97
    • Legendary actress and singer Doris Day has died
    • How Doris Day’s Movie Roles Challenged Stereotypes
    • Doris Day 'Died Peacefully' Surrounded by Her 'Loved Ones,' Says Manager
    • Secret love’s no secret anymore
    • The Matchless Presence of Doris Day
    • Doris Day's death mourned in Carmel, where icon lived
    • Remembering Doris Day
    • Dream a little dream of Doris Day
    • Inside Doris Day's Final Birthday Party at Her Home Near Carmel-by-the-Sea: 'It Was Idyllic'
    • Hollywood Pays Tribute to Doris Day
    • Doris Day, Cincinnati's girl next door, dead at 97
    • RIP Doris Day
    • R.I.P. Doris Day Decades
    • TCM Remembers Doris Day
    • Doris Day mourned by celebrities following her death: 'She was the world’s sweetheart'
    • Pine Cone Tribute
    • Doris Day rejected Lifetime Achievement Award about six times
    • Hollywood Remembers Doris Day: Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, Goldie Hawn Sing Icon’s PraisesPage
    • Paul McCartney Remembers Doris Day: ‘She Was a True Star’
    • Doris Day Appreciation: Why Did Oscar Elude A Shining Star Of So Many Talents?Link Page
    • Paul Batura: Doris Day’s life was more than ‘Que Sera, Sera’ -- Because our ultimate future is ours to see
    • A Hip Sex Goddess Disguised as the Girl Next Doore
    • In Memoriam
  • Happy Birthday Doris!
    • 2020 Doris Tribute
    • Doris Day's 97th Birthday Celebration
    • Doris Day's 96th Birthday
    • Doris Day 95th Birthday in Carmel
    • Doris Day 92nd Birthday in Carmel
    • Doris Day 91st Birthday in Carmel
    • 90th Birthday Celebration
  • Tributes to an American Icon
    • A Tribute
    • Beneath wholesome image, Doris Day was an actor of depth
    • Doris Day Changed Us Forever
    • Why Doris Day reigns as one of the great jazz singers
    • Lucky Me
    • 60th Anniversary of “It Happened to Jane”
    • A Letter to an American Icon
    • What Singers Can Learn from Doris Day
    • Meeting My Idol
    • Doris Paved the Way for Women through Her Roles
    • Uptown Pluck
    • Reel Revival Doris Day
    • Not the Girl Next Door: Doris Day Reconsidered
    • Blonde and Blameless: Why I Love Doris Day Movies
    • A Tribute to Alma Sophia Welz Kappelhoff Day
    • Celebrity Memories
    • No More Que Será Será: Give Day Her Due
    • Doris Day Photo Gallery
  • Doris and Pets (It's Her Passion)
  • Magic Store
  • Music - Early Years
    • The Peak Years for Doris Music and Hits
    • 1957 and Beyond
    • The Studio Albums
    • Top 100 Hit Single Records
    • Doris Day Jukebox
    • Some Rare Recordings >
      • Rare Recordings, Part Two
    • Doris and Les "Those Were the Good Old Days"
    • Sheet Music Covers
  • Movies
    • Doris Day Co-Stars
    • Romance on the High Seas
    • My Dream Is Yours
    • It's a Great Feeling
    • Young Man with a Horn
    • Tea for Two
    • The West Point Story
    • Storm Warning
    • Lullaby of Broadway
    • On Moonlight Bay
    • I'll See You in My Dreams
    • Starlift
    • The Winning Team
    • April in Paris
    • By the Light of the Silvery Moon
    • Calamity Jane
    • Lucky Me
    • Young at Heart
    • Love Me or Leave Me
    • The Man Who Knew Too Much
    • Julie
    • The Pajama Game
    • Teacher's Pet
    • The Tunnel of Love
    • It Happened to Jane
    • Pillow Talk
    • Please Don't Eat the Daisies
    • Midnight Lace
    • Lover Come Back
    • That Touch of Mink
    • Billy Rose's Jumbo
    • The Thrill of It All
    • Move Over Darling
    • Send Me No Flowers
    • Do Not Disturb
    • The Glass Bottom Boat
    • The Ballad of Josie
    • Caprice
    • Where Were You When the Lights Went Out
    • With Six You Get Eggroll
    • Top 20 Girls Next Door in Movies
    • Press Books
    • Movie Memorabilia
  • Radio
  • Television
    • Doris Day Show Season 1
    • Doris Day Show Season 2
    • Doris Day Show Season 3
    • Doris Day Show Season 4
    • Doris Day Show Season 5
    • Doris Day Show Photo Gallery
    • Doris Day Specials
    • Doris Day's Best Friends
  • Interviews, Appearances on TV and Radio
    • 40's & 50's
    • 60's
    • 70's
    • 80's
    • 90's
    • 2000's & 10's
    • Radio Calls on Doris' Birthday
  • Latest News
    • 4-Legger News
  • Awards
    • Doris Day rejected Lifetime Achievement Award about six times
  • Doris Day Fashion
    • Doris Day in Pillow Talk: Couture Allure
  • Doris in Carmel
    • DayDreamers
  • Doris through the Years
    • Cover Girl (Magazine Covers)
  • Quotes by and about Doris
  • Doris Talks to Her Fans (Fan Club Tapes)
    • Fans Talk To Doris
  • Who Knows What Might Have Been
    • Who Knows What Might Have Been, PART 2
  • Creative Video Collection
  • Doris Day Collector
  • And a few rounds of applause...
  • Contact Us