A little bit of blarney never hurt anyone, so when Brooklyn born Barbara Stanwyck takes on the role of country gal Annie Oakley, it's a curiosity from the start to see how she's going to pull it off. As it turns out, not badly, as the noticeable but not distracting differences in appropriate accents becomes more charming than laughable.
Popular but not yet a superstar, Stanwyck gives a sincere performance as the innocent but not stupid country bumpkin who does everything she can to win the affections of handsome Preston Foster, a fictional version of the real Frank Butler, with enough references to indicate who he is really supposed to be. Corny humor on the side, slight references to real incidents in Oakley's life and an all Americana feel makes this a tall tail of a large life with much to recommend it.
The film is close to the later hit musical comedy in many ways other than the fictitious names of real characters; Annie Oakley is discovered not to be "Andy", finds herself in a competition with "Toby" (Frank), blows the contest purposely because "he's so purty", joins Buffalo Bill's wild West show, becomes as cultured as a backwoods girl can be, then manages to land her man in spite of their differences.
It's fast paced, action packed, often funny and somewhat sincere in its desire to give at least a small impression of what these traveling shows were like, never once disappointing as strict entertainment. Pert Kelton, best known for the role of Marian's mother in "The Music Man" on stage and screen, is obviously playing the equivalent of Dolly Tate, while leading actor Melvyn Douglas takes on the supporting role of Annie's manager. It's a professional job all 'round, and you might find yourself singing Irving Berlin songs from the show even though this isn't a musical.
Popular but not yet a superstar, Stanwyck gives a sincere performance as the innocent but not stupid country bumpkin who does everything she can to win the affections of handsome Preston Foster, a fictional version of the real Frank Butler, with enough references to indicate who he is really supposed to be. Corny humor on the side, slight references to real incidents in Oakley's life and an all Americana feel makes this a tall tail of a large life with much to recommend it.
The film is close to the later hit musical comedy in many ways other than the fictitious names of real characters; Annie Oakley is discovered not to be "Andy", finds herself in a competition with "Toby" (Frank), blows the contest purposely because "he's so purty", joins Buffalo Bill's wild West show, becomes as cultured as a backwoods girl can be, then manages to land her man in spite of their differences.
It's fast paced, action packed, often funny and somewhat sincere in its desire to give at least a small impression of what these traveling shows were like, never once disappointing as strict entertainment. Pert Kelton, best known for the role of Marian's mother in "The Music Man" on stage and screen, is obviously playing the equivalent of Dolly Tate, while leading actor Melvyn Douglas takes on the supporting role of Annie's manager. It's a professional job all 'round, and you might find yourself singing Irving Berlin songs from the show even though this isn't a musical.