Callaway Went Thataway

Callaway Went Thataway
Callaway Went Thataway
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Melvin Frank ; Norman Panama
Written by	Melvin Frank ; Norman Panama
Produced by	Melvin Frank ; Norman Panama
Starring	Fred MacMurray; Dorothy McGuire; Howard Keel;
Cinematography	Ray June
Edited by	Cotton Warburton
Music by	Marlin Skiles
Color process	Black and white
Production; company	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributed by	Loew's, Inc.
Release dates	November 14, 1951 (Houston); December 5, 1951 (New York);
Running time	82 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1,103,000
Box office	$1,338,000

Callaway Went Thataway is a 1951 American comedy Western film starring Fred MacMurray, Dorothy McGuire and Howard Keel. It was written, directed and produced by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama. Also known as The Star Said No, it is a spoof of the craze generated by the television program Hopalong Cassidy.^[2]

Plot

Mike Frye and Deborah Patterson, owners of an advertising firm, find success when they recycle some old Western films starring Smoky Callaway for a new television audience. Tom Lorrison, the show's sponsor, is eager to produce more films, but nobody has seen Smoky in ten years. Under intense pressure, Frye hires Smoky's agent Georgie Markham to find him.

A letter arrives from a cowboy named Stretch Barnes, who bears a strong resemblance to Smoky. After viewing Stretch's photograph, Frye and Patterson visit him. Although Stretch is reluctant, they persuade him to impersonate Smoky, telling him that Smoky is dead.

After a dinner with Lorrison and his wife Martha, Frye and Patterson are approved to launch a marketing campaign. Patterson embarks on a nationwide publicity tour with Stretch. As they spend time together, Stretch falls in love with her, and he presents her with an engagement ring. She is reluctant to accept it, but he tells her to keep it and wear it only if she loves him.

Markham finally finds Smoky, a selfish, womanizing drunk, in a Mexican bar. Smoky is uninterested in returning to work, but Markham kidnaps him and persuades him on the return boat trip. Frye is displeased when Smoky appears in his office, but he sees that he has no choice. He sends Smoky to a health farm to regain his shape. However, despite strict supervision, Smoky stashes bottles of liquor everywhere.

When a woman accosts Stretch on the street and accuses him of failing to help needy children, he is moved. After some thought, he secretly hires a lawyer to establish a children's foundation that will receive nearly all of his earnings.

When Smoky and Stretch meet by chance, Stretch discovers that he has been duped and wants to return home. The law firm's representative appears with the legal document establishing the charity foundation. Stretch devises a plan. With Smoky still in poor physical condition, Frye and Patterson had begged him to appear at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Stretch decides to accept, intending to sign the document in front of 90,000 fans and dignitaries. When Smoky learns of his scheme, he objects, and the men brawl, with Smoky knocked unconscious. Frye and Markham try to intervene and suffer the same fate. When Smoky awakens, he realizes that he cannot stop Stretch, so he returns to Mexico, as he would only be paid a modest salary for a great deal of hard work. At the coliseum, Stretch meets Patterson, who approves of his plan and wears his ring.

Cast

Fred MacMurray as Mike Frye
Dorothy McGuire as Deborah Patterson
Howard Keel as "Stretch" Barnes / "Smoky" Callaway
Jesse White as Georgie Markham
Fay Roope as Tom Lorrison
Natalie Schafer as Martha Lorrison
Douglas Kennedy as Drunk
Elisabeth Fraser as Marie
John Indrisano as Johnny Terrento
Stan Freberg as Marvin
Don Haggerty as Director Don

Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, and Esther Williams make cameo appearances.

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther wrote:

The efforts of the advertising duo—or should we say Panama and Frank?—to calf-rope and corral their hayseed and make him act like a genuine star, albeit in conventional Westerns, make for explosive guffaws, not to mention moderate temptations to more profound chuckles, now and then. ... With no disrespect to the picture, nor to its writer-director-producer team, it must be said that the momentum slackens off a bit when the real Callaway is siphoned out of a South American saloon and brought back to Hollywood to badger the hard-pressed perpetrators of the hoax. In this situation, sentiment solemnly intrudes and a quaint little imp of romance rears its familiar head.^[2]

According to MGM records, the film earned $1,071,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $267,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $294,000.^[3]

References

↑ Barthelme, Don (November 15, 1951). "TV Cowhand Burlesqued in Loew's Film". Houston Post. p. 7, Section 2.
1 2 3 Crowther, Bosley (December 6, 1951). "The Screen: Four New Films on Local Scene". The New York Times. p. 42.
1 2 3 The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.

External links

Callaway Went Thataway at IMDb
Callaway Went Thataway at the TCM Movie Database (archived)
Callaway Went Thataway at Rotten Tomatoes
Callaway Went Thataway at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films

[1] Barthelme, Don (November 15, 1951). "TV Cowhand Burlesqued in Loew's Film". Houston Post. p. 7, Section 2.

[crowther-2] 1 2 3 Crowther, Bosley (December 6, 1951). "The Screen: Four New Films on Local Scene". The New York Times. p. 42.

[Mannix-3] 1 2 3 The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.

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