''Red Garters'' is a 1954 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

western film The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

starring

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song " Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as " Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano" ...

Jack Carson John Elmer Carson (October 27, 1910 – January 2, 1963) was a Canadian-born American film actor. Carson often played the role of comedic friend in films of the 1940s and 1950s, including ''The Strawberry Blonde'' (1941) with James Cagney and ...

Guy Mitchell Guy Mitchell (born Albert George Cernik; February 22, 1927 – July 1, 1999) was an American pop singer and actor, successful in his homeland, the UK, and Australia. He sold 44 million records, including six million-selling singles. In the fa ...

. It is a musical spoof of Westerns. The director was

George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the US Army under Pre ...

. The film was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Art Direction (

Hal Pereira Hal Pereira (April 29, 1905 – December 17, 1983) was an American art director, production designer, and occasional architect. Pereira was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Sarah (Friedberg) and Saul Pereira. In the 1940s through the 1960s ...

Roland Anderson Roland Anderson (November 18, 1903 – October 29, 1989) was an American movie art director. He received 15 Academy Award nominations but never won an Oscar. Anderson's first Oscar nomination was for his first film in 1933, ''A Farewell to Arms ...

, Samuel M. Comer, Ray Moyer). :" 'Red Garters''is a costume piece, a roguish, cheeky musical western in which anything goes. All the cliches of every western ever made are examined with humor and high spirits. ..''Red Garters'' has no settings in the ordinary sense; houses, trees, windows and the like are merely suggested, as on a musical stage." It has been distributed on VHS, Laserdisc, and DVD.

Plot

A stranger in town meets pretty young Susan Martinez De La Cruz and accompanies her to a barbecue, where wealthy Jason Carberry is saying a few words for the recently departed Robin Randall, a citizen who got shot. Jason objects to the stranger's presence, being Susan's guardian and protective of her. He challenges him to a shootout, but the stranger pulls his pistol before Jason's can even clear the holster. Calaveras Kate, a saloon singer who's in love with Jason, is relieved when the stranger declines to pull the trigger. Rafael Moreno suddenly rides into town and picks a fight with the stranger. Their brawl continues until the arrival of Judge Wallace Wintrop and his niece, Sheila, who have come to town from back East and deplore all this random violence out West. The stranger is recognized as Reb Randall, the dead man's brother. He is looking for the killer, who could be Rafael, or could be Jason, or could even be Billy Buckett, the coward of the county. The women hold their breath to see if the men they love will survive.

Cast

as Calaveras Kate *

as Jason Carberry *

as Reb Randall * Pat Crowley as Susan Martinez De La Cruz * Gene Barry as Rafael Moreno * Cass Daley as Minnie Redwing * Frank Faylen as Billy Buckett *

Reginald Owen John Reginald Owen (5 August 1887 – 5 November 1972) was a British actor. He was known for his many roles in British and American films and television programs. Career The son of Joseph and Frances Owen, Reginald Owen studied at Sir Herbert ...

as Judge Wallace Winthrop *

Buddy Ebsen Buddy Ebsen (born Christian Ludolf Ebsen Jr., April 2, 1908 – July 6, 2003), also known as Frank "Buddy" Ebsen, was an American actor and dancer, whose career spanned seven decades. One of his most famous roles was as Jed Clampett in the CBS ...

as Ginger Pete * Richard Hale as Dr. J. Pott Troy *

Joanne Gilbert Joanne Gilbert (born July 17, 1932) is an American television and film actress. Biography Gilbert was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in Hollywood, California. She is the daughter of American lyricist Ray Gilbert who is best known for ...

as Sheila Winthrop * Herb Golden as Townsman

Songs

The songs were written by

Jay Livingston Jay Livingston (born Jacob Harold Levison, March 28, 1915 – October 17, 2001) was an American composer best known as half of a song-writing duo with Ray Evans that specialized in songs composed for films. Livingston wrote music and Evans the ...

and

Ray Evans Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and song-writing duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films. Evans wrote the lyrics and Living ...

— a team that won three Academy Awards. The soundtrack on Columbia Records was released as a ten-inch Lp combining soundtrack recordings with studio re-creations conducted by Percy Faith and

Mitch Miller Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...

. Selections include: * '' Red Garters'' - Clooney * ''A Dime and a Dollar'' - Mitchell * ''Brave Man'' - Clooney * ''This is Greater Than I Thought'' - Gilbert * ''Good Intentions'' - Clooney * ''Meet a Happy Guy'' - Mitchell * ''Bad News'' - Clooney * ''Man and Woman'' - Clooney and Mitchell After being out-of-print for more than 40 years, Collectables re-released the album on CD paired with Clooney's ten-inch album of songs from '' White Christmas''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Red Garters (Film) 1954 films Films directed by George Marshall Paramount Pictures films 1954 musical comedy films 1950s Western (genre) musical films American Western (genre) comedy films American musical comedy films 1950s Western (genre) comedy films American Western (genre) musical films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films