The family ranch is threatened by the railroad. Catherine (Cat) Ballou (Jane Fonda), a recently minted school teacher, returns home to help her father, but he is gunned down upon her arrival. She sends for gunfighter Kid Shelleen (Lee Marvin) to help avenge her father. Shelleen turns out to be a rip-roaring drunk unable to sit straight on his horse, never mind shoot straight. Heralded as a great parody of the Western film genre, it also features Nat King Cole as a minstrel, so the film has an excellent sound track. Lee Marvin plays two roles: Kid Shelleen and his evil brother, Tim. Marvin won the Oscar for Best Lead Actor. The film was nominated for four other Oscars - Best Writing, Best Film Editing, Best Original Music and Best Adapted Music.
