"Annie Get Your Gun" vs. "Calamity Jane" Quiz

Answer: Both

Annie Oakley, the lead character of "Annie Get Your Gun," was a markswomen with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. "Calamity Jane" was the nickname of Martha Jane Cannary-Burke, who fought Native Americans. Of the two films, "Annie Get Your Gun" was far more true to life. Annie Oakley did meet fellow marksmen Frank Butler, and they did tour together and eventually marry. On the other hand, although Martha Cannary-Burke insisted that she and Wild Bill Hickock had a romantic relationship, there is no documentation to support this and many historians do not believe it ever happened. A few even maintain she was a lesbian.

Doris Day, the star of "Calamity Jane," was a vegetarian.

Answer: Both

In "Annie Get Your Gun," Frank and Annie quarreled in "Anything You Can Do" (I Can Do Better.) In "Calamity Jane," Jane and Wild Bill sparred in "I Can Do Without You." In both films, the songs were used to underscore the heightening sexual tension between the lead couple. Both songs were quite humorous, and were in fact the highpoint of their respective movies.

Betty Hutton, the star of "Annie Get Your Gun," turned down the role of Ado Annie in the film version of "Oklahoma!"

Answer: Both

In "Annie Get Your Gun," Frank sang "My Defenses Are Down." In "Calamity Jane," Wild Bill performed "Higher Than a Hawk (Deeper Than a Well)." In both songs, the character mused about his confusing feelings towards a female character. Some musical historians maintain that the two songs are a little too close for comfort in music, lyric, and tone.

Doris Day turned down the role of "Mrs. Robinson" in the film "The Graduate."

Answer: Both

Howard Keel played Frank in "Annie Get Your Gun." His performance was so acclaimed that Warner Brothers signed him to play Wild Bill in "Calamity Jane." Mr. Keel was one of the busiest performers in musical films in the 1950s: He was also in "Show Boat," "Kiss Me Kate," and "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." During the 1980s, he was known to a whole new generation as Clayton Farlow on the TV Series "Dallas."

Betty Hutton played the lead in the TV special "Satin and Spurs." The special received such a critical drubbing that she announced her retirement from show business.

Answer: Both

"Annie Get Your Gun" was adapted for television in 1957, with Mary Martin in the lead. Ten years later, it was adapted for TV again; this time with Ethel Merman as the star. "Calamity Jane" hit the small screen in 1963 with Carol Burnett. Mary Martin had been in the first national touring company of "Annie Get Your Gun." Ethel Merman originated the role on Broadway and played the role again in a 1966 revival, which served as the basis for the second TV presentation. Carol Burnett first played the title role in "Calamity Jane" in 1961 in summer stock.

Doris Day's childhood idol was Ginger Rogers. (Miss Day longed to be a dancer until an accident crippled her when she was in her teens.)

Answer: Annie Get Your Gun

Judy Garland was MGM's first choice to play the lead in "Annie Get Your Gun." She pre-recorded the score and filmed a few scenes, before being replaced due to illness. You can see the scenes she filmed as "extras" on the DVD of "Annie Get Your Gun," and her recordings of the movie's songs are featured on the Soundtrack CD.

It truly is a pity that Miss Garland was unable to complete the finished picture; many thought that if she had been well, it could have been her greatest role and film.

Betty Hutton's big number was cut out of the Broadway production of "Panama Hattie" at the insistence of the show's star, Ethel Merman. Jacqueline Susann used this as the basis for a similar incident in her novel "Valley of the Dolls."

Answer: Annie Get Your Gun

On stage, "Annie Get Your Gun" had starred Ethel Merman and ran on Broadway for nearly four years. "Calamity Jane" was adapted for the stage AFTER the film had been released. The stage version of "Calamity Jane" has been performed in London and throughout the U.S., but never on Broadway.

"Annie Get Your Gun" was last revived on Broadway in 1999; "Calamity Jane" was last presented in London in 2003.

Doris Day is referenced in the song "What Do We Do? We Fly!" in the musical "Do I Hear a Waltz?" The lyrics for the song are by Stephen Sondheim.

Answer: Calamity Jane

"Secret Love," from "Calamity Jane," won the Oscar for Best Song at the 1954 Ceremony. As all the songs from "Annie Get Your Gun" were originally written for the stage, they were ineligible for the award. (The only song written for the film version, "Let's Go West Again," was cut.)

"Secret Love" was about Calamity Jane's coming to terms with her feelings about Wild Bill - what had started out as combat had turned into love, although it seemed she knew about the romance all along. Doris Day's recording of the song reached No. 1 on both the Billboard and Cash Box charts.

Irving Berlin, the creator of the score for "Annie Get Your Gun," did win a Best Song Oscar for the song "White Christmas" for the movie "Holiday Inn."

Betty Hutton was considered for the role of Delilah in "Samson and Delilah" but the part ultimately went to Hedy Lamarr.

Answer: Calamity Jane

"Calamity Jane" featured the young couple Danny and Katie; "Annie Get Your Gun" had a younger romantic couple in the stage version (Tommy and Winnie), but the characters were cut for the film version. Katie was the performer in the local saloon, and Danny a soldier at the fort. The two participated in the song "The Black Hills of Dakota," but had no songs of their own as a couple.

The characters of Tommy and Winnie in "Annie Get Your Gun" were also somewhat negligible; they were also dropped from the 1966 stage revival of the musical.

Doris Day dated Ronald Reagan after his divorce from Jane Wyman.

Answer: Both

Doris Day recorded an album of the songs from "Calamity Jane" when the film was first released. About ten years later, she teamed with Robert Goulet and recorded the songs from "Annie Get Your Gun."

According to the cast album database (http://castalbumdb.com/), the score of "Annie Get Your Gun" has been recorded 29 times; the score of "Calamity Jane," 3.

Betty Hutton had a reputation for being difficult on the set.