Annie Get Your Gun (50th Anniversary Special Edition) Video

Annie Get Your Gun (50th Anniversary Special Edition) and other best sellers. Great prices on Annie Get Your Gun (50th Anniversary Special Edition) and other best selling VHS Videos. To find additional VHS Videos browse the Video categories, or use the search box at the top of this page.

starring: Betty Hutton, Howard Keel directed by: George Sidney (II), Busby Berkeley, Charles Walters

See Larger Image


Customer Reviews
Average Rating: Rating: - There's No Business Like Show Business... The last time ANNIE GET YOUR GUN was shown was on early 1970s television. Now, that hiatus has come to an end with this DVD and video release. This hiatus is explained in a brief, unnecessary introduction given by Susan Lucci. She played Annie Oakley in the recent Broadway revival of the show. ANNIE GET YOUR GUN is at its heart a "girl meets boy, girl gets boy, girl loses boy, girl makes a change and girl finally wins boy" story. It is based loosely on the true story of Annie Oakley and Frank Butler who traveled with the showman Colonel "Buffalo" Bill Cody. Irving Berlin wrote the wonderfully identifiable score and music and the show is a perennial favorite. It was inevitable that they would bring the film to the big screen. The biggest obstacle in bringing the film to the screen was the untimely illness of Judy Garland. She was removed to the show and replaced by Betty Hutton, a broader comic actress that lacked the smooth vocal styling of Garland. But Hutton injected the role with a sense of humor and movement never seen over the rainbow. The battle between the Hutton fans and the Garland fans goes on with rabid intensity. (This DVD release includes two early numbers performed by Garland so you too can join in the comparison rabble!) There are some disadvantages to Hutton's singing voice, most notably when she is involved in the more romantic moments of the story. She becomes soft and less effective, but when it's time to 'perform' she exudes energy. Howard Keel as Frank Butler nicely supports Betty Hutton. He shows a more standard musical theatre performance that would come in handy in many more movie musicals to come. Louis Calhern is sent to the background as Buffalo Bill Cody, lacking much of the charisma the real Cody carried in spades. As with most musicals that travel to the big screen, some songs were cut from the film. These include "I'll Share it All With You", " Moonshine Lullaby", "I Got Lost in His Arms", "Who Do you love, I Hope" and most notably "An Old Fashioned Wedding". One nice bonus on the DVD is the inclusion of "Let's Go West Again" as a bonus feature. That song was written and cut from the Broadway production. Then it was filmed and cut from the film. The film was shot using sharp color contrasts and without widescreen formatting so the film will nicely fit in a standard television. It is a nice DVD with an accurate MONO sound recording and a pristine video transfer. Enjoy ANNIE GET YOUR GUN. Rating: - Knockout Betty Finally on DVD Like several other reviewers here, this was the first movie musical I ever saw in a theater back in l950 and to this day, I've never forgotten the exhiliration of watching Betty Hutton portray Annie Oakley, the very hunky Howard Keel as Frank Butler and the magnficent Technicolor hues of Betty's costumes. Those glowing reds and blues and greens are just as beautiful now on DVD as they were back in l950. But there are some serious questions about this DVD's program of extras: why was Susan Lucci, a TV performer who played Annie on Broadway, chosen to be the hostess of the history of Annie Oakley when Betty Hutton and especially Howard Keel are still very much alive and kicking? Why wasn't there a 'Making-of-the-Movie'documentary, like the one made for another fantastic MGM musical, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" with the documentary showcasing everybody from Jane Powell, Howard Keele, choreographer Michael Kidd to several extras and dancers? "Annie" was certainly one of MGM's biggest grossing movies but the only extras you get are the trailer (big deal)and two scenes of Judy Garland, looking horrible and sounding worse, before she was fired. It's obvious that Garland could never have completed the grueling work demanded of this role. "Seven Brides" was presented on DVD with the loving care of someone and I've watched the documentary about a dozen times in just two weeks. The same should have been done for this DVD version of "Annie." Why couldn't they have included Betty Hutton's interview with the host of Turner Classic Movies about the terrible problems she encountered when taking over the role of Annie from Garland? How about footage of the premieres (Betty complains she was never even invited to the NY premiere by MGM. If this is true, what was the reason? Who were her enemies on the set?)Anyway, let's rejoice that at last, after mysterious restraints and roadblocks, we've finally got Betty Hutton and Howard Keele back at their peaks. Somebody at Turner's, which owns all these great classics, should really get on the ball, though, and start treating these masterpieces with care. Just look at Turner's DVD version of "Gone With the Wind." This greatest of all movies doesn't have a single extra--except for a trailer. Wow. Wonderful treatment of HOllywood's all-time movie masterpiece. But gee, these movies are real old, you know, and therefore they shouldn't get the razzle-dazzle extras package like "The Perfect Storm" and "Mission Impossible: II". Wake up Turner and Warners and DVD producers. We want our classics presented with archival materials, outakes, screen tests, etc. Rating: - Annie Get Your Gun I recently purchased a copy of the video of Annie Get Your Gun starring Betty Hutton and Howard Keel. I had seen it in the 50s when the movie first came out. It was a favorite then and after viewing it now, it is still a favorite. Hutton was dynamic. She represented to me the true version of Annie. I have seen the play on broadway with E. Merman, B. Peters, C. Ladd, and R. McIntire who were all good, but Hutton seemed to be the one with the most energy and portrayal of a real country girl. Also, I found Hutton beautiful which I had never before looked at her in that light. The video gave several scenes of Judy Garland in the role -- what a disservice to a wonderful actress. Those scenes should have never been released. I do have a CD voice recording of Hutton and also of Garland singing the scores. They both were good and are a pleasure to listen to, but Hutton was far greater to view in the film. The music in Annie Get Your Gun is great -- comedy, sad, filled with love and keeps one singing them long after the curtain is drawn. I am so glad the video was finally released.

Annie Get Your Gun (50th Anniversary Special Edition) Video

Related Video Searches