Rating: 
Summary: Annie Get Your Gun
Review: This whimsical musical based loosely on the life of the real Annie Oakley has to be truly a sleeper for fun entertainment. The music "They Say It's Wonderful", There's No Business like Show Business", "The Girl That I Marry", "I Got the Sun in the Morning", "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly" are all executed masterfully by Betty Hutton and Howard Keel. The sets and the choreography are exquisite. This is a movie like The Wizard of Oz that you will want to view over and over on special occasions.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth the wait?
Review: Well, it`s here at last. The long-awaited VHS of this smash hit Broadway musical.
I remember seeing it at the movies when it came out and thinking - what went wrong?
The tunes are great - the start is excellent but there`s no heart.
It`s too clean I guess and one-dimensional. Poor Howard Keel has not got into his stride as a movie actor and his Frank Butler is stodgy and quite unpleasant.
Our girl, Betty does her nut as usual but as she gets prettier so does her character diminish and she too appears brash and unsympathetic.
Of course, the songs are block-busters but I really missed Moonshine Lullaby which would have gone a long way to redeem Betty Hutton`s portrayal of Annie Oakley.
My favourite line is when Chief Sitting Bull says:
"Keep bow tight, keep arrows sharp AND NO PUT MONEY IN SHOW BUSINESS."
Unfortunately the movie degenerates into montage sequences of little moment and a conclusion that depends on the woman being subservient to the man and 'letting him win'.
Based on a true story, it starts so well........but finishes like a damp squib.
In all fairness, Judy Garland couldn`t have cut it as Annie, as we see in a couple of her numbers before she was sacked from the production.
Rating:
Summary: Dynamite Numbers
Review: Number for number, Annie Get Your Gun is one of the best musicals ever.
Rating:
Summary: Annie Get Your Gun
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Breaking the Cardinal Rule Of Comedy
Review: What seems to me to be the worst way to take on a comic role is unseriously. And this is the way Betty Hutton plays it. It is possible that this is the way she was directed, but until the point in the movie where she takes a bath (this changes her completely, apparently), she is annoyingly over-the-top and excessively silly to the point where she becomes a caricature. Once the dirt comes off, so does the fake aspect, too - and the movie becomes better. Aside from "Anything You Can Do" and "No Business Like Show Business," none of the songs seemed very good to me. The clips of Judy Garland make me believe that she would be a better Annie - she is real in "Doin' What Comes Naturally" while Hutton is wacky.
Rating:
Summary: Finally!
Review: After years and years of waiting, this finally came out on videotape. I wish I hadn't had to wait so long. At the end of the video, MGM provided extra footage. At the risk of offending Judy Garland fans, the I'm an Indian, Too, and Doin' What Comes Natcherly outtakes make it very clear that only Betty Hutton could do this role justice. I bought the video for my mom and one for myself this past Christmas. It proved to be great family holiday entertainment. Mom has a major Howard Keel crush, and I have seen several of his movies (and seen countless old episodes of Dallas). He's proven to be a strong leading man. Who knew he could be so funny? Betty Hutton and Howard Keel have wonderful chemistry together. You'll be rewinding and replaying Anything You Can Do at least three times before you can go on with watching the rest of the movie. Thank you, MGM, for finally releasing this gem for us!
Rating:
Summary: Annie Get Your Gun
Review: I've been waiting over 30 years to see the movie version of "Annie Get Your Gun" once again. As I remembered, the songs, the music and the humor, were great. The chauvinism, which I'd forgotten, was disappointing. The 50s was a different era - immature in many respects, yet nostalgic in others. I understand the movie was intended primarily as a musical and comedy, not real life drama. I'd love to see an updated remake of the movie, stressing sensitivity, intelligence and equality for all (women, all races, and the Native Americans). In the movie Betty Hutton states, "He's the best; I'm second." How much better if she'd said, "I'm not the best; he's not the best. We both are!"
Rating:
Summary: Forget all the bad reviews... please!
Review: I watched this DVD shortly after Turner Classic Movies showed the film, and linked it with an interview with Betty Hutton. Sure there's controversy surrounding this film (what film doesn't?) and there's a lot of "Native-American-Sympathisers" (mostly anglo-saxon women) who find the portrayal of the indian characters offensive. Then there's Judy Garland, fired because she was hopped up on goofballs at the time. Forget all that while you watch. There's a wonderful set of songs by Irving Berlin performed in several comedic and serious styles by the cast. An entertaining, albeit simple, story. And then there's Betty Hutton and Howard Keel, looking like they're having a blast! My five year old daughter loves this musical so much that she is memorising the songs and thinks that Betty Hutton is the greatest person on earth. Does anyone want to argue that opinion? I don't!!! "I'm an indian too" is not insulting to me, being a small part Sioux indian myself (not enough to be tax free, get free land, or casino money... dagnabbit!) and anyone who is offended should be scalped! End of total political incorrectness. The DVD has it's problems. In the introduction, Susan Lucci reads off of a Warner Brothers propaganda cue card, so the real story behind the film never gets told. The outtakes of Judy Garland's drunken performances are embarrassing to say the least... Downright disgusting to any Garland fan, Even the introductions to the two outtakes are sugar coated with the words "left due to illness" and "replaced by Betty Hutton", as opposed to the proper terms "drunk" and "Fired". I recommend this musical to anyone who loves musicals.
Rating: 
Summary: Annie Get Your Gun. . .and Shoot Yourself
Review: I waited years for this musical to become available on home video. . .and, now, it has. I'm not sure what I was waiting for, though. "Annie" is, with some exceptions, not very good. And most of the blame has to be placed at the feet of one Betty Hutton. Evidently director George Sidney just turned on the camera and took a nap, letting Betty chomp on the script, the scenery, the songs, her co-stars, the catering truck, the front gate to the studio, and anything else she could sink her teeth into. Betty is loud, grating, and completely annoying. However, all of the blame for this disappointment can't be laid on Betty Hutton. The story itself manages to be one part racist, one part misogynistic, and all parts ludicrous. Native Americans say, "Ugh!" And women are only worthwhile if they swoon at a handsome man and show themselves to be weaker and less skillful. What a great message to put into the heads of little boys and girls! Irving Berlin's songs are the best thing about "Annie Get Your Gun," even though the anthem, "There's No Business Like Show Business," gets pounded into the ground. The photography is fine, the DVD is impressive; however, the film's editing is sloppy. As for the Judy Garland outtakes--Judy's singing of "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly" is great fun (although the dialog scenes surrounding it are woeful. . .Garland barely seems to remember that she's supposed to be playing Annie Oakley and her accent comes and goes on a whim); as for "I'm an Indian, Too," well, the production design and color are dazzling--Garland is not. Her singing is flat and she walks through the number. One wonders what a healthy Garland could have done with the role. After all these years I'm just sad that I didn't like "Annie" more. Maybe some things were just meant to stay in the vaults.
Rating:
Summary: Buy it, for Nostalgia's sake!
Review: FINALLY! Finally, we can view Irving Berlin's "Annie Get Your Gun" in all it's glory . . . something that many of us have been looking forward to for years. This is a wonderful transfer of the Broadway show to the big screen - despite the lack of the original stage star, Ethel Merman. (Despite the much anticipated originally-cast Judy Garland, too.) The film looks great. The color, the sets, costumes - MGM spared no expense! Betty Hutton, however, is SO over-the-top that she almost ruins the film. One cannot help but wish that either of the two previously mentioned ladies had made this film. But alas, we are left with this big-budget musical that is fresh and crisp and sadly lacking a strong female lead. The "bonus material" that is included on this DVD is priceless - out-takes of both Betty and Judy, a strange little intro by Annie's 2000 revival star Bernadette Peters' vacation replacement, Susan Lucci (why her?), and a neat little documentary-style history of the film. A MUST HAVE for Berlin, or Merman fans. They don't make movies like this anymore.
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