Cattle Annie and Little Britches (1980) User Reviews

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[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 14 April 2017]

Amanda Plummer and Diane Lane have the title roles as Cattle Annie And Little Britches in this really outstanding film that seems to have disappeared. As it was it was given limited release and held up for two years being shot in 1979. Usually that means bad news for a film. But not in this case.

According to a recent biography of Burt Lancaster the collapse of the elephantine budgeted Heaven's Gate made the studios gun shy about westerns. It was the main reason the film was held up. Probably Lancaster Oscar nominated performance in Atlantic City made the studio change its mind.

A pair of Hollywood legends Burt Lancaster and Rod Steiger make their only joint film appearance in Cattle Annie And Little Britches. Lancaster plays legendary outlaw Bill Doolin who operated in the Oklahoma Territory primarily and who the girls who've had their heads filled with dime novel fantasies become camp followers and are christened with those names by Lancaster. Steiger is legendary lawman Bill Tilghman who is on the trail of the Doolin gang. Worth seeing this film just to see them together in one scene.

According to the Lancaster biography Amanda Plummer regarding Lancaster as an acting mentor. She was impressed with his sheer physicality even in middle age. Burt certainly was no longer playing roles like The Crimson Pirate, but still he used his whole body and not just that clear speaking voice to get you to notice him. Steiger too has one memorable voice for the screen.

Cattle Annie And Little Britches is a sleeper western ready to be discovered by film fans. Make sure to see this if broadcast.

Moving account of the last days of Bill Doolin's gang and the teen girls who joined 'em

[Wuchakk · 7/10 · 19 August 2019]

Two teen girls (Amanda Plummer & Diane Lane) hook up with the Doolin-Dalton Gang in 1890's Oklahoma Territory, but Bill Doolin (Burt Lancaster) is tired and the gang's heyday is behind them. Meanwhile Marshal Tilghman (Rod Steiger) is intent on putting the kibosh on the wild bunch. Scott Glenn and John Savage are on hand as members of the gang.

"Cattle Annie and Little Britches" (1981) is similar in tone to "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969) and, like that film, was based on the real-life account, albeit loosely. "Young Guns" (1988) and "Young Guns II" (1990) did the same with the Billy the Kid story. The film starts off like "Bad Company" (1972) mixed with the fun spirit of "Butch Cassidy," but becomes weightier as it moves along with some pretty moving moments.

Plummer was 23 during filming while Lane was only 15. The former is utterly convincing as the sassy Annie and Savage is notable as her taciturn quasi-beau. The superb folk songs by Sahn Berti & Tom Slocum are stirring and sometimes profound. It's an inexplicably obscure Western, hardly promoted and barely released. I guess studios were gun shy after the devastating failure of "Heaven's Gate" (1980).

The film runs 1 hours, 37 minutes, and was shot in Durango, Mexico, about 1200 miles southwest of the real-life events.

GRADE: B

Meandering but utterly charming western

[a_chinn · 7/10 · 5 July 2022]

9-year-old me wanted to watch this movie in the theaters, but my parents wouldn't take me, though now that Kino-Lorber has release it on blu-ray, I finally get to watch it. Honestly, the main reason I bought this film is I've had a crush on Diane Lane since "Six Pack" and still really wanted to watch this movie. It tells the tale of two teenage girls in the old west falling in love with outlaws and being pursued by the law. That's about it, but what makes the film work is a surprisingly strong cast. Besides Diane Lane, in only her third film, you also have Amanda Plummer ("Fisher King" "Pulp Fiction") in her film debut as Cattle Annie. There's also Scott Glenn ("Silverado" "Silence of the Lambs"), John Savage ("Enter the Dragon" "Nightmare on Elm Street") Buck Taylor ("Tombstone" "Cowboys & Aliens"), and even Hollywood legends Rod Steiger ("On the Waterfront" "In the Heat of the Night") and Burt Lancaster ("From Here to Eternity" "Sweet Smell of Success"). Overall, the film is lightweight fluff, but it's utterly charming and goes down easy like comfort food.

Ride On

[Tweetienator · 7/10 · 7 June 2022]

Good old-fashioned Western movie with a good shot of comedy. A great production and fine working cast (Diana Lane and Amanda Plummer are all too gorgeous as drifters) make this one a gem for everyone who like Western movies a la True Grit, Cat Ballou, Waterhole and so on.

Burt Lancaster replaced Randolph Scott

[searchanddestroy-1 · 7/10 · 25 January 2020]

This typical early eighties western, shot in the shadow of HEAVEN's GATE, is made in a different way from the Gordon Douglas's version of 1949, DOOLINS OF OKLAHOMA,thirty years earlier, but it matches it. I like both, this one shows tenderness and light heart too. Lancaster is as usual excellent as the aging outlaw.

A typical western ruined by the ending

[bellino-angelo2014 · 7/10 · 23 January 2024]

I have heard for years about CATTLE ANNIE AND LITTLE BRITCHES mostly because of its star studded cast and in fact when I finally saw it last August I found it ok but nothing else, and I was surprised that it's based on a true story.

Cattle Annie and Little Britches (Amanda Plummer and Diane Lane) are two weird girls that want to join a gang because they think that they can handle that way of life. In fact when they meet Bill Doolin's (Burt Lancaster) gang they don't think twice before joining. In fact Annie and Britches join the gang in most of their robberies and adventures up until Bill ends in a jail in Oklahoma only to be freed by the girls.

Here comes the problem: while Doolin flees to safety with his men Annie and Britches don't succedd in escaping from Marshall Bill Thighman (Rod Steiger) who sends them in reformatory. Now, why end the movie this way? It would have been better if the girls fleed to safety with Doolin's gang since it's why they joined in the first place. But for the rest it's well acted by all (Lane, Plummer, Lancaster, Steiger and Scott Glenn) and there were some funny moments as well.

If you can ignore the poor ending some lunkhead wrote at the last minute after a likely re-write, then you'll like it more.

It's okay.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 25 August 2023]

"Cattle Annie and Little Britches" is, believe it or not, based on real characters. Yes, two weird women, Cattle Annie and her friend, Little Britches, were actually members of the famous Doolin Gang and were responsible for a short reign of terror in the latter days of the old west.

Apart from casting the way too elderly Burt Lancaster as the gang leader, Bill Doolin, the movie is good...though also not especially memorable. The biggest problem is that in the film, these criminals don't do a whole lot and they also aren't very sympathetic. I don't know about most viewers, but I just found I didn't care about anyone in this movie. It's competently made but curiously uninvolving as well.

Completist Curio.

[hitchcockthelegend · 5/10 · 19 September 2017]

Cattle Annie and Little Britches is directed by Lamont Johnson and Robert Ward co-adapts the screenplay with David Eyre from his own novel of the same name. It stars Burt Lancaster, Amanda Plummer, John Savage, Diane Lane, Rod Steiger, Scott Glenn and Buck Taylor. Music is by Sahn Berti and Tom Slocum and cinematography by Larry Pizer.

A strange Oater, one that's high on promise via its cast list and premise, but ultimately ends up unfulfilling. Story is based around how two teenage girls - fascinated by tales of outlaw's movements - hook up with the remnants of the Doolin-Dalton gang and inspire them to attempt former glories. Naturally it's all historically dubious and is bogged down by its derivative nature, while the quirky parodic blend of drama and cheery never sits comfortably, the later of which compounded by a string based score that would be more at home with Hanna-Barbera.

Mixed notices upon release are perfectly understandable given that Lancaster and Steiger offer fine presence to the play, and Plummer is electric on debut, but the chance for something more wistfully potent is sadly wasted. 5/10

Twilight and derivative Western about a couple of teens who join the Doolin-Dalton band

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 17 August 2022]

Based on real-life characters and set in 19th-century Oklahoma, regarding a couple of Eastern teen girls, Cattle Annie (Amanda Plummer) and Little Britches (Diane Lane) , join a band of friendly bandits , remnants of the Doolin (led by Burt Lancaster)-Dalton (led by Scott Glenn) band , after the Dalton Gang was partially wiped out in Coffeyville , Kansas . However , the two young girls inspire them to pull a few more assaults and heists. They find a shadow of a former gang and although disappointed , still attempt to help them escape from a stubborn sheriff Bill Tilghman (Rod Steiger) .They told the Doolin-Dalton Gang where to go. Then...they went with them.

Agreeable and atmospheric twilight western based on Robert Ward's book , starred by a couple of likable adolescents who take to the outlaw life like ducks to water . Slightly derivative in its playing with brooding themes , concerning the passage of ages with the need to withdraw or retirement , shrinking frontiers and changing times . It's a serious , mature Hollywood Western with winning cast and particular character studio about two aging people , both a gunslinger (Burt Lancaster) and a sheriff (Rod Steiger) looking for peace and quiet , while two troublemaker teenagers running , prowling and stalking here and there . In the film appears famous outlaws as Bill Doolin : Burt Lancaster , Bill Dalton : Scott Glenn , Marshal Tilghman : Rod Steiger and even the attractive teens Cattle Annie and Little Britches are based on real characters . There're also some final biographical remarks , such as : The gang scattered and went in different directions , Cattle Annie and Little Britches served two years in a reformatory in Massachusetts , Annie grew and led a rich full life in Kansas City , Jenny went to New York and worked as a domestic and a social worker . Bill Tilghman went to Hollywood and became a movie director . Bill Doolin married a minister's daughter and was killed on his way home from church. Great Burt Lancaster gives a vigorous acting as well as the veteran Rod Steiger. But the real protagonists are the newcomer actresses Amanda Plummer in her film debut and Diane Lane as the two brave teenagers , both of whom are pretty well and subsequently to be continued a long career . Alongside a fine plethora of secondaries with abundant familar faces , such as : William Russ , John Savage , Buck Taylor , Michael Conrad , Jerry Gatlin , Steven Ford , Mike Moroff , John Quade , Perry Lang, among others.

It displays a colorful , evocative cinematography by cameraman Larry Pizer ; shot on location in Durango, Mexico . Plagued by one of those habitual banjo soundtracks that should have been abandoned back in the days of Butch Cassidy and Bonnie and Clyde . Adequate production design and art direction with appropriate sets from the little town and spectacular rocky and desert outdoors . This is an enjoyable little Western which was thrown away by its distributor Universal Pictures , and being regular but professionally directed by Lamont Johnson (The last american hero , One on One , Lipstick , Visit to a Chief's Son, You'll Like My Mother , A Gunfight , Wallemberg and Mackenzie Break at his best) . If you're a Western fan you can't go far wrong with this . A time passer whose rating results to be 6/10 . An acceptable and passable though uninspired - at times- Western.

"In the long run, it evens out...you wind up with a mouthful of salt and a handful of memories."

[moonspinner55 · 3/10 · 28 June 2017]

Robert Ward and David Eyre adapted Ward's fictionalized book about two true-life outlaw women who headed west from Oklahoma in the 1890s and attached themselves to the Doolin-Dalton gang, who had given up robbing trains and moved on to robbing banks. Undistinguished western has corny dialogue thick with purple prose and is blanketed with generic bluegrass music. Burt Lancaster as Bill Doolin faces off against Rod Steiger as vigilant U.S. marshal Bill Tilghman, and their combined charisma gives the movie whatever personality it has, the ladies of the title being negligible. As mercurial Annie, Amanda Plummer (in her film debut) has an eccentric quality that fails to engage the audience; with her mop of untamed hair, her wild eyes and wise-old-lady speaking voice, she's a human tumbleweed. It takes over an hour into the proceedings for Diane Lane's baby-faced Jenny to exhibit some sign of life; too modern for this scenario, it's easy to forget she's even in the picture. Lamont Johnson directed, erratically. Film improves in its second-half, but the tone of the movie is off. It has elegiac qualities that aren't used to bolster the narrative, which Johnson then drops entirely for a more standard, upbeat western-genre feel. *1/2 from ****

Wonderful old-fashioned family western

[ralphsampson · 10/10 · 2 August 2001]

Amanda Plummer and Diane Lane are perfect complements in the title roles. Cattle Annie, as played by Plummer, is assertive, questioning, and somewhat rambunctious. In contrast, Lane's character is a lot like Barbara i One Day At A Time. The two young ladies get in the middle of Legendary Marshal Bill Tilghman's attempts to take the gang led by Burt Lancaster. The dialogue is sensational, and the acting, including terrific performances by Scoot Glenn and John Savage, could not be better. This is one to savor.

Uneven, but somewhat cute

[HotToastyRag · 6/10 · 10 October 2023]

In her film debut, Amanda Plummer took on a bold, strong role and declared herself as a force to be reckoned with. She and Diane Lane play the title roles, two little girls in the Wild West who idolize outlaws. Caught up in the drama of paperback novels, they leave their small town and "loving" environments to catch up with a gang led by Burt Lancaster. Burt, as usual, has his larger-than-life energy that attracts both girls and makes it difficult for even the audience to think it's a bad idea for pre-teen girls to run around with guns and grown men.

Parts of this movie are cute, like when Diane confesses her crush on Burt. Amanda's invigorating speeches are charming and pick up where True Grit left off. But some of the movie feels inappropriate, and I was unsure at times if it was supposed to be a comedy or a drama. It's not the best western out there, but I did appreciate that it starred an actor who made a few westerns in his day. What's missing is simple: the tried-and-true heart-stirring feeling that all westerns from the golden age had. If you're uncertain whether the good guys are going to win, or if you're not even sure who the good guys are, it's a sure bet the western was made post-1965.

Dated effort wasting talented cast

[pilpen · 3/10 · 23 January 2023]

An unwatchably bad western spoof with an outstanding cast, entirely wasted. All this turkey lacks is a soundtrack and it could be an episode of Love American Style or Dusty's Trail. The real life outlaw girls were an interesting couple of cowboy juvenile delinquents (though from Kansas and Missouri, not "the East"), but the Doolin-Dalton gang in its various iterations was a bunch of not very bright killers, all of whom were eventually gunned down by townspeople, local lawmen, or federal marshals. Cat Ballou and Blazing Saddles prove you can make a comedy about western outlaws but this is not one of them.

Where has this gem if a western been hiding?

[Maverick1962 · 9/10 · 30 October 2021]

Without doubt the most enjoyable Western I've seen in some time, I'm amazed i haven't come across it before as I'm such a big fan of several cast members as well as westerns in general. Burt Lancaster leads the real life Doolin/Dalton gang of outlaws, he being Bill Doolin and Scott Glenn being Bob Dalton. Cattle Annie played by a dynamic Amanda Plummer is outstanding and her more thoughtful companion Jenny or Little Britches by one of my favourite actresses, Diane Lane in a very early part. The outlaws are complemented by the presence of the great Rod Steiger as the sheriff on the chase, determined to get Doolin come what may. This is a feel good, rip roaring western that never flags and must be one of the most overlooked of that decade, the 1980's. I was sorry when it was all over. I can't recommend it too highly for sheer western entertainment. It's not overtly violent but there's plenty of action, gunfights and explosions to suit any western fan and that superb cast deliver in spades. There's humour, a great soundtrack and brilliant acting as you might expect from everyone.