User reviews

Consider the time this film came out. It is one of the first feature films about the cinema's new rival, television. More specifically it is based on the renaissance of Hopalong Cassidy as an early television star.

This film takes me back to when I was a lad in the early days of television when there was a need for programming. The first films that were shown on early television were grade B product from the studios which were not about to be re-released for the big screen. And of course those B westerns were in plentiful supply. In fact I have a theory that John Wayne's rapid rise to number one at the box office may have been in large part to the showing of his pre-Stagecoach westerns giving him valuable publicity for the A product he was currently working on.

But the guy who had the biggest benefit was William Boyd who made his last Hopalong Cassidy picture in 1948. He had scraped together every bit of cash he could to buy all the rights to the Hopalong Cassidy films and character from producer Harry Sherman and author Clarence Mulford.

So when those Cassidy films became a big hit on early television Boyd's career revived and he became a tycoon with all the Hoppy merchandise. And the craze was big, the film accurately depicts the merchandising bonanza that Hoppy was in real life and Smokey Callaway in this film.

Like the Cassidy films in real life, the old films of B picture western star Smokey Callaway become a big hit on TV. They'd like to make more of them, but where's Smokey. TV programmers Fred MacMurray and Dorothy McGuire would sure like to find him. Smokey's just dropped off the planet. MacMurray and McGuire dispatch former agent Jesse White to locate Callaway who was quite a boozer back in the day and nothing like his screen image.

In the meantime they locate a cowboy from Colorado who is a Callaway doppelganger. Howard Keel plays both parts and plays them well. The two scheming TV programmers hire Keel on to impersonate his lookalike. But they get quite a bit more than they bargain for.

Callaway Went Thataway is an enjoyable film about a forgotten era in our social history. Cowboys don't have quite the image they once did in America and I'm not sure how today's audience relates to a film about early television which we pretty much take for granted. Still it's a piece of nostalgia for me.

OK, I may be a little late to the party -- Howard Keel had a long, proud and successful career as a theater and movie star. But he was amazing in the dual roles of good guy Stretch Barnes and bad guy Smoky Calloway. Even though the two characters dressed in identical outfits through most of the movie, Keel's acting craft made it early to recognize whether you were seeing Stretch or Smoky. I actually spend a few minutes wondering whether it was two different lookalike actors, and had to check into IMDb to confirm that it was the same guy.

The film itself was a clever take on the television Westerns that were popular when I was a boy. Fred MacMurray very nicely plays the role of a lovable on the outside, sleaze ball on the inside theatrical agent. Dorothy McGuire played the opposite as his partner -- reluctantly sleazy on the outside, heart of gold on the inside. Others include old standby Jesse White, and watch for Stan Freeberg as the nerd who works with MacMurray and McGuire.

But really, Howard Keel was the star, and should have gotten top billing. Overall, the film was a very pleasant way to spend an hour-and-a-half or so.

I knew I was going to like this movie when a 25-year-old Stan Freberg walked onto the screen in an early scene, playing an employee at an ad agency. In fact, I would have given this movie a good rating just on the basis of all the TV icons in the cast: Fred MacMurray, Jesse White, Natalie Schafer, and in tiny cameos John Banner and Hugh Beaumont. And speaking of cameos, how about Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, and Esther Williams? Yes, they're here too.

This comedy is WAY above "B" picture level, with a snappy script by the team of Frank and Panama, who earned their comedy medals writing for Hope/Crosby and Danny Kaye. Howard Keel does a fine job in his dual role, while Fred and Dorothy try to please a cantankerous sponsor and keep their phony cowboy happy at the same time. There are plenty of laughs, and some plot twists to keep you wondering how it's all going to work out in the end. If you watched TV in the 1950s, you'll especially enjoy this gentle satire of the entertainment and advertising industries of the time.

Thanks be to TMC for rescuing this minor gem from movie oblivion. Sure, kids have long since traded cowboy idols for computer screens, but the pointed humor surrounding Hollywood's money-making machine remains as fresh and timely as ever. MacMurray and McGuire are Hollywood hustlers looking to cash in on cowboy Callaway's renewed popularity via that novel entertainment gimmick, television. Meanwhile, kids everywhere are clamoring for more of their TV idol. The trouble is the actor has long since decided he prefers a drunken stupor to riding horseback and has disappeared from public view. What to do-- the hustlers are so close to the big bucks they can almost smell easy street. In a stroke of luck, a Callaway look-a-like turns up, and they hire him as an impersonator. The trouble is he's a straight-shooter from the boondocks, can't act, and couldn't care less about the Hollywood scene. But the two M's are real Tinsel Town slickers so things begin to work out. Then, however, the real Callaway (Keel, also) shows up and the fun really starts.

Fine script from Panama and Frank. The barbs fly thick and fast, so you may need a scorecard to keep up. I love it when the stagehands and those folks who never get their names on screen show how to sabotage an arrogant movie star. Watch the flop Callaway takes executing one of those spectacular flying horse mounts. Though the humor is mainly aimed at Hollywood types and film-making generally, it's never mean-spirited, and we end up liking MacMurray even though he takes real advantage of the innocent "Stretch". Note too, the studio disclaimer at the end. That, no doubt, was to keep Hoppy happy since Cassidy's old films on TV were the movie's obvious inspiration. Being one of those kids that long-ago lined up to meet the real Hoppy, I can testify that he was stone cold sober and a nice guy, to boot. So as the disclaimer says-- the movie is intended merely in the spirit of good fun with no aspersions cast. And a lot of fun it is.

"Callaway Went Thataway" is a slight comedy enlivened by some fine performances by Dorothy McGuire, Fred MacMurray, Howard Keel and Jesse White.

As television was threatening to take over the film industry, MGM produced this send-up of the TV western hero craze. Smoky Callaway's old movies are being run on TV and are such a hit with kids that an enormous licensing potential develops for Smoky products and endorsements, plus the making of more Smoky movies.

One small problem - Smoky done left the corral 10 years earlier and no one - including his agent (White) knows where he went. The ad agency partners (McGuire and MacMurray) find a lookalike, Stretch Barnes, a simple man with simple needs, and convince him to take Smoky's place, claiming that Smoky is dead. All goes well until Smoky's agent finds the real Callaway, a womanizing boozer, and brings him back.

This is a fun film for baby boomers who grew up with Gabby Hayes, Roy Rogers, The Cisco Kid, The Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers etc. Etc. And who used all the products that carried their hero's face: the cereals, the lunch boxes, the toys.

Howard Keel is terrific in the dual role of sweet, sensitive, aw shucks ma'm Stretch and the hard-drinking slob Smoky. McGuire is lovely in her role, and MacMurray does well as her less conscience-stricken partner.

MGM takes the opportunity to plug its stars - there are cameos of Esther Williams, Elizabeth Taylor, and Clark Gable, and there are lots of future TV stars as well. Besides Jesse White, there's Stan Frieberg, Natalie Schaeffer, and in an uncredited role, Hugh Beaumont. Fun viewing.

While CALLAWAY WENT THATAWAY isn't the deepest film I've seen, it sure was very perceptive and fun to watch. I also wonder if maybe although the film has a disclaimer saying it ISN'T based on any celebrity they REALLY were lampooning several of the big-name cowboy stars (such as Gene Autry who was a lot like the original Callaway)--a lot like how A FACE IN THE CROWD was based on Arthur Godfrey, though the studio strongly denied this.

The film is about a cowboy movie star from a decade ago who has suddenly gained a new following with kids thanks to television--just like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers were re-discovered thanks to TV. As a result of his fame, the advertisers are anxious to find the actor who played Smokey Callaway so they can make more films as well as public appearances. The problem is that the actor was a big-time drinker and he just seemed to vanish after going on an extended bender in South America. Even a private eye (Jesse White) can't find the guy, so Dorothy McGuire and Fred MacMurray (who own the advertising agency) go in search of a double to pretend to be Callaway. In the process, they find a dead ringer--played by Howard Keel. The only problem is, eventually the drunk and nasty Callaway DOES resurface and they are in quite a quandary! The film has some nice comedic moments but late in the film it also becomes rather serious and romantic. Leonard Maltin's guide indicated the film was excellent until this change, but I actually liked the finished product. While not a great film, it was well worth seeing and quite perceptive about the private lives of some celebrities. Also, it's worth a look for some cameos of other stars playing themselves, such as Clark Gable and Dick Powell (among others).

A cowboy hero dressed in white is chasing down a group of dastardly villains. Pull back to reveal that what we are seeing is on television. Now cut to scenes across the country to show children from all walks of life glued to their sets watching wichaway Callaway went. Meanwhile, back in the offices of the creative team behind the TV series, it seems that they've got a problem on their hands. The show has been pieced together from old movies, but it's such a success that now the public is demanding to see the real deal and nobody actually knows where Callaway is. Enter a perfect double, an honest-to-goodness aw-shucks cowboy, and you can guess the rest.

This is a predictable comedy which does little to distinguish itself, but it isn't without its charms. The lead actors are very appealing and occasionally have some snappy dialog to work with. Howard Keel is particularly entertaining in the dual roles of "Stretch" Barnes and "Smoky" Callaway. Anyone who enjoys comedies from this time period should get a kick out of this film.

It's the early days of television and much of the programming consists of old western movies. Suddenly, the films of Smoky Callaway (Howard Keel) are discovered by a new generation and he becomes a star once again.

One problem: the real Smoky Callaway is a hopeless drunk who has disappeared somewhere in Mexico. Enter Hollywood agents Frye and Patterson (Fred MacMurray and Dorothy McGuire), who need to find a replacement to make a new series of westerns and cash in on the merchandising possibilities. They discover an actual cowboy, Stretch Barnes (also Keel) who agrees to impersonate Smoky.

There's a Frank Capra feel as simple Stretch turns out in real life to be the white-hatted western hero that Smoky pretended to be onscreen. Things get complicated when the real Smoky returns.

The writing team of Panama and Frank (A Southern Yankee, The Court Jester, White Christmas) delivers another warm, funny movie that pokes fun at Hollywood superficialities and contrasts them with the genuine values of hometown America.

Pleasant enough spoof of early TV and the westerns that populated it, this Panama-Frank comedy gives a nice opportunity to Howard Keel, whom MGM was building up, and who should have been a bigger star than he was. In a dual role, of a has-been cowboy movie star and the likable lookalike who's hired by a couple of advertising sharpies to impersonate him, he gets to sing a bit and also create two distinct personalities, and even have a fistfight with himself, thanks to some clever doubling. Those two ad sharpies, though, are played by Fred MacMurray and Dorothy McGuire, and they're tiresome. He's an opportunist, and she's a bore. There are some wild credibility gaps, and the supporting cast isn't up to much, though Natalie Schaefer has a nice cameo as a wealthy socialite charmed, and why shouldn't she be, by Keel's howdy-ma'am personability. Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, and Ava Gardner stop by for cameos, and the background music pleasantly includes a couple of tunes, "Too Late Now" and "You Wonderful You," that Metro was flogging at the time. It's well-produced, and Panama and Frank knew their way around writing for kids, a number of whom have small speaking roles. It's short on real wit, though, and MacMurray makes his ad-man-sharpie even less appealing than he'd be on paper.

Initially, I thought that "Callaway Went Thataway" was going to be a well-intentioned, cornball/hokey 1950's film. What a delight to find that the film is a charming comedy, leavened with a wickedly mordant wit. Stars Dorothy McGuire, Howard Keel and Fred MacMurray (playing against his usual good-guy, Steve Douglas - "My Three Sons" type) are all superb. Of course, the Hollywood nightclub scene, in which Howard Keel's character, cowboy Stretch Barnes, has absolutely no idea at all who the unbelievably-stunning Elizabeth Taylor and the uber-macho Clark Gable are, is uproariously funny! As previous posters have pointed out, look for such future, noteworthy television comedic actors as Hugh Beaumont (Ward Cleaver of "Leave It to Beaver"), Natalie Schaeffer (Mrs. "Lovey" Howell of "Gilligan's Island") and a remarkably then-ectomorphic John Banner (Sgt. Schultz of "Hogan's Heroes") to appear in the film. "Callaway Went Thataway" is a gem that will not fail to delight and amuse you.

"Callaway Went Thataway" is a good comedy in a Western setting. With veteran comic actor Fred MacMurray in the lead, and an able assist by Dorothy McGuire, much of the comedy is provided by Howard Keel. He plays the double role of Smokey Callaway and Stretch Barnes.

Keel gets to sing a song and gets into a fist fight with himself in a good job of camera work and staging by MGM. As promoter Mike Frye (MacMurray) tells Stretch as he and Deborah Patterson (McGuire) coach him on replacing the missing Callaway, "Powerful - that's a good word. Use that a lot, and don't forget a hankerin' and a yearnin'...." And Deborah adds, "and fixin;" and Mike continues, "yeah, and fixin' too, and, and mighty." Stretch says, "Mighty what?" and Mike answers, "Well, mighty anything. That's real cowboy talk."

This is the type of comedy that kids and families should enjoy far into the 21st century.

There's a delightful dual role for HOWARD KEEL as a has-been cowboy star who has vanished when his old pictures are shown on TV--and FRED MacMURRAY and DOROTHY McGUIRE are desperate to lure him back so they can make more dough off all the cowboy merchandise he inspires. This was at a time when early TV was showing mainly the old Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers films for the kiddies.

Persuaded to come back east and take on Callaway's role, Keel finds himself in a lot of funny situations once he takes on the assignment of playing the cowboy star. Later in the film, when the real Callaway is being groomed for a comeback, Keel's performance in the dual role is really impressive. There's never any mistake about which character he's impersonating, thanks to a subtle difference in nuances, looks and expressions.

DOROTHY McGUIRE gets the glossy MGM treatment for her close-ups and looks wonderful as the sweet woman who develops an interest in the cowboy "Stretch" who's doing the Callaway impersonation. FRED MacMURRAY gets every grain of humor out of the role of the fast-talking agent with money on his mind.

It's an enjoyable romp for all three stars with some guest appearances by folks like Elizabeth Taylor, Clark Gable and Esther Williams.

Summing up: Pure fluff, but pleasant enough. The trick photography is abetted by the use of stunt doubles for the final fight scene between Keel and Keel.

Has anyone else noticed Howard Keel is good in every movie he's ever appeared in? He makes every musical watchable, of course. That voice. But he could charm the paint off a piano and he was also a fine comedic actor.

Here he gets to play a dual role, the old Western film star and his doppleganger in the TV era. He nails both roles. Flawlessly.

Pair him up with total comedy pro Fred MacMurray. The beautiful Dorothy McGuire. Hand the trio a quick-witted script and you have - at least for the first half - a very funny movie. Dare I saw a screwball comedy that's actually funny (a rare thing, I submit).

Alas, Hollywood studio execs never met a good thing they couldn't spoil with their meddling. So of course there has to be a love angle. And some mush about kids. I could see exactly where the movie pivots to the ditch. When Keel's Stretch character is making moon faces at McGuire on the train during the montage across America. By the time they pair gets accosted by the prune-face and her entourage of orphans, the movie is already on limp mode. The hotel punch-up is gratuitous and dull.

If they'd had the courage of their convictions, the studio could have had a mildly cynical but very funny movie on their hands. As released, it's about half that.

Still worth it to be reminded what a massive talent Keel was. And how funny MacMurray was.

This is the first time I've ever seen this 1951 comedy. When Fred MacMurray and Dorothy Malone from Hollywood find this famous Cowboy, Smokey;Howard Keel, to make TV movies and lots of money, they end up hiring a standin, Stretch; Howard Keel. Things get rough and hilarious when con men like Jesse White and his pal get involved; but all comes out well in the end. The scene that impressed me the most was how the heck they filmed the fist fight between Fred and Howard (playing two roles together); does anyone know how they do it? Remember Jesse White, the Maytag man?

A bygone era is depicted in this cleverly produced 1951 film. Remember when children sat glued to the set to watch those cowboy shows. There was always the great chase scenes and the hero saving the town and getting the girl at the end.

You would think this picture would be like that from its beginning. Instead, it turns into a comedy about what life should really be.

When a cowboy star of past movies becomes popular once again, a team nicely played by Fred MacMurray and Dorothy McGuire look for him. Our hero is Howard Keel in a non-singing role. Trouble is that Keel has become a has-been hiding out in Mexico under the influence of alcohol and women.

Jesse White is sent to look for him. In the meantime, a double appears that the MacMurray-McGuire team will use.

The story becomes heartwarming as the fake Callaway, Keel, in a double role known as Stretch, becomes enamored by the part but realizes that something has to be done with children who are impoverished and ill. His setting up of a fund for them is wonderful but when he meets up with the "real" Callaway, all hell breaks loose.

This movie has everything. Comedy, helping and that old western spirit of a bygone era.

Ad writing partners Mike Frye (Fred MacMurray) and Deborah Patterson (Dorothy McGuire) have been putting an old B-western series from 10 years ago on TV. It features Smoky Callaway and he has become a new star for little kids. The sponsors are willing to spend big money on the character, but Mike and Deborah have no idea where the old forgotten cowboy actor has gone. They recruit his former agent Georgie Markham (Jesse White) to look for him. Next, they come across real cowboy Stretch Barnes (Howard Keel) who bares a striking resemblance to the character. They offer him $2k/week to do new shows. Meanwhile, Markham finds the real Smoky (Howard Keel) who is drunk in Mexico and they race back to Hollywood.

It is a fun setup. MacMurray and McGuire form a good workplace partnership. Howard Keel does fine in the duo role acting. There is a bit of confusing money and legal talk in the situation. In a more edgy comedy, there would be a villain but this one doesn't really have one. Smoky is barely one and he rides off without doing much damage. This is a light comedy with soft hands.

Comedies are not my cup of tea but this one is really worth watching. Fast paced for a MGM production, in the Warner style, you are glued to this story from the start; Howard Keel who is usually bland is rather amusing here in a two characters role. I purchased this film because of the presence of Esther Williams, but please don't pick up your hankerchief from the floor, because you could miss her. She is just cameo. The directors were great specialists for such topics, though they gave us a good western starring Jeff Chandler JAYHAWKERS for Melvin Frank, and THE TRAP - a crime thriller - for Norman Panama.

A previous reviewer explains how the basic situation of this movie - a B Western movie star's movies are run on early tv, he suddenly gains new fame - was derived from that of the last Hoppalong Cassidy star.

My two-cents' worth is just to repeat what others have said in praise of Howard Keel's dual performance as the drunken former B-Western movie cowboy (Callaway) and his doppelganger, a nice if excessively innocent young man who is found to replace the missing Callaway. It's sort of like a variant on the Prisoner of Zenda. Keel did a nice job of differentiating the two without exaggerating either of them.

The only problem with that is that it leaves the leading man in the movie, Fred MacMurray, looking like rather unpleasant small potatoes by comparison.

Dorothy McGuire does a nice job in a weakly written role.

The rest is pretty forgettable.

As it stands, this is a pleasant movie. With a much better script, the same cast could have done a lot more with it.