Callaway Went Thataway
Tags: satire

Plot synopsis:
Mike Frye (MacMurray) and Deborah Patterson (McGuire), co-owners of an advertising firm, have a big hit when they recycle some old Western films starring "Smoky" Callaway (Keel) for a new television audience. Tom Lorrison (Fay Roope), the show's sponsor, is eager to make more films, but nobody has seen Smoky in ten years. Under intense pressure to produce the star, Frye hires Smoky's agent, Georgie Markham (Jesse White), to go look for him.
Help comes in the form of a letter from a real cowboy named "Stretch" Barnes (also played by Keel), who complains that his friends keep making fun of him because of his resemblance to Smoky. After one look at the enclosed photograph, Frye and Patterson travel to see him. They talk a reluctant Stretch into impersonating Smoky, telling him that Smoky is dead.
After a dinner with Lorrison and his wife Martha (Natalie Schafer), a big fan of the actor, Frye and Patterson get the go-ahead to launch a marketing campaign. Patterson heads out on a nationwide publicity tour with Stretch. As they spend time together, Stretch falls in love with her and eventually presents her with an engagement ring. She is reluctant to accept it, but he tells her to keep it and put it on only if she ever decides she loves him back.
Things get sticky when Markham finally finds Smoky in a Mexican bar. He has not changed a bit; he is still a selfish, womanizing drunk. Smoky is uninterested in going back to work, but Markham shanghais him and talks him into it on the boat trip back. Frye is not pleased when Smoky shows up in his office, but sees he has no choice. He sends Smoky to a health farm to get back into shape. However, despite strict supervision, Smoky manages to stash bottles of liquor everywhere.
When a woman accosts Stretch on the street and accuses him of not doing anything for needy children, he is moved. After some thought, he secretly hires a lawyer to set up a children's foundation which will receive all of his earnings except a modest allowance for him (and a wife).
When Smoky and Stretch meet by chance, Stretch discovers he has been duped and decides to go home. That night, the law firm's west coast representative (an uncredited Hugh Beaumont) shows up with the legal document setting up the charity foundation. Stretch comes up with a plan. With Smoky still out of shape, Frye and Patterson had begged him to make an appearance at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Stretch decides to accept, intending to sign the document in front of 90,000 fans and dignitaries. When Smoky learns of his scheme, he objects; the two men get into a brawl and Smoky gets knocked out. Frye and Markham try to intervene and suffer the same fate. When Smoky comes to, he realizes he cannot stop Stretch, so he goes back to Mexico since he would only get paid a modest salary for a lot of hard work. At the Coliseum, Stretch runs into Patterson, who not only approves of his plan, but is also wearing his ring.

Review: 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..
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.
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.
TV programmers Fred MacMurray and Dorothy McGuire would sure like to find him.
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.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
In a stroke of luck, a Callaway look-a-like turns up, and they hire him as an impersonator.
Then, however, the real Callaway (Keel, also) shows up and the fun really starts.Fine script from Panama and Frank.
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".
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.
Now cut to scenes across the country to show children from all walks of life glued to their sets watching wichaway Callaway went.
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.
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..
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.
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.
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.
Initially, I thought that "Callaway Went Thataway" was going to be a well-intentioned, cornball/hokey 1950's film.
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.
"Callaway Went Thataway" is a gem that will not fail to delight and amuse you..
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.
Leonard Maltin's guide indicated the film was excellent until this change, but I actually liked the finished product.
Also, it's worth a look for some cameos of other stars playing themselves, such as Clark Gable and Dick Powell (among others)..
Callaway Went In A Great Movie Way ***1/2.
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..
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?
Howard Keel is the main reason for watching "Callaway Went Thataway"....
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.
U.K. release title: The Star Said No. SYNOPSIS: When his corny old westerns prove a tremendous hit on television, a former cowboy star is lured back to Hollywood.PRINCIPAL MIRACLE: Keel plays two roles, and even fights himself, throwing the first punch by the ingenious use of a traveling matte.
And if Panama and Frank allowed the MacMurray character to be more cynical and less likable.
The principal players do wonders with their material and no-one will come away from Callaway feeling that he's wasted his time.
A little short-changed maybe, but Callaway is still sufficiently amusing and entertaining to rate at least seven stars out of ten..
Howard Keel is Smoky Callaway, who made a lot of B Westerns some years ago.
Now his movies are being shown on television and Smoky Callaway is everyone's hero, especially the kids who adore his wholesome character.
The problem faced by two advertising people -- Fred MacMurray and Dorothy McGuire -- is that although there is a strong market demand for Smoky in the way of personal appearances and commercial endorsements, Good Ol' Smoky Callaway has disappeared into the woodwork whence he came.
What can MacMurray and McGuire do?
The other ten dollars "seems to slip right through muh fingers." But he can't resist two large a week for impersonating the elusive Mister Callaway so before anyone (outside the immediate circle of conspirators) know it, Stretch Barnes is in La La Land endorsing cereals and male extension products and exercisers designed to develop rock hard abs.Stretch is a little guilty about all that money though.
An unscrupulous rival advertising agent (Jesse White) locates Smoky Callaway in a louche dive somewhere in Latin America where he plays the guitar nightly and gets drunk daily at the El Chicolo.Smoky wastes no time getting back to where the money is.
MacMurray and McGuire are frantic.
They've lied to good old Stretch and told him that the real Callaway was dead -- which, for all they knew, might be the case.
Now they must keep Callaway and Barnes separated while they hire a training team to get the truculent Smoky into shape, "physically, mentally, and morally." When he becomes human again, Stretch will be told the truth, replaced by Smoky, and sent back to the mountains he loves.
In a fit of pique he leaves for Latin America, and Stretch takes over the rest of the tour, making money that will mostly go to help kids who are poor and sick.A disclaimer at the end tells us that the movie was in no way meant to detract from the charitable civic efforts of real cowboy stars, whose movies were now beginning to show up and win audiences on TV.
That must be a reference to guys like Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy, and Buster Crabbe, some of whom were much like Stretch Barnes, unpretentious and generous.It's funny, but not as funny as it might be, considering it was written, produced, and directed by Norman Frank and Melvin Panama and starred the first-rate light comedian Fred MacMurray.
As Smoky Callaway, Keel is drunkenly romancing a gal at the bar and mumbles to her, "You know, you remind me of a girl I knew in South America.
A spoof on the massive western trend of Hopalong Cassidy and the like.
When a western character comes into favor with the masses, a film company initiates a frantic search to find the original actor who portrayed that icon of wholesome American heroism, but when there are no leads, they decide on a good-hearted yokel who just so happens to resemble the cowboy of yore, and offer him a substantial salary if he will bring the character back to life for all the little kiddies who look up to him so admirably.By and by, an investigator manages to locate the original Callaway, who had taken residence in Mexico with some spicy senoritas and his chronic alcohol consumption.
He reluctantly agrees to assume his former role, much to the chagrin of the female chaperon accompanying the new cowboy, as she takes quite a fancy for him as he does with her, who after traveling across the country, become, shall we say, 'very well acquainted'.
A fight eventually ensues between the cowboys, and the real one wins out over the drunk.Amusing scenes include: in an effort to bring the drunken cowboy back to shape, he hides bottles of booze in various locations throughout this health ranch, including in a well bucket, and in a rock while jogging out on the trail.The well-meaning impersonator manages to gain possession of all of the money the character had been generating up to that point and sets up a fund for clinically ill children, after feeling deeply guilty since a stern woman admonished him about their conditions.
He eventually grows to embody the Callaway icon, and assumes the role whole-heartedly.