Doris Day stars in a witty 1953 western romp celebrated as one of the queerest items in the Hollywood musical canon – which is why this new digital print, with added subtitles for singalongs, was a highlight in last month’s BFI’s LGBT Flare festival. Day’s Calamity might seem ready to ditch her buckskins for pretty ginghams to win the heart of Wild Bill Hickok (a distractingly toothy Howard Keel). But the true object of her affections is surely gauche chanteuse Katie Brown (Allyn Ann McLerie) – and it’s presumably not just flower arranging they’re singing about in their duo A Woman’s Touch. It’s heteronormativity that’s gettin’ a whuppin’ with that there whiplash, yes siree ma’am. Boisterous fun, with Day’s performance – as the song goes – as busy as a fizzy sarsaparilla.
