Isn't it ironic that Ethel Merman kicked Betty Hutton out of her show "Panama Hattie" and then Betty Hutton later played the Annie Oakley role that Merman created on stage?
Sin is in, sweeties
I'd have gone with Doris Day myself, and she'd have probably been cast too had she been under contract to Metro instead of Warner Bros. Just look at how much of a knockout she was in Clamity Jane.
shareI agree. I think that Doris Day could have definitly pulled it off. She would have been wonderful. She was amazing as Calamity, and Annie and Calamity Jane are actually farily similar characters.....
shareI think that Doris Day's great performance as Calamity Jane is the reason that 'Annie' has been eclipsed. The gruff voice she uses as Jane is just right.
shareAs you mention, Day was under contract to another studio and at the time ANNIE GET YOUR GUN was in production, Day was in the process of doing a few films, including TEA FOR TWO and WEST POINT STORY and wouldn't have been available for this anyway. She would have been a great Annie Oakley though...I also think Day should have played Nellie Forbush in the '58 film version of SOUTH PACIFIC.
shareI always wondered why Merman herself didn't play it...
shareI sometimes also wish they'd have gone with Mary Martin, who had been in the original touring cast in 1947. She had been in pictures since 1939 but only starred in a handful of films, including one with Betty Hutton! Later on, Martin starred opposite John Raitt in the 1957 TV version of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN. So its a safe bet to say she would have been an excellent contendor for the role of Annie in the 1950 movie version; she did have the credentials. She would have been 35 years old in 1948 when production on the film initially started; perhaps a little too old but easily disguised. When you consider she was 44 when she was in the TV version in 1957, the age is irrelevant.
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Because Merman was a stage star, not a film star. She had no movie box office drawing power, not to mention the role was most likely going to go to someone who was under contract to MGM...Judy Garland was originally cast and had to withdraw for health reasons.
shareShe would have been too old. She also was not very attractive, in my opinion.
shareReynolds would have been good, but when preproduction on this film began in 1948 she had never been in a picture as yet. She was in her first film in 1950 but remained un unknown until she starred with Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor in SINGIN' IN THE RAIN in 1952.
shareI am not sure that Debbie can sing. Singin' in the Rain was great, but according to the trivia, Debbie only lyp-syncs to Jean Hagen's voice, who is supposed to be lip-syncing to Debbie's voice
Now there's an idea, Jean Hagen as Annie
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Judy Garland was originally cast in the role of Annie Oakley but was replaced by Betty Hutton. I have a special edition copy of 'Annie Get Your Gun' with outakes of Judy Garland singing 'Doin what Comes Natur'lly' and 'I'm an Indian Too'.
Marjorie Main - perfect casting!
Oh yes, Debbie can definately sing. She was doing musicals from the early 50s all the way up through THE SINGING NUN in 1966. Also that's her own voice in the animated CHARLOTTE'S WEB.
"Snozberries? Who ever heard of a snozberry?"
Although Judy Garland and Etherl Merman would habe been hugely magnificent, Doris Day would have been the perfect choice for Annie's role.
You don't think Debbie would have been a little too young? She was around 16 when this movie was made.
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Mary Martin made a much better Annie than Betty. Mary played her naturally and Hutton (as usual) with the mugging and the melodrama.
I have a copy of the Martin performance from the TV version and she`s funny and endearing and sings beautifully.
Re Doris being at another studio and that voiding the possibility of her doing ANNIE, well Betty Hutton was at another studio too - Paramount - and MGM got her to play the part. Doris in 1950 however was probably too new to films (she'd only been in like three movies at the time AGYG was filmed) for her to be seriously considered. CALAMITY was obviously influenced by AGYG. And Doris DID record the songs from AGYG in a Columbia album with Robert Goulet in the early 1960's!!
I've seen the Mary Martin TV version about 20 years ago and while she was good in the part, I did think her Annie was a little too ladylike. This is why Ginger Rogers was vetoed for the movie despite her campaign for the part because the producers felt she wouldn't play the ribald side of the character. A gentle Annie might have been closer to the real Annie Oakley but it wasn't quite as much fun as the Hutton and Merman intrepretations. And Martin's AGYG is in B&W and on a small screen so she could get away with her advanced age for the part much better than she would have been able to do in a color film on a large screen.
Ethel obviously didn't get the role because she was not a movie name and MGM didn't want to take a gamble. Later 20th Century-Fox did cast her to film another of her hits CALL ME MADAM although this was after both Judy Holliday and Shirley Booth, two other "non-movie" names won Oscars for recreating their Broadway roles and it was obvious 1950's moviegoers would go to see theatre stars on the screen if it was the right role.
But back to Betty - I thinks she was perfect for the movie and there's nobody else I can think of who could have handled it as well in 1950 movie version.
Betty Grable.
shareI think by and large Betty Hutton pulls off the role though she does go over-the-top in a few scene - outrageous mugging suited the character so she kinda got away with it. Ginger, Doris Day and Betty Garrett were also suggested for the role but I think they got it right with Hutton though co-stars complained that she was not easy to work with at all!
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Virginia O'Brien
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Cool....it's nice to see someone else remembers her too! I love Virginia O'Brien.
DORIS DAY gets my vote on who should have replaced Judy Garland!!!
shareYes! Absolutely. Virginia O'Brien would have been excellent as Annie. She was a great comedic talent and a wonderful singer that inexplicably and unfortunately went largely unnoticed at MGM.
shareYou say, "Mary Martin made a much better Annie than Betty. Mary played her naturally and Hutton (as usual) with the mugging and the melodrama."
I think the "mugging and the melodrama" were totally in line with what the role called for, as played by Hutton. If one doesn't like "mugging and melodrama", in general (and I also agree, it's not appropriate for all roles in all films), Hutton, nevertheless, used these to advantage here. This was a musical comedy, afterall, not high drama . . . .
Betty Hutton was ideal for this role. She can belt them out as Ethel Merman did, and she also had the physical stamina and dynamism of Debbie Reynolds. Yes, others might also have taken on this role very successfully (e.g. Debbie Reynolds, Doris Day), but this role was MADE for Betty Hutton!
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