Trivia / Annie Get Your Gun

• Hostility on the Set:
  • Though Betty Hutton claimed most of the cast and crew treated her coldly, the most hostility reportedly occurred between her and Howard Keel, who was making his film debut. Hutton saw Keel as an egotistical green horn who was trying to pull focus from herself, the film's star. For his part, Keel dismissed Hutton as an insecure scene stealer, and later wrote that she once insisted on a scene being redone 35 times, as she felt Keel kept upstaging her take after take.
  • Hutton once claimed that the original Annie, Judy Garland, paid a visit to the set, and directed a volley of profanities at her replacement. Years later, the two became friendly while performing in Vegas, where Garland admitted she never felt right for the part and was pleased Hutton got to do it.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: A former case. From 1974 until 2000, the film was withheld from distribution or home media release due to a dispute between Irving Berlin and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer over music rights. Only for its fiftieth anniversary was it finally released on VHS and DVD.
• The Other Marty: The film version has several cases:
  • Judy Garland was originally cast as Annie, as MGM bought the project specifically for her. She not only recorded the entire score and was fitted for every costume, she also filmed two production numbers. Due to a number of factors, including poor health and an inability to get along with director Busby Berkeley, she was eventually dismissed from the film. Betty Hutton, who had wanted the part from the beginning, was loaned out from Paramount to assume the role, with George Sidney taking over from Berkeley as director.
  • Frank Morgan was initially cast as Buffalo Bill. He recorded his lines for the song "There's No Business Like Show Business" and shot his brief appearance for Berkeley's version of the opening number. During the hiatus in production after Garland's dismissal, he passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack. Louis Calhern took over the role when production resumed with Betty Hutton.
  • Geraldine Wall was first slated to play Dolly Tate and appeared in the opening number opposite Morgan. For unexplained reasons, Benay Venuta was cast in her place when the film was restarted later in the year.
  • The four child actors playing Annie's siblings were also recast when Hutton took over. Bradley Mora replaced Peter Price as Little Jake, Susan Odin replaced Sharon McManus as Jessie, Diana Dick replaced Carol Sue Sherwood as Nellie, and Eleanor Brown replaced Jeanette Williams as Minnie.
• Referenced by...:
  • In The Magic Roundabout (2005), Dylan mentions "anything-you-can-do" as a type of martial arts he knows.
  • In Spider-Man 3, Mary Jane Watson's performance in Manhattan Memories has her singing “They Say It’s Wonderful”.
  • In an episode of Tokyo Vice, Jake finally recognizes an old friend from home when the friend starts singing "Anything You Can Do".
  • Star Wars Rebels episode "Double Agent Droid" has Chopper and AP-5 Waxing Lyrical to "Anything You Can Do".
• Troubled Production: The film had a fair share of production mishaps:
  • MGM producer Arthur Freed bought the rights specifically for Judy Garland, thinking it an ideal vehicle for her. However, Garland's dependence on prescription drugs was severely interfering with her ability to work by this stage. This, coupled with her collapsing marriage to director Vincente Minnelli, meant she was hardly in the best of shape when production commenced in March of 1949.
  • Intensifying Garland's struggles was Freed's selection of Busby Berkeley as director, which was done due to Freed wanting to give a boost to Berkeley's declining career. Garland and Berkeley had a rocky history together, and she dreaded the thought of working with him again. It was planned to focus on scenes featuring other characters at the beginning of the shoot, thus giving Judy time to settle in.
  • Unfortunately, problems began on just the second day of shooting, when the horse carrying co-star Howard Keel (in his American film debut) fell over, fracturing Keel's leg. This put him out of action to recover, meaning Judy was rushed before the cameras earlier than anticipated.
  • Having never played a character quite like Annie Oakley before, Garland was unsure how to best proceed, and received no guidance from Berkeley. Her drug use and insecurities began to take their toll, and soon she was either arriving late or not at all, thus delaying production.
  • After Garland had shot two of the musical numbers, Freed reviewed the raw footage and was appalled. It was felt that Berkeley was shooting the film as if it were a stage play, with the action very concentrated in small areas and with no sense of cinematic scope. The quality of Garland's performance under his direction was also a point of concern. Berkeley was subsequently taken off the production, and director Charles Walters was summoned in his place. Garland was so worn down by this point that she had little interest in continuing, but Walters met with her privately to offer his support and she agreed to proceed.
  • By this time, however, MGM was greatly dissatisfied with the delays Garland had inflicted on production, and began looking for any excuse to suspend her contract. Due to a misunderstanding on the afternoon of May 10, 1949, she was prematurely handed a notice of suspension in her dressing room, even though she had every intention of working. Furious, she vowed not to return to the set. Taking her at her word, MGM had her removed from the picture and shut down production while a replacement was sought.
  • Freed eventually cast Betty Hutton in Garland's place. Hutton, on loan from Paramount, had wanted the role of Annie Oakley from the moment she saw it on Broadway, and had been quite upset with Paramount for not snapping up the film rights for her.
  • Filming resumed in the fall of 1949 with yet another new director, George Sidney. However, during the hiatus, the original choice for Colonel Buffalo Bill, Frank Morgan, had died from a heart attack, resulting in Louis Calhern taking over. Additionally, Benay Venuta replaced Geraldine Wall in the role of Dolly Tate, while four new children were selected to play Annie's siblings.
  • Though no more casting mishaps or major delays would affect the project, the atmosphere on-set was not a happy one for Hutton. Her enthusiasm and desire to play Annie came across as ungracious and self-serving to many people, who felt she was taking advantage of Garland's misfortune. As most of the predominantly MGM cast were very loyal to Garland, Hutton was treated coldly as a result; the room would go silent whenever she entered, and nearly everybody would snub her between takes. By her own account, she did not get along with newcomer Howard Keel either, though Keel did reportedly speak kindly of her in later years. Calhern was reportedly the only cast member to treat Hutton with any respect during production, though even he warned Keel that Hutton was seriously upstaging him.
  • In addition to the cast, Hutton also clashed with the MGM crew. Being a leading lady at Paramount, she was used to her requests being met and for a certain amount of perks. When Hutton demanded the set be air-conditioned, for instance (she was most comfortable performing when cold), certain crew members resented being ordered around by someone not belonging to their studio. Hutton would later accept some responsibility for all of this, saying that her energy could come across as too intense and bossy for those not familiar with her.
  • Despite these issues, the film ultimately was finished several days ahead of schedule and slightly under the revised budget, and was met with critical and commercial success when it opened. Despite making the cover of Time Magazine, Hutton was not invited to the premiere, and later said that the hostility she faced on the set killed her joy of performing. The experience was so devastating that Annie played a large factor in her decision to leave Hollywood a few years later.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Before Betty Hutton was chosen as Judy Garland's successor, Betty Garrett was considered for the role, but was ultimately ruled out due to her contract having expired and her agent wanting too much money for renewal.
  • Ginger Rogers lobbied intensely for the part after Garland was dismissed, but was told by Louis B. Mayer that she was too glamorous for the likes of Annie Oakley.
  • According to Hutton, June Allyson was also under consideration.
  • The original Broadway production, produced by Rodgers and Hammerstein, was originally supposed to have music by Jerome Kern with lyrics by co-librettist Dorothy Fields. Kern died suddenly before he could begin work on the show, and Rodgers and Hammerstein convinced Irving Berlin to take over.