Queer Classics: “Calamity Jane” (1953)

The classic Hollywood musical is a riot of joy, music, and queer gender play.

When I think of the movies that had a profound influence on my development as a queer person, the 1953 musical Calamity Jane ranks near the top. It’s one of the films that I watched over and over with my grandmother, both when I was a kid and when I got older. It was one of those things that brought us together, though I daresay she didn’t get the same sorts of enjoyment out of it as I did. While I obviously enjoyed the music — I have fond memories of listening to her sing along to the beautiful and poignant “Black Hills of Dakota”— for me the greatest pleasures of the film came from Doris Day’s tomboy performance and gazing at Howard Keel’s imposing male figure (not to mention listening to his divinely masculine voice). Even as a kid, I could sense the queerness in it, though it took me many years, and a PhD, to fully grasp just how queer it is.

And boy howdy, is it queer.

That much is apparent from the very beginning, when we meet the title character. Doris Day is at her tomboy best in this role, with her hair cropped short, dressed in buckskins, and more than willing to draw a gun on anyone who tries to make fun of her. This includes her nemesis and love interest Wild Bill Hickok (one of Howard…