"Your eyes, they're red and bloodshot"

"You ought to see them from my side." -- Kid Shelleen.
I just finished watching "Cat Ballou" on DVD. Although many people have probably forgotten it, I consider this film one of the great cinematic works, both for what it is and for what it does.
Released in 1965, "Cat Ballou" took a common film form, the western, and subverted it from the inside. Schoolmarms turn to a life of train robbery... Gunfighters prepare for battle by lacing up corsets... ranchers mistake Indians for Hebrews... women lead dancehall fights by swinging corn stalks at each other.
Lee Marvin plays a pair of roles and won the Best Actor Oscar. Before seeing this film, you wonder how an actor could win top honors while performing in a comedic western. Then you see Marvin at work. His Kid Shelleen is a drunken outlaw played for laughs and Marvin could have walked through this role rather easily. Instead, Marvin's expressive take on the character adds sad self-awareness and a flickering pride to the mix.
Music lovers can revel in "Cat Ballou" as well. Nat "King" Cole teams with Stubby Kaye (Marvin Acme in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit") to act as a "Greek chorus" of sorts, providing singing narratives that act as transitions between important scenes. Cole possessed one of the smoothest voices known to man. Add his prowess to "Cat Ballou," and the film easily sits among the pantheon of great films.