this cecil b. demille epic of the old west contain what may be jean arthur fine performance and a a hysterical and eccentric and incurably amoral and but devotedly doting calamity jane . she really pull it off . gary cooper be at his most taciturn and but manage some occasional pithy saying represent the plain be big and but trail cross . sometimes . the story be a pastiche to end all pastiche . all the cowboy hero of western lore seem to be in there somehow except for jesse james . even abraham lincoln open the story in person ( or at least and demille would have u believe so ) . there be no room for anything so evanescent a subtlety and this be a tomp em in the face tale for the mass . a remarkable thing about this film however be that it be a very early full frontal attack on what eisenhower be eventually to name the military industrial complex . it isn not just a story about gun runner and but about arm anyone for money and and do so from the heart of washington . but let not get into politics and let leave that to demille and who can be guarantee to be superficial . the chief interest of this film all these year later be that it use the first film score compose by george antheil and who have a lot to say about the job in his autobiography and bad boy of music . antheil seem to have originate the big sound adopt by all subsequent western and whereby the plain sing out with the voice and sound of countless cowboy in the sky and celebrate the open space and interweave common melody . that be why it do not sound at all unusual and because we have hear it a thousand time . but he seem to have be the first to summon up the combined rustling of all the sage brush into this symphony of the open sky which have enter into american mythic lore and and give it a soundtrack which have never vary since then and corny a it may be and but doubtless appropriate . it be amuse to see anthony quinn in an early appearance a a cheyenne indian . gabby hayes be in there somewhere and but you miss him in the crowd . gary cooper overtop them all and loom large and but when do he ever loom small .