Ride 'Em Cowboy (1942)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Arthur Lubin

Writers:

Edmund L. Hartmann (story)
Harold Shumate (adaptation)

Release Date:

13 February 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Western | Musical

Tagline:

GAGS! NAGS! SWEETIES AND SWING! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Two peanut vendors at a rodeo show get in trouble with their boss and hide out on a railroad train heading west...

Plot Keywords:

Cowboy | Horse | Rodeo | Dude Ranch | American Southwest

Cast

Bud Abbott	...	Duke
Lou Costello	...	Willoughby
Dick Foran	...	Bronco Bob Mitchell
Anne Gwynne	...	Anne Shaw
Johnny Mack Brown	...	Alabam Brewster
Judd McMichael	...	Tom
Ted McMichael	...	Harry
Joe McMichael	...	Dick
Mary Lou Cook	...	Dotty Davis
Ella Fitzgerald	...	Ruby
Samuel S. Hinds	...	Sam Shaw
Douglass Dumbrille	...	Jake Rainwater
Morris Ankrum	...	Ace Anderson
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
The Buckaroo Band	...	Themselves
The High Hatters	...	Themselves
The Merry Macs	...	Themselves
The Rangers Chorus	...	Themselves
Chief Yowlachie	...	Chief Tomahawk (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The original production plans were delayed in favor of another of Abbott and Costello's service comedies, Keep 'Em Flying (1941), which were proving to be huge box office hits for Universal.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Willoughby is in Doctor Ha-Ha's sanitarium, he pick's up the phone and asks for water. When he hangs up, you can see the water hose connected to the phone.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Western Melodies (1949)

Soundtrack:

Give Me My Saddle

"Don't worry sister, we'll have a bow and arrow wedding."

Abbott and Costello found themselves in a wide variety of films; "Ride 'em Cowboy" is their take on mangling the Western genre. They're aided by genuine "B" Western stars Johnny Mack Brown and Dick Foran along with pretty Anne Gwynne as the romantic interest for Foran's character, Bronco Bob Mitchell. Bronco Bob is largely a mythical character, invented by Mitchell when he was a starving writer. But his Western stories were hugely successful, so the Mitchell exploits grew larger than life until he can no longer live up to the image of his creation. Arriving at the Lazy S Ranch, Mitchell and the boys take a stab at dude ranch life and try to get ready for the annual rodeo celebration, in which Mitchell has agreed to compete. Therein lies the recipe for the Abbott and Costello brand of Western fun.

With no sign of the Andrews Sisters from their earlier films, the musical chores are picked up by The Merry Macs and Ella Fitzgerald. A quick peek at Ella's filmography reveals that her standard "A-Tisket, A-Tasket was performed in seven films between 1939 and 1948, and it's done here in fine fashion. Dick Foran also croons a tune as the obligatory singing cowboy.

Lou Costello proved he could ride a runaway torpedo in 1941's "Keep 'Em Flying"; here he does the same on a stampeding bronco, with Bud along for the ride. The film also offers some of the same sight gags found in Warner Brothers cartoons of the era, notably Lou's having his "palm read" in a dream sequence dominated by Indians.

"Ride 'em Cowboy" gallops along at a fairly quick eighty six minute run, a lot of it at a frenetic pace. Abbott and Costello fans will enjoy their favorites here, as the boys show they can be at home in any setting.