Ride 'Em Cowboy (1942)

Two peanut vendors at a rodeo show get in trouble with their boss and hide out on a railroad train heading west. They get jobs as cowboys on a dude ranch, despite the fact that neither of ... See full summary »

Director:

Arthur Lubin

Writers:

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

Stars:

Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Dick Foran

Cast

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

Storyline

Two peanut vendors at a rodeo show get in trouble with their boss and hide out on a railroad train heading west. They get jobs as cowboys on a dude ranch, despite the fact that neither of them knows anything about cowboys, horses, or anything else.

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Plot Keywords:

cowboy | horse | rodeo | dude ranch | native american | 

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Taglines:

They'd make a horse LAUGH! (original print ad)

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Genres:

Comedy | Western | Musical

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 February 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

Helden im Sattel

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the train car on the way to the dude ranch, Willoughby (Lou Costello) sees Duke (Bud Abbott) and several cowboys getting ready to play cards. He says, "What are you playing?" and Duke replies, "Poker". Willoughby says, "I've never played that game before. Is it like dice?" That's an inside joke, referring to Abbott & Costello's famous "dice" routine, which they used in their first starring film, Buck Privates.

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Goofs

When Willoughby is in Doctor Ha-Ha's sanitarium, he picks up the phone and asks for water. When he hangs up, you can see the water hose connected to the phone.

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Connections

Edited into Western Melodies (1949)

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Soundtracks

"I'll Remember April"
(uncredited)
Lyrics by Don Raye
Music by Gene de Paul
Performed by Dick Foran

User Reviews

A Bow and Arrow Wedding

When Universal found they had a gold mine in two burlesque comedians named Bud Abbott and Lou Costello they rushed them into film after film. In the early years of their Unviersal contract the boys did film after film. Since Universal did most of it's product on the cheap for a major studio Bud and Lou became major moneymakers.

Have you ever noticed that in their earliest films while they are top billed, Bud and Lou are extraneous to the plot. There's usually some romantic story plot and always some musical entertainment. Ride 'Em Cowboy fits this formula perfectly. Dick Foran who appeared in three Abbott and Costello films in this period is a western story writer who's publicity agent has made him a western superhero. Foran sings real nice, but he can barely ride a horse. Anne Gwynne, daughter of a dude ranch owner, learns the truth and spurns him. But the smitten Foran is determined to make himself all the cowboy she expects of him.

Dick Foran who had done some singing cowboy films at Warner Brothers in the Thirties was now at Universal and he had a pleasant singing voice and an easy manner that never intruded on the comedy of Bud and Lou. A big hit song for the World War II years, I'll Remember April, was introduced by him in this film.

And if Foran introducing a hit song wasn't enough, Universal got the Merry Macs to perform a few numbers and Ella Fitzgerald reprised her A Tisket A Tasket hit from the mid thirties. Something for everyone.

But after all this is Bud and Lou's film and they have some good moments themselves. Funniest I think is Costello trying to break a horse and he literally ropes Abbott along for the ride.

Douglass Dumbrille plays an Indian chief. For me, just the sight of the polished villainous Mr. Cedar of Mr. Deeds Goes to Town in an Indian suit is funny enough. But Costello shoots an arrow through the painted heart of his daughter's tepee which in that tribe is a marriage proposal. Costello is going to be wed to an Indian princess who looks like Rosie O'Donnell. He balks at the prospect and a running gag throughout the film is Dumbrille and the tribe chasing Costello to get him to the altar in a bow and arrow wedding. This same gag with the same principal players is used in their later film Lost in a Harem for MGM.

This is one of my favorite Abbott and Costello films and when you get to see it, it will be a favorite of your's as well.