Ride 'Em Cowboy (1942)

Thanks for the memories!

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Lively A&C. The gags fly fast and furious as the boys invade a dude ranch that'll never be the same. There, the boys practice the patented Costello double-takes, knock-about, and word play— for example, "Ever had your palm read?"— and we fans know what happens next because of double meanings. Then there are lots of antics with Chief Yowlatchie and tribe, as Costello shows why he was a cavalry school flunk-out. And what a bang-up finale in that nifty little car that takes on the whole San Fernando Valley, both forwards and backwards.Also, there's lovely Anne Gwynne as blonde eye candy in her cowgirl getup, along with Dick Foran and Johnny Mack Brown who're doing something or other. And shouldn't forget the many mellow sounds of the 40's, including some lively hep-cat leg shaking. And isn't that the legendary Ella Fitzgerald making a movie debut. Too bad we don't see more of her swinging style.No real plot, just a couple intrigues for the boys to hang their hats on. Too bad this is director Lubin's last A&C film. He really knows how to mix the comic brew. Then too, it's still early for the boys and movies, so the duo appears really motivated. No, the comedy's nothing to write home about; but it is worth tapping out a happily positive review.

This is one of Abbott and Costello's best, in my opinion. This was actually my first Western film, and it remains one of my favorite Westerns. Abbott and Costello, still young and with perfect timing, are on hand as two goofy peanut vendors at a rodeo show. After getting in trouble with their boss, they run away and get into more trouble with Indians. Another highlight in this film is the inclusion of my very favorite actress, Anne Gwynne, who is just as beautiful as ever in this film. She herself claimed this to be one of her favorite films she was in, and she even takes part in the Crazy House routine. Can't get better than that!

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.

With this, their first release of 1942, Abbott and Costello continue in the same vein as their four previous starring successes; they are supposed to be the stars, but are often second fiddle to music and a romantic subplot. Not that that's bad, considering the appearance of the one and only Ella Fitzgerald -- but the formulaic way Universal was treating the team begins to wear thin with each new film.There are still plenty of laughs, however; enough to rate this a slight improvement over their previous release, "Keep 'Em Flying." A western setting for Abbott and Costello provides enough comedy hijinks to offset the romance. Dick Foran is back, crooning his way into a girl's heart (in this case, it's Anne Gwynne), and really good music is provided by the aforementioned Miss Fitzgerald (though "Cow-Cow Boogie" mysteriously and unacceptably was cut from the final release) and the Merry Macs.As top box office attractions, it can be understood why Universal stuck by the comedy-romance-music formula. However, it's wearing thin by even 1942 standards. "Ride 'Em Cowboy" is good, but one waits for the film where Abbott and Costello take center stage throughout the film (fortunately it happens before year's end with the release of "Who Done It"). 7 out of 10.