7/10
Good songs, lively cast in very light comedy
17 June 2013
Dick Powell and Priscilla Lane sing a cute duet called "Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride": Standing under a tree, Powell strums a guitar while the two trade lines and hardly stop smiling through the whole song. It's a charming highlight of this enjoyable and unassuming comedy.

Powell plays a singer on his way west (from Brooklyn) who gets stranded at a Wyoming dude ranch run by Lane and her family. Hired as a ranch entertainer, Powell is quickly discovered by vacationing press agent Pat O'Brien, who immediately gives him a new name ("Wyoming Steve Gibson") and hauls him back to New York to present him as the next big thing—a "genuine" singing cowboy. What will happen if the public learns Powell is a fake?

Among the many whimsical elements here are Powell's fear of animals (he turns tail and runs when he sees so much as a bird fly past); Lane's insistence on proper Western pronunciation and terminology (you don't "think," you "reckon"); and Pat O'Brien's lightning fast delivery of virtually every line he speaks.

Ronald Reagan is also funny as O'Brien's bemused but enthusiastic assistant. Dick Foran pitches in as a frustrated western crooner himself who butchers "Home on the Range" every time he can corral an audience.

Powell and Lane are attractive leads, and both are especially good in the scenes they share. The plot really isn't much….but the songs are fine and the cast make it all very easy to watch.
1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed