(87 min) Released 1936-07-01
Director: Norman Taurog
Stars: Bing Crosby, Frances Farmer, Bob Burns, Martha Raye, Roy Rogers, Sons of the Pioneers, Louis Prima
Genres: Musical | Romance | Western
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028178/
The best thing about this movie is seeing Louis Prima playing trumpet in a couple of numbers. The catch is, these are Western songs, but often performed swing style.
No one who wants to prove Frances Farmer was a great actress is going to cite this performance. The gigantic bull steals most of her scenes.
Martha Raye is as annoying as possible, without providing much to redeem the pain. The swing-style Western numbers she sings just contribute to the annoyance.
Roy Rogers sings a few words by himself with the camera on him, and he doesn't really lift his head enough to give us a proper view of his face. He is truly just one of the Sons of the Pioneers here.
And let's get a sanity check on whoever decided to cast Bing in a Western, even a modern one with cars. Fortunately the rodeo where he's competing offers a prize for best singer.
I own this because of the other title on the disc, also a BC western, but the costar is Mary Martin, who, like Ethel Merman, was a Broadway star who made far too few films. It's a 1940 release, so it'll be a while before I watch it.
Paramount, dir. Taurog, 5
