1h 17min | Comedy, Musical, Sport | 9 July 1938
Director: Lloyd Bacon
Stars: Dick Powell, Pat O'Brien, Priscilla Lane;
in minor parts: Ann Sheridan, Johnnie Davis, Ronald Reagan
Watched online; good video; sound out of sync almost immediately.
Antecedent to Two Guys from Texas ('48), which was only posted online Feb 9, when I was in 1943.
The 2 guys are wrapped up in 1 here: DP. He's he singer and the one afraid of animals. Except he's gotten that fear from his father & g'father.
DP is still a stranded traveler (with 2 bandmates who disappear once they land at the dude ranch). PL has the combined Dorothy Malone & Penny Edwards roles, but she doesn't have to dance. She's wonderfully sunny, and can act and sing.
No robbers here either. The fast-talking sharpies are PO & RR, as NY showbiz agents stopping over at the ranch; they hear DP, whisk him back to NY as the greatest cowboy singer ever.
Ronald Reagan plays the second banana to PO, and doesn't get much to do. But maybe I'll find that's not true if I see a sync'd copy.
There's a rodeo in both films, and DP has to ride a bucking bronc, but instead of conquering his fear with psychoanalysis ('48), he gets hypnotized.
Ann Sheridan has a lot of uncredited no-name bit parts at the start of her career ('34); this is her 39th of 80 films, and in 13 prior films she's in the top 4 billed. But here she has very little to do. Cutting room floor?
Johnnie Davis should have made an impression in Hollywood Hotel ('37), both opening and closing the film. But here he's only listed on 1 song in the Soundtracks, and is 1 among 4 singers. His film career is only 13 films long, and this is #4.
Someday I'll buy this disc, because the out of sync audio makes this copy unwatchable. Yet it's a lot more fun than the '48 remake, which is in color and plays perfectly. Plus I like DP a lot, and miss him in this kind of role.
Warner, dir. Bacon; 6+
