''Ride 'Em Cowboy'' is a 1942 film starring the comedy team of

Abbott and Costello Abbott may refer to: People * Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist * Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansas ...

Dick Foran John Nicholas "Dick" Foran (June 18, 1910 – August 10, 1979) was an American actor, known for his performances in Western musicals and for playing supporting roles in dramatic pictures. Early years Foran was born in Flemington, New Jer ...

Anne Gwynne Anne Gwynne (born Marguerite Gwynne Trice; December 10, 1918 – March 31, 2003) was an American actress who was known as one of the first scream queens because of her numerous appearances in horror films. Gwynne was also one of the most popula ...

, Johnny Mack Brown,

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

(in her first film appearance),

Samuel S. Hinds Samuel Southey Hinds (April 4, 1875 – October 13, 1948) was an American actor and former lawyer. He was often cast as kindly authority figures and appeared in more than 200 films until his death. Early years Hinds was born in Brooklyn, New Y ...

Douglas Dumbrille Douglass Rupert Dumbrille (October 13, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a Canadian actor who appeared regularly in films from the early 1930s. Life and career Douglass Dumbrille ( ) was born in Hamilton, Ontario. As a young man, he was employed ...

Morris Ankrum Morris Ankrum (born Morris Nussbaum; August 28, 1897 – September 2, 1964) was an American radio, television, and film character actor. Early life Born in Danville in Vermilion County in eastern Illinois, Ankrum originally began a career in ...

, and directed by

Arthur Lubin Arthur Lubin (July 25, 1898 – May 11, 1995) was an American film director and producer who directed several ''Abbott & Costello'' films, '' Phantom of the Opera'' (1943), the '' Francis the Talking Mule'' series and created the talking-horse TV ...

. The film focuses on

as they play the role of two peanut vendors on the run from their boss. Despite their lack of knowledge in the trade, they get jobs as cowboys on a

dude ranch A guest ranch, also known as a dude ranch, is a type of ranch oriented towards visitors or tourism. It is considered a form of agritourism. History Guest ranches arose in response to the romanticization of the American West that began to occur ...

. The film is set in the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

Plot

The author of best-selling western novels, Bronco Bob Mitchell, has never set foot in the west. A newspaper article has exposed this fact to his fans, and his image is suffering because of it. He decides to make an appearance at a Long Island charity rodeo to bolster his image. When a steer escapes while he is riding a horse nearby, he is thrown. Not knowing what to do, a cowgirl, Anne Shaw, comes to his rescue and saves his life by

bulldogging Steer wrestling, also known as bulldogging, is a rodeo event in which a horse-mounted rider chases a steer, drops from the horse to the steer, then wrestles the steer to the ground by grabbing its horns and pulling it off-balance so that it falls ...

the steer. During the rescue, she is injured and cannot compete and loses her chance to obtain the $10,000 prize. Although Bob is grateful, she quickly becomes angry due to his city slicker hotshot personality and returns to her father's dude ranch in Arizona. Bob follows her with the hopes of making amends, and actually learns how to be a real cowboy. Meanwhile, Willoughby and Duke are vendors at the rodeo. They are not very good at their job, and soon cause enough havoc that they hide from their boss. Their hiding place winds up being a cattle car and they soon find themselves on their way out west. When they arrive, Willoughby accidentally shoots an arrow into an Indian tepee. Custom says that this is a proposal, but Willoughby and Duke soon run in fear when the Indian maiden inside the tent turns out to be plump and unattractive. They wind up at the same Dude ranch that Anne and Bob are at, and soon given jobs by the foreman, Alabam. Anne concedes and begins to instruct Bob on the ways of cowboy life, while Willoughby and Duke are still menaced by the Indians. Eventually Anne decides that Bob has improved enough to enter him on their team at the state rodeo championship. Unfortunately a gambler, Ace Henderson, has made large bets against the ranch and has his gang kidnap Bob and Alabam. Willoughby and Duke unwittingly come to the rescue while they are running from the Indians, and everyone returns to the rodeo in time. Bob, finally a true cowboy, rides a bronco long enough to win the championship. The Indians catch up to Willoughby there, but as a joke, his bride turns out to be Duke.

Cast

Music and Dance

, in her first screen role, plays Ruby, who fills several roles as one of the employees of the ranch. At the opening rodeo, she is dressed as a

rodeo clown A rodeo clown, bullfighter (in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) or rodeo protection athlete, is a rodeo performer who works in bull riding competitions. Originally, the rodeo clown was a single job combining "bullfightin ...

, and comes to Anne's side when she is hurt. Later in the film, she can be seen removing an apron before singing. Ella sings "

A-Tisket, A-Tasket "A Tisket A Tasket" is a nursery rhyme first recorded in America in the late nineteenth century. It was used as the basis for a very successful and highly regarded 1938 recording by Ella Fitzgerald, composed by Fitzgerald in conjunction with Al Fe ...

" in the bus, as the ranch crew drives from the railway station to the ranch. Ruby and the other employees interact playfully during the song. The film also introduced the song " I'll Remember April," sung by Dick Foran. During the 1950s and 1960s the song became a favorite of jazz musicians based on chord changes that particularly lent themselves to improvisation. Musical numbers were staged by Nick Castle.

Routines

The burlesque routine, "Crazy House", appears in the film where Costello enters a sanitarium for "peace and quiet", only to have his rest disturbed by a succession of bizarre visitors.

Production

''Ride 'Em Cowboy'' was filmed from June 30-August 9, 1941 on location at both the B-Bar A and the Rancho Chihuahua dude ranches.Furmanek, Bob and Ron Palumbo (1991). ''Abbott and Costello in Hollywood''. New York: Perigee Books. It was originally intended to be the third starring film for Abbott and Costello, but its production was delayed so that the team could make '' In the Navy'', and then its release was delayed so that '' Keep 'Em Flying'' could be filmed and released. Dorothy Dandridge appears in the film as a dancer (uncredited).The song " Cow Cow Boogie" (written by Bennie Carter) was cut from film, but it was later sung in a Dandridge short film of the same name.

Release

The film was the eighth biggest hit of 1942.Furmanek p 76 ''Ride 'Em Cowboy'' was re-released with '' Keep 'Em Flying'' in 1949, and '' Who Done It?'' in 1954 by Realart Pictures. A 10 minute segment of ''Ride 'Em Cowboy'' was released as ''No Indians, Please'' by Castle Films in the 1940s and 50s.

Home media

This film has been released twice on DVD. The first time, on ''The Best of Abbott and Costello Volume One'', on February 10, 2004, and again on October 28, 2008 as part of ''Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection''.

References

External links

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Ride Em Cowboy
at Variety {{Subject bar , portal1= Film , portal2= Comedy , portal3= Visual Arts 1942 films 1940s Western (genre) comedy films Abbott and Costello films American black-and-white films American Western (genre) comedy films Films directed by Arthur Lubin Universal Pictures films Films scored by Frank Skinner 1942 comedy films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films