Cowboy from Brooklyn (1938)

hyped garbage

Good concept, poorly executed.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

From the outset, you can tell that this is NOT the gritty Dick Powell of the 1940s (when he appeared in such great Noir films as MURDER MY SWEET). No, this is clearly the 1930s Dick Powell--with lots of singing and not particularly deep plots. While the film is not his usual song and dance extravaganza, it still features Powell singing quite a bit--and was just the sort of film that Mr. Powell apparently hated to make. Fortunately, the tunes are lighter and the plot goofy enough that, while fluff, at least it's enjoyable fluff! The film begins with, what else, Powell and his friends singing. This time they are in a boxcar headed for California in the hopes of making it big in Hollywood. However, they are caught and, along with their instruments, are tossed off the train (literally). In the middle of the wide open West, they soon stumble upon a dude ranch where they are given jobs singing cowboy songs for the paying guests. The trouble is that Powell and his friends are from New York and Powell also is deathly afraid of animals. Despite this, when talent agent Pat O'Brien comes to the ranch, he's taken with Powell and sees him as the next Gene Autry--not knowing that Powell knows nothing about life on the ranch.The film's plot is rather silly (especially with the hypnotism scenes) but it also is quite fun--so despite some stupid aspects of the film (such as Dick Foran's poorly written and overacted character) and too much singing you can't help but enjoy it. I also think that the best performance in the film was that of O'Brien--who spoke a mile a minute and really seemed in his element as the talent agent.

Warner Brothers really worked Dick Powell. Between 1933 and 1935, he made 17 movies. In 1938, he "only" made four. And they are stinkers. This is the worst of the lot, one of the most silly and sappy Hollywood musicals ever made. The script is dreadful, the music is forgettable, the sets are embarrassing, and the acting is merely passable. Powell deserves an award of some sort for agreeing to appear in this turkey. But then, he was under contract. Moreover, he had worked with Ruby Keeler, so he was capable of great self-sacrifice.The opening scene sets the gravity of the film: three musicians singing on a moving train and being thrown off, piano and all. They find their way to a dude ranch, Powell sings, a visiting New York agent hears him, and he is on his way to New York and fame and glory. But first he has to appear to be an authentic westerner. He is not. And he is mortally afraid of all animals. So a local hypnotist, in New York at the time, gets him to briefly become the world's champion steer slinger. Happy ending.Pat O'Brien plays his stereotyped role. Ann Sheridan, all of 23, makes a very brief appearance. And Ronald Reagan is on hand, playing O'Brien's fast-talking press agent. Priscilla Lane tries to speak with a "western" accent. A disaster for all.

During his early Warner career, DICK POWELL found himself playing the leading juvenile role over and over, sometimes with pleasant results. HARD TO GET ('38) with Olivia de Havilland at least showcased him in a daffy, colorful comedy role that he handled adeptly and had only a couple of songs to sing. It was really one of the best among his brash Warner roles.But COWBOY FROM BROOKLYN is pretty thin stuff, even for Dick Powell fans and pretty hard to swallow, even with a cast that includes PAT O'BRIEN, PRISCILLA LANE, RONALD REAGAN and ANN SHERIDAN, none of them seen advantageously, particularly Reagan and Sheridan in minor roles.It's a musical about a singer (DICK POWELL) who must pretend to be an authentic cowhand for the sake of landing a job on a dude ranch run by PRISCILLA LANE. PAT O'BRIEN is a manager who discovers Powell and thinks he's an authentic cowboy he can use in his rodeo. The zany plot takes it from there with the mistaken identity theme in full gear.A book on Warner films gives a brief rundown of the film as described by N.Y. Times critic, Bosley Crowther: "A piteously frail satirical idea." Nuff said.Fans of any of the above stars are likely to agree with Crowther. I know I did. Some of the musical moments are pleasant enough, but not enough to compensate for the silly plot, culminating in a hypnotized Powell able to overcome his fear of animals long enough to get a film producer to sign him to a contract.Trivia note: That's JEFFREY LYNN in a bit role as a reporter with one line to speak--and JAMES STEPHENSON as the hypnotist.

THE COWBOY FROM BROOKLYN (Warner Brothers, 1938), directed by Lloyd Bacon, is another variation to those familiar rise-to-fame stories starring Dick Powell. Neither the best nor the worst of this kind, it's basically an attempt on showcasing Powell's range as both singer and comic, to fair results in the latter.Powell plays Elly Jordan, a guitar player in The Three Sharps band. Traveling on a freight car bound for Hollywood along with his fellow musicians, Spec (Candy Candico) and Louie (Harry Barris), the "musical hobos" are discovered and forced off the train by a couple of brakemen. Stranded in the middle of Cody, Wyoming, the trio walk themselves to the Hardy Dude Ranch where Elly meets cowgirl, Jane Hardy (Priscilla Lane), who offers them a job on her ranch for food and lodging. There's one problem, Elly's phobia towards animals. Whenever approaching anything ranging from horses to gophers, he runs away and hides. In time, Jane changes Elly from city dude to full-fledged singing cowboy. Sam Thorne (Dick Foran), Jane's suitor, is jealous over her attention towards Elly. During a campfire gathering where Professor Landis (James Stephenson), magician and hypnotist, is guest of honor, Elly's singing attracts Roy Chadwick (Pat O'Brien), a New York theatrical agent,traveling along with "Speed" Dunn (Ronald Reagan), his press agent. Roy immediately signs Elly to a $75 a week radio contract. Before the night is over, Elly leaves with the men bound for New York. Elly, christened "Wyoming Steve Gibson," is now a popular cowboy singer, winning the affections of Roy's sister, Maxine (Ann Sheridan). Complications ensue when Elly, still fearful of animals, finds he's to appear in a rodeo at Madison Square Garden where the cowboy from Brooklyn must prove himself by roping calf's and riding horses.Powell, a youthful crooner having gotten his start in musical films in 1933, was by now maturing to full-facial stature. Quite believable as a singing cowboy, he's less acceptable as one unable to overcome his fear of animals. (Is this the same Dick Powell who later assumed the role of tough guy detective, Philip Marlow in 1944's MURDER, MY SWEET?). While initially amusing, his frightful manner in time becomes quite repetitious and tiresome. The same can be said for Hobart Cavanaugh role as his father, hiding in the corner, covering his face at the site of a parrot. Powell's similar phobia antics towards horses in GOING PLACES (1939) is actually better and far more amusing. Other comedy highlights include Professor Landis's attempt in hypnotizing Elly to overcome his fear of animals, resulting to Roy going under the trance instead, rushing to the streets of New York traffic, riding a horse, shooting his guns, and yelling out "I'm Wyoming Steve Gibson," with Mr. Jordan in hot pursuit.Songs by Richard Whiting and Johnny Mercer, consists of: "I Got a Heartful of Sunshine" (sung by Harry Barris, Candy Candido and Dick Powell); "Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride" (sung by Priscilla Lane and Dick Powell); "Git Along Little Doggie" (sung by Johnnie Davis); "I'll Dream Tonight" (sung by Powell); "Howdy, Stranger" (by Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer, sung by Powell); and "Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride" (reprise by Powell). At 77 minutes, chances are that THE COWBOY FROM BROOKLYN, considering tight editing and limitations of certain characters. was initially planned as a 90 minute theatrical presentation. The first such mention is the sudden disappearance of band members, Spec and Louie, both gone shortly after taking refuge at the Hardy ranch. The second is Ann Sheridan, visible in only two brief scenes, save one photo of her on the night stand in Elly's room. The theatrical trailer that sometimes precedes the film whenever shown on Turner Classic Movies, indicates more deletions involving Sheridan where she's chasing after Powell so to vamp him in his hotel room, coming to a close with Roy (O'Brien) opening the door only to get hit over the head with a vase. Another noticeable edit is finding the title tune, "Cowboy From Brooklyn," as one the songs listed in the opening credits. In the 1938 Warner Brothers short, FOR AULD LANG SYNE (once featured on PBS's "Matinee at the Bijou" in the 1980s), with a host of Warner Brothers stars paying tribute to the late Will Rogers, there's a musical segment of Powell singing "Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride," accompanied by cowboys at a campfire. No doubt another unused sequence.Rounding out the cast are: Johnnie Davis (Jeff Hardy); Granville Bates and Emma Dunn (Mr. and Mrs Hardy); Elisabeth Risdon(Mrs. Jordan); Dennie Moore (Abby Pitts); Jeffrey Lynn(A Reporter); with William B. Davidson and Ken Niles, among others. While THE COWBOY FROM BROOKLYN could be categorized as a western style recycling of Powell and O'Brien's earlier outing in TWENTY MILLION SWEETHEARTS (1934), Warner Brothers got more mileage out of this story when recycled as TWO GUYS FROM Texas (Warners, 1948), starring Dennis Morgan, with Jack Carson as a sidekick with a phobia towards animals, which is where any similarities to this movie ends. THE COWBOY FROM BROOKLYN may be something of a satire on the singing cowboy genre of Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, yet in spite of the cast working hard on weak material, the songs are of good standing and laughs infrequent. (**1/2)