Tag Archives: Singing Cowboy

Musical Monday: Hawaiian Buckaroo (1938)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Hawaiian Buckaroo (1938) – Musical #817

Studio:
Produced by Principal Productions
Distributed by 20th Century Fox

Director:
Ray Taylor

Starring:
Smith Ballew, Evalyn Knapp, Harry Woods, Pat J. O’Brien (billed as Pat O’Brien), George Regas, Benny Burt, Laura Treadwell, Fred ‘Snowflake’ Toones (uncredited), John Ince (uncredited), Robert Fiske (uncredited)

Plot:
Jeff Howard (Ballew) works as a ranch hand herding cattle in Arizona. When the rancher goes bankrupt, the ranch’s cook, Mike (Burt), approaches Jeff about a business partnership where the two would travel to Hawaii and manage pineapple crops. On the boat down to Hawaii, Jeff and Mike meet haughty heiress Paula Harrington (Knapp), who instantly dislikes Jeff. When Jeff and Mike realize their business venture is a scam, they try to find work elsewhere. They end up on Paula Harrington’s ranch, who has problems of her own with people trying to con her out of her property.

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Musical Monday: Harlem on the Prairie (1937)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Harlem on the Prairie (1937) – Musical #805

Studio:
Associated Features

Director:
Sam Newfield

Starring:
Herb Jeffries (billed as Herbert Jeffrey), F.E. Miller (billed as Flournoy Miller), Mantan Moreland, Consuelo Harris (billed as Connie Harris), Maceo Bruce Sheffield, Spencer Williams, George Randol, Nathan Curry
The Four Tones singers: Lucius Books, Rudolph Hunter, Leon Buck, Ira Hardin

Plot:
Doc Clayburn (Williams) returns home with his daughter Carolina (Harris) after 20 years. Upon arrival, Carolina learns that her father was part of a gold heist 20 years prior, and he wanted to return the gold. When Doc is killed by outlaw Wolf Cain (Sheffield) and his team of outlaws, Wolf puts pressure on Carolina for the gold. Jeff Kincaid (Jeffries), his team and friends Mistletoe (Moreland) and Crawfish (Miller) help Carolina get the gold to its rightful owners.

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Musical Monday: Rawhide (1938)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

rawhide2This week’s musical:
Rawhide (1938) – Musical #776

Studio:
Distributed by 20th Century Fox

Director:
Ray Taylor

Starring:
Smith Ballew, Lou Gehrig (as himself), Evalyn Knapp, Arthur Loft, Cy Kendall, Dick Curtis, Si Jenks

Plot:
Lou Gehrig (as himself) decides to retire from baseball and moves out west to work a ranch with his sister, Peggy (Knapp). When Gehrig arrives, he finds that all the local businesses in town and the ranchers are being strong armed into joining an organization where all the goods are run through one businessman. Gehrig refuses and lawyer Larry Kimball (Ballew) to smash the syndicate.

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Musical Monday: Melody Ranch (1940)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

melody ranch2This week’s musical:
Melody Ranch (1940) – Musical #775

Studio:
Republic Pictures Corp.

Director:
Joseph Santley

Starring:
Gene Autry, Jimmy Durante, Ann Miller, Barton MacLane, Barbara Jo Allen, Gabby Hayes, Jerome Cowan, Mary Lee, Joe Sawyer, Horace McMahon, Clarence Wilson, William “Billy” Benedict, Billy Bletcher (uncredited), Veda Ann Borg (uncredited), Dick Elliott (uncredited)
Performers: The Kidoodlers

Plot:
Radio star Gene Autry (as himself) is asked to return home to his hometown of torpedo for their Frontier Day celebration. Convinced it will make good publicity, the announcer of his radio show, Cornelius Courtney (Durante) and his radio co-star Julie Shelton (Miller), travel with him. During the celebration, Autry is made honorary sheriff, a role he takes seriously when he learns his childhood enemies, the Wildhack brothers (MacLane, Sawyer and McMahon) are running the town. Autry doesn’t feel he can return to the city and leave the town in this state. When everyone believes he’s turned soft in the city, Pop Laramie (Hayes) helps toughen up Autry to run for the real role of sheriff.

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Watching 1939: Down the Wyoming Trail (1939)

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In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult.

1939 film:
Down the Wyoming Trail (1939)

Release date:
June 14, 1939

Cast:
Tex Ritter, White Flash, Mary Brodel, Horace Murphy, Bobby Larson, Charles King, Jack Ingram, Bob Terry, Earl Douglas, Ernie Adams, Northwesterners Band

Studio:
Monogram Pictures

Director:
Albert Herman

Plot:
On Christmas Eve, Tex Yancy (Ritter) is a stranger riding through town when he witnesses a stampede started by the Becker gang. He rescues Candy Parker (Brodel), who hires him to work on the Parker ranch. The town also decides Tex should play Santa, because the children won’t recognize him. While Tex is dressing as Santa, one of the Becker gang also dresses like Santa and goes to the Parker ranch to steal the payroll. When they shoot and kill one of the ranch hands, Tex is arrested for the murder and he has to clear his name.

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