Fri 13 Nov 2015
DICK POWELL Movie Review #2, by Jonathan Lewis: COWBOY FROM BROOKLYN (1938)
Posted by Steve under Films: Comedy/Musicals , Reviews[2] Comments
COWBOY FROM BROOKLYN. Warner Brothers, 1938. Dick Powell, Pat O’Brien, Priscilla Lane, Dick Foran, Ann Sheridan, Ronald Reagan. Director: Lloyd Bacon.
Dick Powell is at his comedic best in this predictable, yet light and amusing musical comedy about a guy from Flatbush, Brooklyn pretending to be a singing cowboy. Directed by Lloyd Bacon, Cowboy From Brooklyn has an innocent charm to it, allowing us to see Powell as a gifted physical comic, rather than as a hard-nosed film noir man with a gun.
Powell portrays Elly Jordan, an aspiring singer and a man deathly afraid of animals, big and small. On his way to California with his band, Jordan takes a detour in Wyoming and ends up spending time at a local ranch where he befriends the lovely cowgirl, Jane Hardy (Priscilla Lane) who teaches him how to talk like a cowboy.
Pretty soon, Jordan’s dressed up like Roy Rogers and singing ballads. Then, out of the clear blue sky, talent agent Roy Chadwick (Pat O’Brien) and his assistant, Pat Dunn (Ronald Reagan) show up and pretty soon Elly Jordan is transformed into singing cowboy star Wyoming Steve Gibson!
At a running time of an economical seventy-seven minutes, Cowboy from Brooklyn doesn’t have all that much depth to it. There are some hilarious moments, however, with nearly perfect comedic timing. This is the type of comedy that makes you like comedies — fast-talking, wisecracking characters running amok. It’s a timeless story about a fish out of water, a man pretending to be someone he’s not for money and fame, and a rather innocent love story all lassoed together.
November 14th, 2015 at 12:25 pm
They would still be doing send ups of singing cowboys into the 1950’s so the material was fresh. Powell shows his ease on screen which was his biggest draw at that time, a pleasant ingraciating performer who no one noticed was acting and who could sell a tune or a screen kiss with equal ease. Dennis Morgan beat him by a bit in making something more out of those qualities, but no one else had Powell’s mix of business savvy and talent to do what he did with it.
April 6th, 2019 at 3:25 pm
What really makes this immersion in Warner Brothers snappy farece works is the richness provided by a stable of the usual character actors that one comes to treat as family–Dick Foran, Johnnie Davis, Elizabeth Risdon, and even a wet-behind-the-ears Ronnie Reagan, the energetic presence behind Pat O’Brien’s hyperactive New York producer. It’s light as air and a little silly, but the Powell magic soon works its charm on the viewer and it’s a fun ride.