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.
