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.
