Hoedown

This is your chance to hear Jock (later Jack) Mahoney sing like Gene Autry, Frog Millhouse, and Tiny Tim, to see him do comedy, and then to see him perform some of the amazing stunt work for which he is famous. The film also spotlights the singing talents of Eddy Arnold, who in 1950, was at the peak of his career. In "Hoedown" Eddy Arnold plays, well, Eddy Arnold. Eddy, who is still going strong at age 88, became somewhat of a country Pat Boone, but in his younger days when he emphasized his title The Tennessee Plowboy, he was a topnotch country singer and performer. He sang "Anytime" like nobody else, including Eddie Fisher. In "Hoedown" he sings two of his trademark songs, "Just a Little Lovin'" and "Bouquet of Roses." Eddy also gets to call a square dance, hence the title "Hoedown." Eddy's first big hit was the Tex Owens' standard "Cattle Call," a cowboy song. That was released in the heyday of the B western. One wonders why Eddy was never promoted as a singing cowboy in films. Perhaps he preferred concentrating on his recording career instead.

The plot of "Hoedown," if that's what you can call it, deals with a movie cowboy, Stoney Rhodes (Mahoney), who is all show and no substance. In fact, he's really a mamma's boy and a weenie, though he looks tough in his rhinestone cowboy getup. He thinks he's in love with Vera (Jeff Donnell), apparently something of a journalist/promoter. However, one of Eddy's singing companions, Carolina Cotton, is stuck on him. Carolina already has a fellow stuck on her, none other than Potatoes (Big Boy Williams). Enter a trio of bank robbers who try to hold the entire musical troupe including Stoney hostage. They push Stoney around until suddenly (maybe he ate his spinach) he comes alive, takes care of the robbers, and rides off into the sunset with Carolina. This all sounds dopey but it's actually fun to watch.

There is a wild chase at the end involving a getaway car with Carolina being kidnapped by the ringleader of the robbers, Stoney on his horse, with Big boy and Vera in a car coming up the rear. Eddy is back at the ranch taking care of the other two bad guys, having hit them both on the head with one of his Tennessee plow handles. Mahoney gets to show off some fancy riding and trick work. He also uses on of his mentor's, Gene Autry, old tricks of running down a car doing 100 on a horse doing 40 by cutting across via shortcuts and jumping from the horse to the car as if the car were a runaway stagecoach.

"Hoedown" also spotlights the talents of Carolina Cotton one of the golden girls of western swing. She gets to do one song in the film but doesn't really get the opportunity to let go with her amazing ability to yodel like nobody else this side of Roy Rogers. She too was sponsored so to speak by Gene Autry and was also close friends with Frog Millhouse and Eddy Arnold.

"Hoedown" is a difficult film to classify but oodles of fun to watch.