Cowboy from Brooklyn is a 1938 American Western musical romantic comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon and written by Earl Baldwin. It stars Dick Powell, Pat O'Brien and Priscilla Lane. The film was based on the 1937 Broadway play Howdy Stranger by Robert Sloane and Louis Pelletier.[1]

Cowboy from Brooklyn
Warner's promotional poster
Directed byLloyd Bacon
Written byEarl Baldwin
StarringDick Powell
Pat O'Brien
Priscilla Lane
CinematographyArthur Edeson
Edited byJames Gibbon
Music byAdolph Deutsch
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • July 9, 1938 (1938-07-09)
Running time
77 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

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Priscilla Lane, the youngest of the Lane Sisters, in the trailer for the film.

Singer Elly Jordan, a Brooklyn man who is terrified of animals, ends up broke along with his two musical partners at Hardy's Dude Ranch in Two Bits, Wyoming. The Hardys, Ma and Pop, daughter Jane and son Jeff, hire the men to play for the dudes. Sam Thorne, Jane's self-appointed boyfriend, ranch cowhand and amateur crooner, is jealous of Jane's interest in Elly. Elly is so successful as a cowboy singer, that when theatrical agent Roy Chadwick arrives at the ranch on a vacation and hears him, he signs Elly immediately. Chadwick thinks that Elly is a real cowboy and Jane coaches him to talk like one. In spite of his fear of animals, he gets away with the deception. He makes a successful screen test as a cowboy, using the name Wyoming Steve Gibson, but he and Chadwick, who now knows the truth, fear that the deception will be revealed when the movie people arrive in New York from Hollywood with Elly's contract.

 
From the trailer.

Meanwhile, Jane and some of the ranch people are traveling East as well so Sam can sing on Captain Rose's Amateur Hour in New York. Jane tells Sam that she is in love with Elly and Sam is so angry that when he isn't a big success on the show, he blurts out the truth about Elly's background. To prove that Elly is on the level, Chadwick and his assistant Pat Dunn suggest that he compete in a rodeo. They take Elly to Professor Landis, who hypnotizes him. Under hypnosis, Elly leaps on a horse, rides to Madison Square Garden, enters the bulldogging contest and sets a new record. He sneezes and wakes from the hypnosis, but the movie people are convinced that he is a real cowboy. He signs the contract and kisses Jane to seal the deal.

Cast

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List of songs

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  • I Got a Heartful of SunshineCandy Candido
  • Git Along Little DoggieJohnnie Davis and Dick Powell
  • Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride – Priscilla Lane with Dick Powell
  • I'll Dream Tonight – Dick Powell
  • Howdy, Stranger – Dick Powell

References

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  1. ^ Rickey, Carrie. "Reagan's film persona: Cheerful, humble, kind." The Philadelphia Inquirer. June 6, 2004. National, A22.
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