On "`Bronco' Bob Mitchell Night" at
the Greater New York Benefit Rodeo,
newspaper columnist Martin Manning tells his friends that Bob will not show up,
as he has exposed
the singing cowboy and author as a fraud. Bob, whose only
experience with the West comes from the books he writes, foils the reporter,
however, by successfully mounting a horse for the very first time in his life
and singing to the appreciative throng.
Later, peanut and hot dog vendors Duke
and Willoughby accidentally set a bull loose backstage, and rodeo rider Anne
Shaw, the
lovely and athletic Anne Shaw (Anne Gwynne), is forced to save Bob when he falls off his horse directly in front of the
wild animal. Anne is injured in the rescue, costing her a chance at the rodeo's
$10,000 grand prize and the much needed publicity for her father's dude ranch in
Arizona. She returns home to
Gower Gulch, only to discover that Bob has been on
the train with her, having made reservations at her father's "Lazy S" ranch.
Duke and Willoughby end up in
Gower Gulch as well, and when Willoughby
mistakenly becomes engaged to Indian girl Moonbeam, the two escape to the "Lazy
S," where
they are hired on as cowboys by ranch foreman Alabama Brewster.
Meanwhile, Manning enters Bob in the local charity rodeo, so the writer
convinces Anne to train him to become a real cowboy. Later, the local Indians
abduct Duke and Willoughby during a barbecue, and they tell Willoughby to
prepare for his wedding to Moonbeam.
Meanwhile, Anne and Bob discover their true
feelings for each other when he falls off his horse while learning to trick
ride, and confirm their love on a moonlight ride.
Afraid of his prospective
in-laws, Willoughby, meanwhile, dreams that he is sent to "Dr. Ha-Ha's
Sanitarium," which is fully staffed by Indians. Later, Bob is approached by
crooked bookmaker Ace Henderson, who tells him that Anne's father has placed a
$1,000 bet on the "Lazy S" team in the state rodeo championship.
Bob agrees to
take over Mr. Shaw's bet, and he is given ten to one odds. Ace later tells
Alabama that the rodeo has been "fixed," but when the ranch foreman refuses to
go along with the plot, he is
abducted by Ace's henchmen. When the day of
Frontier Day Celebration/State Rodeo Championship finally arrives, Duke and
Willoughby tell Anne that Bob has bet against the "Lazy S" team.
Thinking the
worse, she leaves him behind at the ranch, but Bob manages to get a ride from
his two accusers to the rodeo. Along the way, the three are ambushed by Ace's
men, and Bob is taken prisoner. Bob and Alabama escape from Ace's hideout, but
Alabama is wounded. Meanwhile, Duke and Willoughby
are chased through the
wilderness by Moonbeam's tribe.
They finally elude the angry Indians, find Bob
and Alabama and arrive at the rodeo just in time for Bob to win the bronco
riding contest. After the "Lazy S" wins the rodeo competition, Bob and
Anne are
reunited, and Willoughby escapes his "bow and arrow" wedding by having Duke
disguise himself as Moonbeam.
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Cast:
Lou Costello
Bud Abbott
Anne Gwynne ... Anne Shaw
Ella Fitzgerald
Dick Foran
Johnny Mack Brown
Judd McMichael
Morris Ankrum
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Production:
True Boardman & John Grant- Writers
Edmund L. Hartmann- Original story
Harold Schumate- Adaptation
Arthur Lubin- Director
Alex Gottlieb- Producer
John W. Boyle- Cinematographer
Philip Cahn- Editor
Charles Previn- Music Director
Nick Castle- Choreography
Don Raye & Gene De Paul- Songs
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