Plot: It's the old cliche plot in which a father lies to his daughter and tells her he owns the ranch where he actually works as a handyman. When the daughter comes to visit, all of the old man's friends help make it look like he does own the ranch, leading to more and more problems and deception as the real ranch owner comes back.
Starring. . . .
Ken Curtis
Jeff Donnell
Guy Kibbe
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams
The Hoosier Hotshots
Ken Trietsch
Hezzy Trietsch
Gil Taylor
Charles "Gabe" Ward
Mrs. Uppington (Elizabeth Randolph)
Robert Scott (Mark Roberts)
Peg LaCentra
The Town Criers
Deuce Spriggens & His Band
Carolina Cotton
Andy Parker and The Plainsmen
Al Bridge
Ruth Herscher
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Storyline Roundup (note: SPOILERS)
The film opens with scenes around the Bar B Ranch, a vacation spot hopping with people. After performing a song, the Hoosier Hotshots "calm" a complaining guest, and then watch as handyman Dusty (Kibbe) tells a tall tale to another guest (Dick Elliot) and sells him a feather that, he tells him, came from Sitting Bull's war lance. When questioned by the Hotshots, Dusty admits to sending all of his money to his daughter, Susan, who lives back East.
He also tells them that Susan thinks he owns the Bar B Ranch.
Little does Dusty know that Susan (Donnell) is not that far away, even as he speaks. She and her high-society fiance, Jerome Winston (Scott), are a few miles away, trying to locate the ranch. Under less-than-pleasant circumstances, they meet cowboy Curt Durant (Curtis) and Big Boy (Williams). Despite the fact that he saved her from an angry bull, Curt and Susan butt heads.
Susan calls her father from a gas station and informs him that she and her fiance are on their way to see his parents in San Francisco, and they want to stop by and see him. Dusty doesn't want to embarrass Susan in front of Jerome. The Hotshots come up with the idea of Dusty pretending to own the ranch (the real owner, Mr. Peters, is away for a couple weeks). They get all the staff and guests on board, except the assistant manager who is out working with cattle. Dusty is unsure if he will string along with them or not.
The assistant manager doesn't show up until after Susan does, and when he comes, he turns out to be Curt Durant. Susan wants him fired after how rude he was to her and Jerome earlier. Before Curt has a chance to say anything, the Hotshots whisk him away and explain things to him. Finally, he agrees to go along with their plan.
Curt apologizes to Susan and Jerome for losing his temper at them, and although he and Jerome almost get in another argument (Jerome doesn't think Curt was as rude as he claims to have been), everything gets patched up.
That Saturday, Jerome and Susan attend the weekly "rodeo," which Curt rides in. Jerome has his eye on Lucy (LaCentra), who also happens to be Big Boy's girl. After the rodeo, Curt takes Susan on a ride around the ranch, and Jerome takes a ride with Lucy. By the end of the ride, Curt is thoroughly charmed by Susan, and Big Boy is more than a little jealous of Jerome.
Things change quickly when Curt gets word that Mr. Peters (Bridge) is on his way back to the ranch. With lots of creative methods, the Hotshots and Curt manage to keep him from causing trouble. They even kidnap him to keep him from getting to the ranch. After he escapes, Curt convinces him to shave his signature beard, in order to fool some (imaginary) outlaws who are after him, and then calls the sheriff to arrest the "crazy man claiming to be Mr. Peters."
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| Convincing Peters that outlaws are after him |
In between all this, Jerome is spending a lot of time with Lucy, and Susan and Curt are falling in love.
"Too bad you're leaving tomorrow just when we're getting so well acquainted," Curt says gently to Susan. "I thought maybe—"
"Oh, Curt, I . . . I promised to marry Jerry," Susan says, and walks away
.
Just when Susan and Jerome are in their car ready to leave the ranch, they get a message that his parents are going to meet them at the ranch in a few days and travel with them back East for the wedding.
Curt is happy to have Susan around for longer, but this also means keeping Mr. Peters away longer. Curt decides to give the Winstons a welcome that will "make them want to get out of here in a hurry." The welcome includes a wild stagecoach ride and an fake Indian attack, resulting in much trauma for the strait-laced couple. Susan is furious as Curt.
That night at a party for the Winstons, Susan is maybe starting to miss Curt a little bit, and when he dedicates a song to "a good friend he's very fond of," she expects to be the one he serenades, but he walks right past her and sings to a little girl.
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| Little Cowgirl |
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| Carolina Cotton and The Plainsmen performing at the party |
Soon afterwards, everything comes crashing down. The sheriff has figured out that the man claiming to be Mr. Peters really is Mr. Peters, and they come after Curt.
Curt tries to take the all blame, but to save him, Dusty tells the truth in front of everyone: Susan, Jerome, the Winstons, Mr. Peters, and the sheriff.
The Winstons forbid Jerome to marry the daughter of a handyman, but Susan has decided she doesn't want to marry into that class anyhow. Lucy also decides Jerome isn't her cup of tea, and she proposes to Big Boy.
Mr. Peters drops charges against Curt and even lets him keep his job, knowing that Curt is really a good man. Susan knows that Curt is a good man, too, and they have a happy ending.
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Songs:
Rhythm is Our Business (written by Jimmie Lunceford, Saul Chaplin and Sammy Cahn) (performed by the Hoosier Hotshots)
A Lot of Elbow Room (written by Ken Curtis and Lee Penny) (sung by Ken Curtis)
The First Thing I Do Every Morning (written by Lee Penny) (performed by the Hoosier Hotshots)
When We Put a Radio in the Hen House (performed by the Hoosier Hotshots)
I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes (credited to A.P. Carter) (sung by Carolina Cotton)
Blue Bonnet Gal (written by Glen Spencer) (sung by Ken Curtis)
The West is as Wild as Ever (written by Andy Parker) (performed by Andy Parker and the Plainsmen, and Deuce Spriggens and His Band)
I've Been Down in Texas (written by Joe Greene and John Criner) (performed by Deuce Spriggens and His Band, Carolina Cotton, and Andy Parker and the Plainsmen)
Back Home Again in Indiana (written by James F. Hanley and Ballard MacDonald) (performed by the Town Criers)
Little Cowgirl (written by Ken Curtis and Dink Rogers) (sung by Ken Curtis)
The Coat and the Pants Do All the Work (performed by The Hoosier Hotshots)
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Cowboy Blues is a 1946, Columbia Pictures Production
64 minutes running time
Director: Ray Nazarro
Producer: Colbert Clark
Screenwriter: J. Benton Cheney
Film Editor: Jerome Thoms
Director of Photography: George F. Kelley
Set Decorations: Robert Bradfield
Art Direction: Charles Clague
Musical Director: Paul Mertz