Bradford Ropes Movies

Singing cowboy Rex Allen continued currying favor with audiences and exhibitors alike with Redwood Forest Trail. The story gets under way when Allen decides to help out a heavily mortgaged boy's camp. A nasty lumber baron wants to dismantle the camp so he can cut down all the trees. Believing that the underprivileged camp kids are somehow responsible for her father's death, mortgage-holder Julie Wescott (Jeff Donnell) intends to sell to the lumber interests. Allen not only proves who really killed Julie's father, but also routs the villains -- and still has time to sing three songs. Rex Allen's semicomical sidekick is played by Carl Switzer, the former Alfalfa of Our Gang fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Marking the screen debut of Rex Allen, the last of the Singing Cowboys, The Arizona Cowboy featured a mildly entertaining though hardly innovative story of a rodeo cowboy who learns that his father (John Elliott) is falsely accused of stealing 50,000 dollars from his employer, the Dusty Acres Irrigation Company. Rex goes undercover as Arizona Jones -- with the assistance of I.Q. Barton (comedy relief Gordon Jones) and the irrepressible "Cactus" Kate (Minerva Urecal) -- and soon unmasks the villain who first framed then kidnapped his dad. In-between rescuing his father and romancing leading lady Teala Loring, Allen found time to sing "Arizona Waltz" and "I Was Born in Arizona," both of which he had written himself. A star performer on the famous National Barn Dance radio program from 1945 to 1949, Arizona-born Rex Allen was Republic Pictures' final musical Western star. Allen, in fact, arrived at a time when B-Westerns in general and Singing Cowboys in particular were becoming a losing proposition due to the competition from television. As Allen himself remembered to writer Samuel M. Sherman: "I came in late. They forgot to tell me the whole thing was over when I started." Despite this handicap, Allen managed to stay afloat until 1954. He later starred in the TV series Frontier Doctor and narrated for Walt Disney. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

After serving with a notable lack of distinction in WW2, Corporal Slicker Smith (Bud Abbott) and Private Herbie Brown (Lou Costello) return to the US. Unbeknownst to their sourpussed sergeant Collins (Nat Pendleton), Slicker and Herbie have smuggled cute little war orphan Evie (Beverly Simmons) past the immigration authorities. In their efforts to find a decent home for Evie, our heroes return to the prewar "jobs" as sidewalk salesmen, then make a disastrous attempt to collect their GI bonus money. They also struggle to save Evie from deportation, hiding her from the prying eyes of the ubiquitous Collins, who has likewise returned to his civilian job as a police officer. The climax finds Herbie participating in a big-money midget-car race, feverishly dodging pedestrians and motorists as he tries to escape the authorities. The film also includes a romantic subplot involving Tom Brown and Joan Fulton (later known as Joan Shawlee). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While perhaps not Abbott & Costello's best film, The Time of Their Lives is certainly their most unusual. Lou Costello plays a Revolutionary War-era tinker, whose prized possession is a letter from George Washington, commending Costello as a loyal patriot. Costello's lady love is Anne Gillis, maidservant to aristocratic Jess Barker. Costello's rival in romance is Barker's butler Bud Abbott, who locks the tubby tinker in a trunk to keep him away from Gillis. Meanwhile, Gillis stumbles onto a plot to betray the Colonial Armies, masterminded by Barker. The girl is kidnaped and spirited away, but not before Barker has appropriated Costello's letter from Washington and hidden it in a mantelpiece clock. All this is witnessed by Barker's fiancee Marjorie Reynolds, who disguises herself as a man, the better to make her way through the lines to warn the Colonial troops of Barker's plot. She frees Costello from his trunk and enlists his aid in locating Washington. Mistaken for traitors, Costello and Reynolds are shot dead. Their bodies are thrown in a well as a colonial officer curses their souls to remain on the grounds of Barker's estate "until the crack of doom," unless some evidence should prove them innocent of treason. A few moments later, Costello and Reynolds materialize as ghosts. They try to escape the grounds, but a supernatural force holds them back. Flash-forward nearly two centuries to 1946: Costello and Reynolds, still confined to the estate, resent the intrusion by Barker's descendants, who plan to renovate the mansion and open it to tourists. The two ghosts decide to haunt the estate, resulting in a series of amusing and well-conceived invisibility gags. Much to their surprise, Costello and Reynolds find none other than Costello's old nemesis Bud Abbott as one of the house guests. No, Abbott isn't a ghost: he's a famed psychiatrist, a descendant of the butler who double-crossed Costello back in 1780. Costello has a high old time playing tricks on the nervous Abbott (a fascinating reversal of the usual Abbott-Costello relationship) before the rest of the house's occupants decide to hold a seance to find out what's annoying the two ghosts. In a genuinely spooky sequence, sinister house servant Gale Sondergaard, possessed by the spirit of Jess Barker, reveals that the ghosts have been falsely accused of treason, and that their salvation lies in locating that letter from Washington. Driven by a feeling of remorse over the sins of his ancestor, Abbott does his best to help the ghosts. Before the plot is resolved, there is time for a standard Abbott-and-Costello chase scene, with the invisible Costello driving a car wildly around the estate, with a terrified Abbott cringing in the back seat. More than a little inspired by The Canterville Ghost, The Time of Their Lives was the second of two Universal films that attempted to recast Abbott and Costello as individual characters rather than smart guy-dumb guy team members. While the film is an unmitigated delight when seen today, it failed at the box office in 1946, compelling Bud and Lou to return to their standard formula in their next film, Buck Privates Come Home. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this crime comedy, a prominent judge's vacation is interrupted during a sudden storm that forces him to seek refuge in a shady nightclub where he is mistaken by the mobsters for a highly esteemed racketeer. Unfortunately, mayhem erupts when a moll recognizes him as the judge who sent her low-life lover to prison and she blows the whistle. Fortunately, by the story's end, the judge has managed to reform them all. Law and order ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The second of Laurel & Hardy's two MGM starring films, Nothing But Trouble casts Stan and Ollie as, respectively, an unemployed butler and chef. Despite their inherent ineptitude, there's a wartime servant shortage, so the boys are hired by flighty dowager Mrs. Hawkley (Mary Boland), who hopes to impress visiting dignitaries from the kingdom of Orlandia. While purchasing food for Mrs. Hawkley's dinner party, Stan and Ollie meet a likeable child named Chris (David Leland) - who unbeknownst to them is Orlandia's young monarch-in-exile King Christopher. The boy's uncle, Prince Saul (Philip Merivale), intends to assassinate Chris and take the throne for himself, so the bumbling twosome set out on an improbable rescue mission to save Chris from the Prince's evil clutches. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Yet another tuneful Roy Rogers Western named after a song, The Cowboy and the Senorita features Roy and sidekick Teddy Bear (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams) as a couple of would-be prospectors fired from a small town café when the latter gets in trouble with an irate customer (rotund Ferdinand Munier). At the nearby town of Bonanza, the two friends find themselves falsely accused of kidnapping young Chip Williams (Mary Lee), who is actually a runaway. Having befriended both her girl and her half-sister Isabel Martinez (Dale Evans), Roy and Teddy Bear manage to solve the riddle of a treasure hidden in a supposedly worthless mine despite the sabotaging efforts of smooth tycoon Craig Allen (John Hubbard). In between the Western shenanigans, Rogers joins Lee, Evans, the Sons of the Pioneers, and such guest artists as the dance team of Jane Beebe and Ben Rochelle in no less than five musical numbers, including the title tune and a delightful rendition of Ned Washington and Phil Ohman's "What'll I Use for Money." Spanky McFarland, of Our Gang fame, has a funny silent bit in the opening scene. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

There's practically no western action in Hands Across the Border, but there's music aplenty. Roy Rogers stars as a wandering cavalier (named "Roy Rogers", naturally), who comes to the aid of entertainer Kim Adams (Ruth Terry). The daughter of a rancher, Kim does her patriotic bit by raising prize horses for the Army. But villainous Brock Danvers (Onslow Stevens) does his best to keep Kim's stock from reaching the Army, and that's when Rogers comes to the rescue. The final two reels of Hands Across the Border is a virtual nonstop parade of musical numbers by the likes of Hoagy Carmichael and Ned Washington, and featuring Rogers, Ruth Terry, Janet Martin and that zany European comedy trio The Wiere Brothers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This musical -- a concoction of comedy, songs, dancing, and war-time patriotism mixed together with a spy spoof plot -- opens with Tommy Dorsey and his band swinging through "Hawaiian War Chant" while Eleanor Powell taps away. Powell, it turns out, is Tallulah Winters, the band's official tap dancer, and she and the orchestra are taking an ocean liner to Puerto Rico for their next gig. Also on board are some enemy agents, anxious to secretly and safely transport their stolen plans, which include a prototype magnetic mine that can make play a big role in the war. Utilizing a plot device from a novel by Merton K. Kibble (played by Red Skelton), the enemy agents pretend to be working for the U.S. government and enlist Winters to help them with their plans. A series of misunderstandings and confusions ensue, including a baggage mix-up that leaves Kibble unwittingly in possession of the mine. Eventually Winters discovers that she has been duped and works to set all things right. Ship Ahoy takes advantage of the talents of its musical stars -- including Frank Sinatra and Jo Stafford -- to offer a nice spread of musical numbers, including "Last Call for Love," "I'll Take Tallulah," "Poor You," and "On Moonlight Bay." ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

In this musical comedy set during WW II, a circus aerialist desires to be closer to her lover, a soldier. When she finds herself chased by gangsters, the woman dresses up as a man and joins the military. Mayhem ensues as she tries to undergo training and keep her sex a secret. The secret is revealed at the end, when the camp puts on a show and the gangsters suddenly appear. Luckily the police arrive at the same time and justice prevails. Songs include: "In the Army," "Need I Speak," "Jitterbug's Lullaby," "Spangles on My Tights," "Wacky for Khaki" (Frank Loesser, Harold Spina), "Swing in Line" (Loesser, Joseph J. Lilley), "Love in Bloom" (Ralph Rainger, Leo Robin), and "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" (Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Widowed mother Charlotte Lord (Katherine Alexander) would like to marry wealthy Guy Barton (Sidney Blackmer), but Bartons' avaricious ex-wife Sybil (Binnie Barnes) insists upon contesting their recent Mexican divorce. Charlotte's daughters Jane (Jane Frazee), Leni (Leni Lynn), and Marilyn (Marilyn Hare) conspire to put Sybil out of the way by pairing her off with Steve Nelson (Edward Norris), gilding the lily by convincing Nelson to pose as Argentine cattle baron Don Pablo Viscente (Gilbert Roland). The ruse almost works, but then the real Don Pablo shows up. Undaunted, the Lord girls concoct a variety of additional schemes to smooth the path of romance for their mother and the eligible Mr. Barton. And on and on it goes, slapstick set pieces alternating with musical numbers for the remainder of the film's 72 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this musical, the second entry in a five-film series, a thrift shop owner sells his business and buys a small time radio station. He begins looking for sponsors. He finds one with a department store owner who will only lend him the money if he will allow his daughter, an aspiring tap-dancer and singer, to perform on the air. This is unfortunate as she is tone-deaf. To compensate, the owner hires a real singer to dub the daughter's voice. The singer and the owner's nephew fall in love and mayhem ensues. Songs include: the Oscar nominated "Who Am I?," "Swing Low Sweet Rhythm," "In The Cool of the Evening," "Make Yourself at Home," "The Swap Shop Song," "The Trading Post," "Sally," "Ramona," "Sweet Sue," "Dinah," "Margie," and "Mary Lou." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide