Buck Benny Rides Again

This is one of the best of the Jack Benny vehicles, based on his very popular radio character Buck Benny, itself a fond satire of the Lone Ranger. No pretensions here, no classy "schtick," just good escapist box office gold. The pace seems slow by modern standards, and I missed Cactus Face too. (OTR fans will know who Cactus Face is!). Enjoy.

Mr. Benny is fabulous, as are Rochester, Phil Harris, Dennis Day, Andy Devine and the rest of this wonderful cast. My favorite scene: Jack recites a poem around the campfire at Andy's ranch. I won't spoil it; you've got to hear it for yourself, and the last line is possibly the best in any movie comedy EVER.

What makes this film unique is it is one of only two that contained characters from the Benny Radio shows, bandleader Phil Harris, Eddie Rochester Anderson, Dennis Day, and voice cameos with Mary Livingstone and Fred Allen. The plot is a spoof of the radio Westerns of the day. If you are not familiar with Benny's career and the old radio shows you may miss much of the humor in this film. But it is still a fine film if you can find it. I was lucky to find it on Ebay as it is unavailable anywhere else. Ellen Drew is perfectly cast as the Dame who is the object of Benny's facination. Eddie Rochester Anderson sings MY, MY, in the film which became a huge international hit at the time. Benny's next film after this one was " Love Thy Neighbor " opposite Fred Allen, you must have both these films in your collection.

Audiences today are subjected to types of humor quite different from that of the mid-20th century. So, younger movie buffs may not enjoy this film that much. But, for anyone who heard or watched the Jack Benny show on radio/TV, "Buck Benny Rides Again" will bring back fond memories.

This isn't a great comedy, but it is a good one. Mostly it's a showcase for Benny and many of the characters who peopled his radio and TV shows. And that makes it nostalgic and special in an historical sense. The story is so-so, and the scripting and plot tend to bounce around. But the characters are mostly here with their oft hilarious interplay.

An extra bonus is a very well choreographed musical dance with performers dressed in Indian costumes. There are a few songs as well. Some humor of course, is ageless. Such a line that I enjoyed here is uttered by Benny as himself. "Rochester, there's an old Chinese proverb that says, 'When butler butt in on boss, better have other job up sleeve.' Jack walks away and then says, "Catch on?"

I really wanted to like "Buck Benny Rides Again" but found that it was a seriously flawed film. After all, fans of Jack Benny listened to his radio show and saw him on TV and movies because they liked him and his humor....and the film, instead, is filled with singing and production numbers...too many. It seems that the studio didn't trust Benny and saddled him with singing and dancing. Now I do understand on his radio show there was some singing (with Phil Harris and Dennis Day doing the duties)....but not this much. And, of course, there was no dancing!!

When the story begins, Jack is a big of a jerk...and he ends up getting on the wrong side of a pretty lady named Joan. After hearing her and her sisters sing, he's smitten and wants to have them on his radio show...and go smooching with Joan. But she'll have none of it. So, after learning that she is impressed by he-men, he decides to take them out west and prove to them he is a rootin' tootin' cowboy! But, of course, he knows NOTHING about this and is about as macho as a Hostess Twinkie! What's next? See the film....or not.

As I mentioned above, there was a LOT of singing and dancing in the film. Some of the production numbers were just silly and oddly, they had Rochester sing one number and dance another...and not all that well. He really was wonderful with comedy....period. Overall, a film that sacrifices a lot of comedy for dancing...yes, dancing! What a waste.

By the way, early in the film Rochester says "we have a non-aggression pact". This is an odd reference to a peace pact between Germany and the USSR that had recently been signed...and was promptly ignored in 1941 when the non-aggressive Germans invaded the Soviet Union!

Also, if you are looking for a really good Jack Benny film, try "The Meanest Man in the World" or "To Be or Not to Be".