Buck Benny Rides Again

This movie has the neatest 'look' to it. It's the visual equivalent to a warm bath. Silly and corny and all those other terms that add up to non-threatening, trouble-forgetting fun. Ellen 'the Body' Drew plays the hard to get singer in a sisters vocal group, also comprised of the cute and whimsical Virginia Dale and Lillian Cornell, who seems almost invisible, so little does she shine. The song, 'Say It' melts me every time i hear it, and it's in the film twice. Jack is an understated scream. When the girls tell him they're staying at a western-theme hotel, Jack, in his best western tone replies, "That's a little too 'delooxe' for me." His shiny, studded cowboy suits are overly done, a la Liberace! Phil Harris is great in his 'Well all Riiiight' hipsterspeak way, and Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson handles a great deal of the dialog. Great for a 'nothing-to-do' night, but don't think it ever came out on VHS. I taped it. If you get the chance, see it!

Buck Benny Rides Again is a treat from the main title and credits announced by an on-screen Don Wilson to the great banter between Benny, Rochester, Andy Devine and of course, Phil Harris. Given ample showcase are the many talents of Eddie "Rochester" Anderson as not only a top notch comedian, but a talented dancer.

The supporting females are all lovely, and of course, despite his many faults, Jack Benny winds up with Ellen Drew in the end!

It is said that Jack appeared with Rochester in a theatre in Harlem when Buck Benny Rides Again premiered...Jack stood by Rochester for years and ignored the color barrier of the 30s, 40s and 50s in show business.

Made the same year is "Love Thy Neighbor" which featured Jack's feud with Fred Allen...they were actually released fairly close together--capitalizing on the height of Jack's popularity just before the war.

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.

This film was made during the pre-TV era. Hollywood B films filled the theaters every few days with quickly-made comedies and action films that took the place of the eventual sitcoms and action shows that would begin in the 1950s on television. This film is an example. Benny would eventually have his own successful TV show (after several successful years on radio). This is merely an extended skit set in the West. But it is still more entertaining than most modern comedies. The cast of the Jack Benny Show joins him in his adventures.

As much as I like Jack Benny and Rochester and Fred Allen and all the banter that goes on between them, I love this movie because it is maybe the best, though not nearly prominent enough, appearance by Phil Harris. Not only was Harris a great singer with a wonderful baritone voice. (Harris gave voice to "Baloo" the Bear in Disney's Jungle Book.)

But most of all, I love Harris as a bandleader. I think this was the source of his popularity with the generation who could see him first hand. It's not just that he had a great dance band, it was watching him in action: this man had the greatest moves of any bandleader/singer in history. Kay Kaiser was another practitioner of "bandleader as performer". But Harris was able to meld his singing with his bandleading in a physical manner that must be seen to be appreciated. So if you get the chance, watch this silly, funny romp with Jack Benny and the gang, and especially Phil Harris.