Buck Benny Rides Again (1940)

Jack Benny plays himself, a radio star who falls for pretty young singer Joan Cameron (Ellen Drew).

She doesn’t fall for him, much to the consternation of her sisters, who realize Jack could do big things for their career as a trio of singing sisters.

As for Joan, she thinks the only real men hail from the West.

Lo and behold, Jack finds himself heading to an exclusive resort in Caldwell, Nevada.

It’s a trip orchestrated by Jack’s orchestra leader, who has a girlfriend staying at the resort.

When the Cameron Sisters show up, Jack knows he has something to prove. Something he can’t prove at a posh resort.

So he heads to friend Andy Devine’s ranch, pretends it’s his own and begins paying the cowboys there to put on a show that will make him look like a rough-and-tumble westerner.

Then he invites the Cameron sisters for a visit.

After that, little goes right. But have no fear, Jack has a couple of tricks up his sleeves, not the least of which is a pet polar bear.

Jack Benny decked out in his finest western duds in Buck Benny Rides Again (1940)

Ellen Drew as Joan Cameron arrives at the ranch Jack pretends to own in Buck Benny Rides Again (1940)

Review:

Yet another comedy about an eastern dude who heads West to prove his manliness, this is a film that undoubtedly played better with fans familiar with Benny’s radio schtick.

It offers little for fans of true Westerns other than a chance to see Ellen Drew and Ward Bond in a film before they landed roles in more highly regarded oaters.

There are a few truly funny moments — a polar bear in a Western? — and a couple of elaborate song-and-dance numbers.

There’s also a ridiculous age difference between the romantic leads. Benny was 46 when the film came out and looked it. Ellen Drew was 24.

Eddie Anderson as Rochester, unwillingly roped into Jack’s wild west adventure in Buck Benny Rides Again (1940)

Andy Devine as the owner of the ranch Jack takes over in Buck Benny Rides Again (1940)

Directed by:
Mark Sandrich

Cast:
Jack Benny … Jack Benny
Ellen Drew … Joan Cameron
Eddie Anderson … Rochester
Andy Devine … Andy Devine
Phil Harris … Phil Harris
Dennis Day … Dennis Day
Virginia Dale … Virginia Cameron
Lillian Cornell … Peggy Cameron
Theresa Harris … Josephine Templeton
Kay Linaker … Brenda Tracy
Ward Bond … Outlaw
Morris Ankrum … Outlaw
Charles Lane … Charlie Graham
James Burke … Taxi driver

Runtime: 80 min.

Ward Bond and Morris Ankrum as outlaws in Buck Benny Rides Again (1940)

The singing Cameron sisters, Virgina Dale as Virginia, Ellen Drew as Joan and Lillian Cornell as Peggy in Buck Benny Rides Again (1940)

Memorable lines:

Rochester, to Jack, who’s been stuck outside in a downpoour: “Is it raining outside?”
Jack Benny: “No, Rochester. I was eating a grapefruit and it got out of control.”

Virginia: “I can’t figure you out, Joan. You act as though every man east of the Mississippi has a black mustache and a leer.”

Jack Benny: “Rochester, sneak out the door and see what that Indian is up to.”
Rochester: “I ain’t Buffalo Bill.”

Jack Benny: “There’s a train leaving for the east tongiht. I’m going to be on it, if I have to sit in the engineer’s lap.”

Theresa Harris as Josephine Templeton, the gal who turns Rochester’s head in Buck Benny Rides Again (1940)

Jack Benny with Ellen Drew as Joan Cameron in Buck Benny Rides Again (1940)

Ellen Drew as Joan Cameron in one of the song and dance numbers in Buck Benny Rides Again (1940)

Jack Benny in a dangerous situation that’s not pretend in Buck Benny Rides Again (1940)