Jack Benny (as himself) tries to make good his fictitious boasts about roughing it in Nevada, in a spoof of Western cliches.Jack Benny (as himself) tries to make good his fictitious boasts about roughing it in Nevada, in a spoof of Western cliches.Jack Benny (as himself) tries to make good his fictitious boasts about roughing it in Nevada, in a spoof of Western cliches.
- Awards
- 3 wins total
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson
- Rochester Van Jones
- (as Rochester)
Fred Allen
- Fred Allen
- (voice)
Featured reviews
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.
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.
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".
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".
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.
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.
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.
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!
Did you know
- TriviaIn an interview, Kay Linaker related how the film crew had to pick Jack Benny up and place him on his horse as he didn't know how to mount or ride horses. Kay and Jack also filmed the runaway scene by trotting their horses a few feet and then their doubles would take over. When the director shouted for action, Andy Devine's horse bit Kay's horse and caused it to run away. In the ensuing chaos, Jack's horse also took off, and he had a hard time with it and took the following two days off from filming.
- GoofsWhile Jack is in the pouring rain, Rochester and Theresa Harris are dancing on the patio above him and there is NO rain.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Don Wilson: And now ladies and gentlemen, we bring you that rugged hero of the great outdoors, that strong silent sphynx of the prairie, that man among men where men are men... Jack Benny in Buck Benny Rides Again!
- ConnectionsReferenced in Bugs Bunny Rides Again (1948)
- SoundtracksSAY IT (OVER AND OVER AGAIN)
(1940) (uncredited)
Written by Jimmy McHugh
Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Sung by Ellen Drew, Virginia Dale, Lillian Cornell
Details
- Runtime1 hour 24 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was Buck Benny Rides Again (1940) officially released in India in English?
Answer