A singing cowboy was a subtype of the archetypal cowboy hero of early Western films. It references real-world campfire side ballads in the American frontier, the original cowboys sang of life on the trail with all the challenges, hardships, and dangers encountered while pushing cattle for miles up the trails and across the prairies. This continues with modern vaquero traditions and within the genre of Western music, and its related New Mexico, Red Dirt, Tejano, and Texas country music styles. A number of songs have been written and made famous by groups like the Sons of the Pioneers and Riders in the Sky and individual performers such as Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, Bob Baker and other "singing cowboys". Singing in the wrangler style, these entertainers have served to preserve the cowboy as a unique American hero.
Alibi Ike is a 1935 American romantic comedy film directed by Ray Enright and starring Joe E. Brown, Olivia de Havilland and William Frawley. Based on the short story of the same name by Ring Lardner, first published in the Saturday Evening Post on July 31, 1915, the film is about an ace baseball player nicknamed "Alibi Ike" for his penchant for making up excuses. Lardner is said to have patterned the character after baseball player King Cole.
John Nicholas "Dick" Foran was an American actor and singer, known for his performances in Western musicals and for playing supporting roles in dramatic pictures.
Blonde Crazy is a 1931 American pre-Code romantic comedy-drama film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Noel Francis, Louis Calhern, Ray Milland, and Guy Kibbee. The film is notable for one of Cagney's lines, a phrase often repeated by celebrity impersonators: "That dirty, double-crossin' rat!"
Ride 'Em Cowboy is a 1942 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, Dick Foran, Anne Gwynne, Johnny Mack Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Samuel S. Hinds, Douglas Dumbrille, Morris Ankrum, and directed by Arthur Lubin. The film focuses on Abbott and Costello as they play the role of two peanut vendors on the run from their boss. Despite their lack of knowledge in the trade, they get jobs as cowboys on a dude ranch. The film is set in the West.
Private Buckaroo is a 1942 American comedy-musical film directed by Edward F. Cline starring The Andrews Sisters, Dick Foran, Harry James, Shemp Howard, Joe E. Lewis, and Jennifer Holt. The film tells the story of army recruits following basic training, with the Andrews Sisters attending USO dances.
Big City Blues is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and distributed by Warner Bros. The film is based on the play New York Town by Ward Morehouse and stars Joan Blondell and Eric Linden, with uncredited early appearances by Humphrey Bogart and Lyle Talbot.
Under Western Stars is a 1938 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Roy Rogers, Smiley Burnette, Carol Hughes, and the Maple City Four. Written by Dorrell McGowan, Stuart E. McGowan, and Betty Burbridge, the film is about a populist singing cowboy who decides to run for Congress in order to seek federal assistance to help small ranchers regain their water rights during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. His campaign comes into conflict with greedy water company executives.
Mountain Justice is a 1937 American drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring George Brent, Josephine Hutchinson and Guy Kibbee. It was produced and distributed by Warner Brothers. It is loosely based on the story of Edith Maxwell, who was convicted in 1935 of murdering her coal miner father in Pound, Virginia.
Scarlet Dawn is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic drama directed by William Dieterle and starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Nancy Carroll as refugees from the Russian Revolution. It is based on the novel Revolt by Mary C. McCall, Jr.
Central Park is a 1932 United States pre-Code feature-length crime drama film directed by John G. Adolfi. This rarely seen film stars Wallace Ford and Joan Blondell and exists in a nitrate print at the Library of Congress. It has seen a DVD release by Teakwood Video.
Fireman, Save My Child is a 1932 American Pre-Code comedy film starring comedian Joe E. Brown and directed by Lloyd Bacon. The picture was produced by the First National Pictures and released by their parent Warner Brothers. The supporting cast features Evalyn Knapp, Lilian Bond and Guy Kibbee.
Trailin' West is a 1936 American Western film directed by Noel M. Smith and written by Anthony Coldeway and starring Dick Foran, Paula Stone, and Wild Bill Elliott.
Shipmates Forever is a 1935 American musical film directed by Frank Borzage and written by Delmer Daves. Set at the United States Naval Academy, the film stars Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Lewis Stone, Ross Alexander, John Arledge, Eddie Acuff, and Dick Foran. The film was released by Warner Bros. on October 12, 1935.
Public Enemy's Wife is a 1936 American crime film directed by Nick Grinde and written by Abem Finkel and Harold Buckley. The film stars Pat O'Brien, Margaret Lindsay, Robert Armstrong, Cesar Romero, Dick Foran and Joe King. The film was released by Warner Bros. on July 25, 1936.
Guns of the Pecos is a 1937 American Western film directed by Noel M. Smith and written by Harold Buckley. The film stars Dick Foran, Anne Nagel, Gordon Hart, Joseph Crehan, Eddie Acuff and Robert Middlemass. The film was released by Warner Bros. on January 2, 1937.
Empty Holsters is a 1937 American Western film directed by B. Reeves Eason and written by John T. Neville. The film stars Dick Foran, Patricia Walthall, Emmett Vogan, Glenn Strange, Anderson Lawler and Wilfred Lucas. The film was released by Warner Bros. on July 10, 1937.
Prairie Thunder is a 1937 American Western film directed by B. Reeves Eason and written by Ed Earl Repp. The film stars Dick Foran, Janet Shaw, Frank Orth, Wilfred Lucas, Albert J. Smith and Yakima Canutt. The film was released by Warner Bros. on September 11, 1937. It was the last of 12 B-westerns Foran made for Warners as a singing cowboy from 1935 to 1937.
The Prairie King is a 1927 American silent Western film directed by B. Reeves Eason and starring Hoot Gibson. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures.
The Big Noise is a 1936 American romantic comedy crime film directed by Frank McDonald. It starred Guy Kibbee, Warren Hull, Alma Lloyd, Dick Foran, Marie Wilson, and Henry O'Neill.
