''The Singing Outlaw'' is a 1938 American "B" movie

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Joseph H. Lewis Joseph H. Lewis (April 6, 1907 – August 30, 2000) was an American B-movie film director whose stylish flourishes came to be appreciated by auteur theory-espousing film critics in the years following his retirement in 1966. In a 30-year direc ...

and starring Bob Baker as a

singing cowboy 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 d ...

Production

The film was the third that Lewis had directed, after ''Navy Spy'' (1937), which he co-directed with

Crane Wilbur Crane Wilbur (November 17, 1886 – October 18, 1973) was an American writer, actor and director for stage, radio and screen. He was born in Athens, New York. Wilbur is best remembered for playing Harry Marvin in '' The Perils of Pauline''. He ...

and ''

Courage of the West ''Courage of the West'' was a 1937 "B" movie directed by Joseph H. Lewis in which Bob Baker made his debut as a singing cowboy. Production The film was the first production that Joseph H. Lewis directed. 75 non-union cowboys were hired in S ...

''. This was the second of four films in which

Fuzzy Knight John Forrest "Fuzzy" Knight (May 9, 1901 – February 23, 1976) was an American film and television actor. He was also a singer, especially in his early career. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1928 and 1967, usually as a cowboy h ...

played the comic sidekick to Universal's new

, Bob Baker.

Synopsis

A singing outlaw named Cueball and a U.S. Marshal kill each other in a shoot-out. A bystander (Baker) decides to take over the Marshall's identity. To trap the local outlaw gang he pretends to be Cueball. He finds himself struggling to stop the cattle rustlers and win the love of the daughter of a rancher (

Joan Barclay Joan Barclay (born Mary Elizabeth Greear; August 31, 1914 – November 22, 2002) was an American film actress of the 1930s and 1940s, starring mostly in B-movies and cliffhangers, with her career starting during the silent film era. Biography ...

). Things get complicated when a sheriff captures him with the gang, and he nearly gets hanged before it is proved that he is not Cueball.

Reception

A reviewer said, "The second of Baker's outings as a singing cowboy is notable for Miller's exceptional camera work and Lewis' emphatic direction."

Notes and references

Citations Sources * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Singing Outlaw 1938 films 1938 Western (genre) films Universal Pictures films Films directed by Joseph H. Lewis American Western (genre) films American black-and-white films 1930s American films