Ride ’Em Cowboy 1942

Bronco Bob Mitchell, the author of best-selling western novels who has never set foot in the real West, sees his image crumble after a newspaper exposé. To salvage his reputation, he agrees to make a public appearance at a Long Island charity rodeo. When a steer bolts as he rides nearby, he is thrown to the ground in a flurry of dust and surprise. Anne Shaw, a capable cowgirl, rushes to his aid and bulldogs the steer, saving his life even as she is injured in the act. The rescue is dramatic and skilled, leaving her unable to compete and costing her a chance at the $10,000 prize. Bob, grateful yet uneasy, finds his city slicker persona slipping away under the heat of her example, and she retreats to her father’s Arizona dude ranch, refusing to let his glamour gloss over the truth of his inexperience.

Determined to make amends and learn the tricks of the trade, Bob follows her west, where he begins to glimpse a genuine, hard-won path to being a real cowboy. The rodeo world loosens its grip on him as he slowly earns his place, and Anne starts to see him not as a mere showman but as someone willing to learn and endure. At the same time, the business of the rodeo continues to hum with colorful characters. Willoughby and Duke are on hand as bungling vendors who bring about their own brand of mischief, eventually fleeing their misdeeds by collapsing into a cattle car and heading out west. They end up at the same dude ranch where Bob and Anne are building something new, aided by foreman Alabam’ Brewster, who gives them a job and a rough, practical education in life on the range.

A meddling gambler, Ace Henderson, places big bets against the ranch and schemes to derail the pair, and his gang kidnaps Bob and Alabam just as the stakes rise at the state rodeo. In a brisk turn of events, Willoughby and Duke stumble into the middle of the fray while fleeing the Indians, and the group makes it back to the rodeo in time to mount a defense and press forward. With Anne’s steady guidance and Bob’s growing skill, the pair—now more capable and confident than he started—ride a bronco long enough to win the championship. The ending ties up with a playful twist as the Indians close in on Willoughby, and in a punchy joke, his bride turns out to be Duke, sealing the pair’s surprising fate in a single, humorous moment. The whole journey is a study in transformation, camaraderie, and the stubborn, messy, affectionate heart of western life.