tavm Between 1939 and 1942, Donald O'Connor had left Paramount and went back to vaudeville. Then he signed with Universal with his first picture there being What's Cookin'. This was his second and like his previous one, he appeared with another teen named Peggy Ryan. They do a slight pantomime here during an instrumental break in The Andrews Sisters number, "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree". Also during that song, Shemp Howard gets hit and slapped by at least one of those sisters. He also gets a few from Mary Wickes as his on-off girlfriend. Also appearing here is Huntz Hall-outside of The East Side Kids-who has trouble training Harry James the bugle (This sequence I found a little lame unlike the other ones I just mentioned). There's also some romantic subplot but never mind about that. Just enjoy the music and some of the comedy bits and you should enjoy Private Buckaroo just fine.

MartinHafer In 1941, Abbott & Costello made a huge splash when they starred in "Buck Privates" for Universal. Now, a year later, a film that is essentially "Buck Privates II" was released...but without Abbott & Costello! Many of the stars associated with the first film are back and are forced to carry the film. The Andrews Sisters are back and since there is no Bud or Lou, they are given more musical numbers. Shemp Howard, a minor character in the original, is a major character here. A few additions are the band leader Harry James, Ernest Truex, Mary Wickes and some cutesy kid. Dick Foran stars in the film, and while he was not in "Buck Privates", he co-starred in Abbott & Costello's other service pictures "In The Navy" and "Keep 'Em Flying".As a result of Foran, James and the Andrews Sisters, there are many, many musical numbers--too many if you ask me. I think Universal did this because without major comedians to anchor the film, they appeared to think that adding more songs would take up the slack. In other words, Shemp was pleasant but he was NOT an adequate replacement for a comedy team! There are two main plots to the film. One involves Shemp and his comedic situations--all of which seem pretty slight. The other involves Foran and it frankly made no sense at all...none. Foran is a complainer and when he balks at doing many of the things needed in basic training, the base Commander gives him permission to refuse to do anything he doesn't want to do--making the other soldiers do it in his place. This is apparently supposed to teach him some sort of lesson about teamwork, but there is no way ANY army would do such a stupid thing---at least not on this planet! When you think about it, any army that would make Shemp a sergeant and tell Foran he could ignore any order he didn't want to follow are both pretty insane notions! My assumption is that they wanted a plot similar to Lee Bowman's slacker from "Buck Privates" but this new idea just didn't work.So how is the film? Well, not unexpectedly, without Abbott & Costello the movie seems flat---like it's missing something. For example, instead of having some sort of reasonable resolution to the plots, the film just ends in a long series of musical numbers by Foran, The Andrews Sisters and Harry James...as well as some dance numbers. Not a satisfying ending, that's for sure. Overall, it's an okay film...but nothing more. And, as a result, I can understand why the studio allowed this film to slip into the public domain.

johnc2141 Private buckaroo is not a western like the title suggests,its a wartime comedy musical made during world war two.in 1942.it features the singing sensations of the 40's;the Andrew sisters.and boasts a very good cast,Dick Foran(the mummy's hand,atomic submarine)Shemp Howard (of the three stooges)Harry James(big band leader)Joe E Lewis.and Huntz Hall(Bowery boys)and Donald O'Conner.i was confused by the title,i thought it was either a western.but i was wrong,its a very good movie from the otherwise monster producing universal.i enjoyed private buckaroo too bad its a really short movie at a little more than an hour.i believe this was the second movie on a double bill,but i may be wrong.thought the movie is way before my time,i have heard the Andrew sisters music before.the comedy is very vaudeville and the scenes with harry James trying to blow a bugle after hes drafted are hilarious. private buckaroo is played by;Dick Foran who had just finished the mummy's tomb at the same studio.he also has his flatfeet fixed so he can join the army.shemp Howard supplies the goof ball antics as a bumbling Sergeant.i enjoyed private buckaroo,I'm giving it the maximum 10 out of ten,call me crazy but i liked it.

Spuzzlightyear This really doesn't try to amount to much but a World War II entertainment vehicle. The Andrews Sisters, Dick Foran, Huntz Hall, and Shemp from the Three Stooges (Yes!) all are here, the main story is about a singer wanting to get into combat service but can't because of flat feet, and there's some other minor needer-natters going on too, but there's nothing earth-shattering divulged here. No, you'll be getting a dozen or so songs, most of them heavily patriotic, most of them hardly known today (I actually recognized Rinky-Dinky-Parlez-Vous only because I've heard it recently). This movie IS fun, actually. The Andrews Sisters know how to entertain (watch them!) and are supported nicely by a wide range of entertainers. Foran is a great trumpeter, and Shemp does his whole Three Stooges routine without a Curly or Moe around. A little gem.