AllMovie

Universal's Ragtime Cowboy Joe is a modern western with a dash of music, not unlike the standard fare at Republic Pictures. The title character is a confused cowhand played by Fuzzy Knight, while the hero is Steve (Johnny Mack Brown), an undercover detective on the prowl for cattle rustlers. Villain Dick Curtis, fresh from getting his lumps in Columbia's Charles Starrett films, is chief henchman for the land grabber who is behind the rustling. In traditional fashion, the plot is wrapped up by a chase and a quick exchange of blows. Ragtime Cowboy Joe boasts no fewer than two heroines: pert stenographer Mary (Marilyn-later Lynn Merrick) and cowgirl Helen (played by Nell O'Day, one of the best horsewomen in the movies).