Last of the Pony Riders

"Last of the Pony Riders" is a milestone film. It is the last feature film for both Gene Autry and his sidekick, Smiley Burnette. Gene did go on to make a TV show, a made for TV film in the 1980s and Smiley was a frequent supporting character on "Petticoat Junction" and "Green Acres"...but their feature films were over after this one.

The story is about the Pony Express...a very famous failures in American history. This service allowed folks to send letters across America and the letters were carried by very young (and foolish) guys who rode relay style. It was expensive AND dangerous....and soon became completely unnecessary with the advent of the coast to coast telegraph system.

We know now that the Express was a bad idea, as it only lasted about 18 months....but in the film Gene also sees that its days are numbered. Unfortunately, Gene's boss (who owns this portion of the Express route) cannot see the future and they spend the film squabbling. What makes this disagreement worse are folks who want to steal the stagecoach and Express from them.

This film also features Dickie Moore. Moore was the voice of Pinocchio for Disney but in the 40s and 50s, he was also very popular in B-westerns....both as a kid and as a young and handsome adult.

So is this film any good? Yes. It's pretty much what you'd expect from an Autry film....solid and entertaining but also not a film you'll long remember as well.