Back in the Saddle

This one you have to see just so you can say you watched the great singing cowboy and phenomenally wooden actor Gene Autry (the same guy who eight years later bravely popularized "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" when nobody else wanted anything to do with it). This little film features the righteous Autry singing fine renditions of the title song and "You Are My Sunshine," but the most fun are his duet with teenager Mary Lee doing "I'm an Old Cowhand" and her swingin' solo on "Swingin' Sam." Surprisingly topical is the film's story line about a ruthless mining magnate whose pollution is killing cattle. Autry was a major contributor to the American public's absurdly romanticized version of the Wild West, and this movie comes complete with shoot-outs, a cattle stampede, and a big band sound in an old saloon.