Sagebrush Troubadour

Early Autry entry where he's near his physical peak, and looking great in colorful cowboy get-up. The hour's nothing special—some good hard riding, very little gunplay, plus Gene's easy way with a song though the selections are pretty forgettable. Still, I hope Burnette got double pay for all the pratfalls and belly flops he does in comedy relief. And catch Barbara Pepper as the pretty blonde ingénue. Certainly a long way from the chunky wisecracking types she later slid into.

The plot's something about finding a killer and a lost mine, but as in most Autry films, there's a lot more going on besides the plot. I have to echo reviewer classicsoncall. I ran back the DVR twice to see if a trip-wire was used on Gene's horse when it takes a really bad fall. I couldn't tell, but I doubt they would risk Champion in such a risky stunt. Anyway there's lots of stunt work for the doubles, and catch Gene when he takes not one, but two guys off their horses at the same time. I don't recall seeing that before. All in all, it's an easy, if unexceptional, hour of action and song, courtesy Gene and our friends at Republic.