Le Champion

Boots and Saddles finds Gene Autry the foreman of a ranch that is inherited by young Ronald Sinclair, the Earl of Granville. His father owned the ranch and passed away and the son comes over from the United Kingdom. A lot of British folks came over and did buy property in the American west, the most known probably is Henry Tunstall, patron of Billy the Kid and who got killed in the Lincoln County War.

Anyway the young Earl under Gene's tutelage becomes a real cowboy, but the ranch has problems until Gene comes up with an idea to break and sell horses to the cavalry. Unfortunately Gordon Elliott also has the same idea and he's pretty ruthless about getting what he wants. Yes, that's the same Gordon Elliott who later became Wild Bill Elliott, a cowboy hero of no mean proportion later on.

Judith Allen plays the colonel's daughter and some of the romantic capers that she and Autry engage in is very similar to what later went on with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Smiley Burnette is around also for laughs because he certainly doesn't help Autry too much. He has some funny moments when he almost gets enlisted in the army after trying to locate Gene on the army post.

Gene has some good songs to sing, topped off by the cowboy standard Take Me Back to my Boots and Saddles. He also sang a song called The One Rose which was a Hawaiian number oddly enough and a million selling record for Bing Crosby the year before. Crosby also recorded the title song and another version of it in my collection is by concert baritone John Charles Thomas.

Boots and Saddles is one of the better Autry westerns that Republic put out and it still is enjoyable.

Can Gene and Frog save the ranch for Spud, well played by child actor Ronald Sinclair? Of course Wild Bill Elliot gives the boys more than they can handle. As does gorgeous Judith Allen with Guy Usher as Colonel Allen brilliantly setting the land mines along the way. Also great acting by John Ward as Henry 'Windy' Wyndham, the boy's solicitor from England. Frog sets the stage and action from the get go telling Gene "we promised Old Spud we'd make a real westerner out of him". A great cast and story line make Boots and Saddles a singing cowboy spectacular.

Top- notch Autry oater that gives fresh meaning to old adage about "eatin' dust". So, will ranch foreman Gene win horse race that keeps Spud's horse ranch away from bad guy Neale (Elliot). Maybe kid Spud started out as finely attired little British gentleman, but he's quickly adapted to Western ways and to the ranch his dead father left him. But to keep it, Gene's got to win the race against the baddies and thereby sell the ranch's horse pack to the cavalry.

The flick's lifted by a number of good touches, like the scenic eastern Sierras and its rocky teeth; lots of hard, meaningful riding; inventive use of Buttram's usual comedic role; a barn fire to end all barn fires; a youthfully handsome Gene, plus a more-than-decoratve Judith Allen; and, oh my gosh, is that cowboy hero Wild Bill Elliot as wicked baddie Nance! (I guess crooked trails sometimes lead to straight ones.) Anyway, it looks like usual low-budget Republic spared no expense in this 1937 cowboy production.

Overall, it's a darn good hour's entertainment from a valued American tradition. And if I recall correctly, the movie's title tune "Boots and Saddles" became Autry's signature song and a good one, at that. Anyway, if you're having trouble hearing me, I'll take my cues from the flick and yell a little louder! Whoops, here comes the wife, so get 'em up, cowboy.

This is a typical early Gene Autry western which means it is above average for a B oater. There are half a dozen musical numbers in the film, most of them sung by Gene. Frog does get to sing one of his own compositions "Dusty Roads," which is always a treat. The song title was apropos since the film was made during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Smiley was a much better musician and songwriter than he was a comic. The show is filled with the usual amount of Republic action. Republic stunts and special effects were always top of the line for its day, an exciting horse race toward the end is a good example. The audience was never disappointed. There is even a bicycle chase added for variety. Gene's movies were almost always "modern" westerns, which meant they often had automobiles, telephones, radios and other such 20th century gadgets.

The story is not bad. A British heir to the ranch where Gene and Frog work arrives to sell the place. He is a youngster who looks like a dude. To Gene and Frog's surprise the dude, called Spud after his father's nickname, turns out to be a driver and a skilled horseman. Gene takes him under his wing and persuades him not to sell. Enter Gordon Elliott, who not long after wards would become Wild Bill Elliott and rival Gene at the box office. Elliott plays the villain. With his sneaky looks and mustache, he comes across as a Snidely Whiplash type that was popular in the melodramas of the silent era. Seems he is selling horses to the cavalry and wants the British heir's horse ranch to extend his domain. Gene and Frog turn the tables and convince Spud who looks like Little Lord Fauntleroy at first to sell his horses and get the ranch out of debt. Col. Allen, the cavalry horse buyer, has a beautiful daughter, Bernice, who pretends to be a housemaid to get back at Gene for a run-in on the trail. One humorous part has Bernice telling Gene that the Colonel is hard of hearing and so has to be yelled at. The Colonel is told that Gene is the one who is hard of hearing and has to be yelled at. This leads to a few funny scenes between the two. The rest of the film involves Gene trying to save the ranch for Spud from his arch rival Elliott.

Even Frog is not as silly as usual. There is one hilarious part where Frog shows Spud how he can blow the bugle they found in an army tent. Spud finds a music book for Frog to go by and Smiley starts blowing up a storm. Unintentionally Frog's blowing mobilizes the entire cavalry unit who mount their horses and charge into battle.

See this film if you're looking for a good singing cowboy picture or if you're one of Gene's many fans.

Gene Autry goes through the "Save the Ranch for some one else" plot, in this case for Ronald Sinclair, doing his Freddie Bartholomew routine. It's decently performed and there are no mechanical men living beneath the Melody Ranch. Judith Allen is the very muted love interest and there is some nice comedy there, besides the songs and Smiley Burnette.

Nonetheless, I didn't find it particularly compelling. Autry may have been the king of Republic's singing cowboys at the time, but producer Sol Siegel wasn't spending enough money on music for him, and it shows. Soon enough Autry would balk, and Roy Rogers would get his chance.