Red River Valley

This was an incisive indictment of American capitalist greed in a similar vein to Battleship Potemkin ... sorry, I've got my notes mixed up. This is much better than Potemkin! The print I watched needed some of the same TLC however, but I guess and reckon that won't happen.

Gene delivers his herd of steers to the railroad, only to change his job into that of the more exciting sounding "ditch rider" for the dam builders. I don't know, I suppose I could have missed it but what the heck is a ditch rider's duties, apart from thwarting the baddies at every turn? They're trying to stop construction on the dam, but not destroy it - a fine line in movies like this! The acting and screenplay is what you would expect; the title song is sung suitably downbeat throughout, with a little help from Smiley and a Novelty Hillbilly Band in the starkly lit saloon.

I loved it - not recommended for the serious.

When dynamite-wielding mystery men repeatedly sabotage the construction of a new reservoir and kill the "ditch rider" responsible for the site's security, cowboy Gene Autry is hired to replace him and bring the saboteurs to justice.

A typically entertaining Republic Pictures production, this has some good action and stunt work, with the always likable Smiley Burnette backing up Gene and offering some comic relief to the proceedings.

One interesting sequence (that should have been longer) involves Autry tracking the villains to an abandoned territorial prison in the middle of the desert.

Keen viewers will recognize future Producers' Releasing Corporation contract villain Charles King, who figures prominently in the film's climactic riot!

Musical interludes are few this time around, though Gene does get to sing his big hit version of the title song.

I loved this early Gene Autry action packed western. The music of course is wonderful and Smiley adds a doozy of his own. The singing cowboy is not only interested in saving the dam but he has a love interest in Mary Baxter played by the beautiful Frances Grant. Dancer and dance teacher Eugene Jackson who was signed by Hal Roach in the Our Gang series, has a great dance scene that can't be missed. Dancing, singing, love, and great riding and shooting make Red River Valley one of my favorite Singing Cowboy films.

In Red River Valley, Gene Autry delivers a herd of cattle to the camp of a group of construction workers and then saves a couple of children from a charging steer which of course nears and endears him to the boss's daughter Frances Grant. The workers are constructing a kind of Tennessee Valley Authority on the Red River, but someone has been regularly sabotaging the job. Gene and Smiley Burnette take jobs as ditch riders which is the expression for security guards to patrol the dams and river. It's a job that's been fatal for the last few riders.

Of course the bad guys are now dealing with America's number one singing cowboy so we know things will be set right. The most interesting performance in the film is that of George Chesebro who acts as an agitator among the workers, but he's really in cahoots with the one trying to sabotage the job for his own nefarious ends.

If you've seen a gazillion B westerns on the big screen and small you know exactly who's behind the dirty work. Gene sings a couple of forgettable songs and of course the unforgettable title song. As for the identity of the villain, just remember these are the years of the New Deal and certain professions inevitably were villains.

Champion runs, Gene sings. A mixture of modern day cowboys (with Damsand stuff) and old time cowboys. Plus some pretty decent non -Health & Safety action. Gene is a ditch rider and Champion knows he is really the Star ! Sabotage and dirty works at the irrigation plant, involving dynamite and songs along the way.

There is such an aura of dust bowl and emigration around this film. Jug blowing novelty acts, Woody Guthrie chord breaks in songs. When is a strike not a strike - when there's baddies and guns.

The usual shoot-em up finale and a few bars of Red River Valley.The film was marketed under the title Man of the Frontier, around the world, and that may be because of the clash with the other, more violent and more mediocre, film of the same name.

Champion runs, Gene Sings, nearly perfect in this movie.