Sagebrush Troubadour

This was an enjoyable Western romp in the best Gene Autry tradition – nice and wholesome family fare back then, sadly probably too much so (apart from one bit) for today's deviant tastes.

Plot has it that Gene and Smiley are hunting for the murderer of an old rancher, the clues being that he was strangled with a guitar string, and a rather downbeat horse the man had owned that Gene is returning. This horse is the subject of intense bidding from what turns out to be four baddies, trumpeting to Gene and the audience that this horse is somewhat special and has a secret they ought to uncover. He first meets the old man's granddaughter by ticking her off and spanking her soundly, but afterwards her admiration of him grows by leaps and bounds - the moral being of course she knew that she had acted foolishly previously and not that she enjoyed it! A large part is played at the Masque, where Gene and Smiley are disguised to watch the party-goers for further clues, Smiley being a dead-ringer for the baddie (!) Fred Kelsey. There were some very good songs especially the wistful End Of The Trail, and I'd Love A Home In The Mountains at a tense moment.

Nothing heavy and none of life's hard lessons are to be learned here, but great stuff for the cognoscenti who still appreciate decent middlebrow entertainment.