Shooting High

I'm sure Herbert J. Yates of Republic Pictures got a bundle for Gene Autry's services over at 20th Century Fox to co-star with Jane Withers in Shooting High. How he felt about being billed second to Jane is another story, but after all 20th Century Fox was her home studio.

Jane's the little sister of Marjorie Weaver who Gene is romancing. But the problem is that Gene's a Carson and Weaver and Withers are Pritchards. The Carsons and the Pritchards have been feuding for generations and that fact keeps the two lovers apart.

Gene's grandfather was a fighting lawman of the old west and a film company comes to town wanting to film a story about Grandpa. It will star Robert Lowery and Kay Aldridge and will bring a short wave of prosperity to the area.

It won't do me any good to continue, but things do work for the young people in the end as they inevitably do.

Things do get a bit silly here. Autry does well simply being Gene Autry at another studio. Withers plays a Miss Fix-It in a way to rival Deanna Durbin without singing a note. Jack Carson as the fast talking studio agent really stands out in the film. Saying Carson is fast talking is almost a redundancy.

A real bank robbery is worked into the plot giving Gene a chance to be a real hero. Shooting High is an amusing film and no doubt did well in the red state market.