Valentia Adquirida

Take your #1 Box Office Star of Republic Pictures, GENE AUTRY the 'Singing Cowboy' sensation. Now insert a love interest in a very young ANN MILLER, 'Tops In Taps'. Support GENE with comedic side-kicks JIMMY DURANTE and GEORGE 'Gabby' HAYES with character actors like JEROME COWAN. Garner in a opposition more suitable too a Warner Brothers (WB) gangster film, like BARTON MacLANE, JOE SAWYER and HORACE McMAHON. Then add in the typical mixture of GENE singing and two-fisted Republic action and you have MELODY RANCH (1940).

The plot is typical of a AUTRY film. Set in a West that is a cross-breed of 1890 and 1940. GENE needs to promote his Radio career, bring 'law and order' to a town gone wrong and win the girl. This is effectively done in 84" which is rather longer then the typical Republic 'oater' of the time. The interesting thing is while GENE and the rest act like this is part of the 'Old West', MacLANE, SAWYER and McMAHON perform as if they are working with CAGNEY in N.Y.C. circa 1936 at the WB.

The better AUTRY's as well as the ROY ROGERS films are generally a good watch most coming in at a IMDb Six******Stars. They are entertaining and both Stars will easily transition to the new medium Television. Not surprising, since Republic's economy and speed of production was well suited as a training ground for T.V.