Riders of the Whistling Pines

This is an unusual Gene Autry film because it really is NOT a western. It is set out in the western United States but aside from that and the presence of a few horses, it's not at all what you'd expect from Autry. This is not really a complaint--just an observation about the type of film it is.

When the film begins, Gene has just left the rangers. No, not the type they have from Texas--FOREST rangers. In recognition of his work, they gave him a rifle and Gene uses it to kill a mountain lion that isn't doing anyone any harm. However, at the same time, a baddie shoots another ranger--and Gene assumes his errant shot killed the guy! Well, this plot actually was resolved reasonably quickly and folks realized Gene wasn't a killer--though they didn't catch the baddie responsible until late in the film.

The same jerk-face that killed the ranger is also trying to take advantage of an outbreak of moths that will destroy the timber industry. So, when Gene comes up with a plan to use crop dusters and the miracle pesticide DDT, this evil jerk starts poisoning animals and blaming Gene! What's next? See the film.

This is a reasonably entertaining B-movie. It's also of particular interest to music historians, as in addition to Gene's contributions to early country music, there also is some very early gospel music in this one. Overall, worth seeing if you are a fan.

With special effects limited to obvious filming before a projected background, this is an enjoyable Gene Autry vehicle. The songs are not memorable and bump jarringly against the tragic subplot involving Joe. The "West that never was" is as surprising as in the parallel Roy Roger's outings: airplanes and buscadero holsters, fancy Hollywood cowboy gear and references to World war II, a movie Wild West ethic and DDT spraying! By the good guys! Patricia White/Barry is so luminously beautiful that it is surprising her career, while commendable, was not more stellar. It is a treat to see Clayton Moore as a villain, though a bit of a shock to hear the voice of the Lone Ranger coming out of the face of a half-bearded bad guy. Great movie, great Western it is not; pleasant nostalgia it is.

Scenic Autry western with a few surprises. The plot is a little complex for me, and I had trouble keeping some of the look-alike characters straight. But that's probably just me. Anyhow, the story involves aerial spraying of DDT and who stands to gain or lose. In that surprising sense, the movie involves contemporary environmental issues, even in 1949. The 70-minutes is also notable for there being no Autry sidekick (Burnette or Buttram) for comedy relief. So it's pretty much straight melodrama the whole way.

Then too, as leading lady, there's the luscious Patricia Barry who later went on to a pretty extensive TV career, along with familiar baddie Douglass Dumbrille, and future Lone Ranger, Clayton Moore, in a supporting role. Also, catch that very last scene, an unusually thoughtful one for a horse opera of any kind. All in all, it adds up to a different kind of Autry programmer with more noisy winged conveyances than Gene's usual 4-footed friends.

One of my earliest childhood memories was getting home from school and sitting down in the family kitchen to hear "The Lone Ranger" on our big console radio. Of all my first TV heroes, none were bigger or braver than Davy Crockett, Superman and The Lone Ranger (not to forget his "faithful Indian companion and a fiery horse called Silver.") Until now, I'm sure I'd never seen Fess Parker, George Reeves or Clayton Moore as a bad guy. A few hours before this movie aired on cable, I saw the text of the preview box which read "Pete:Clayton Moore" so I was curious to see what color hat he was wearing. Actually, I later found out from IMDb filmographies that Parker, Reeves and Moore had each played villains more than once. Still, I had to wait until the third reel before I could be sure I was seeing Moore. In the first few scenes, what little dialogue he spoke didn't really identify him. But in the last scene he played with Autry, he spoke long enough that his clear deep voice revealed the familiar one we would grow to recognize from the long-running series which began not many months after the release of this film. There's little else about this oater I'd recommend. There are some good but forgettable songs, by Gene and others, just fair action and cinematography, no real romance, and not even a comical sidekick. It's not a great western by any stretch or even one of Autry's best films. For all that, it's still a passable way to spend an hour and ten minutes, which is about the length of one of my church's Sunday morning worship services. Forgive me, Pastor Mark, but Gene Autry's films haven't yet put me to sleep. Now, Rev, if you're hankerin' to liven up the congregation, I'd reckon you might try to wear a Stetson and fire a six-shooter (blanks-loaded, naturally) now and then. Dale Roloff

New science has made this particular Gene Autry western quite out of date. Seems as though the rumors those outlaws were spreading about DDT was right after all. The government did ban its use many years later.

But for Riders Of The Whistling Pines Gene is cast as a recently discharged forest ranger who is accused of killing another forest service ranger. The death is ruled accidental.

Why he was killed was that he discovered a kind of moth that can devastate the timber. Gene later discovers it and persuades the Interior Department in the form of his forest service buddies to spray DDT and save the timber.

But that doesn't help villain Douglass Dumbrille who wants the moths to kill the trees because he can strip the forest of dead trees and make a real windfall profit.

There's quite a bit more plot to this horse opera than is the case for one aimed at the Saturday Matinée crowd. There's also Jimmy Lloyd who is Autry's pal and drinking a lot because he got through World War II without a scratch and his wife died at home. Lloyd does something you would not see normally in a B picture kid's western.

Sad to say though that science really renders Riders Of The Whistling Pines quite obsolete.