Red River Valley

With the threat of drought always in their minds, the ranchers and farmers of the Red River Valley have set up a company to dam the river and provide needed water at all times. It's almost ready to open, but some one keeps delaying it by dynamiting the works. Who would want such a thing?

This Gene Autry movie is clearly a B picture under the direction of B. Reeves Eason, but it keeps moving along, even with four or five renditions of the title song and four others, mostly written by and performed by Autry and Smiley Burnette. There are a couple played by a jug band, but my favorite of them is "Fetch Me Down My Trusty '45", sung by Burnette. It moves at a good pace, thanks to editing by Joseph H. Lewis and Carl Pierson, but it doesn't impress me particularly, despite a fine sequence when the dam opens up and almost drowns a couple of fellows.

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.

A typical low-budget 30s western which is entertaining enough when taken on its own terms. Probably aimed at young boys, it focuses more on action than anything else, and quickly dispenses with the obligatory romancing of a fetching wench so that it can concentrate on the ultimate foiling of a dastardly plan by the bad guys to ruin local farmers in order to benefit on the foreclosure of their mortgages. Memorable moments are few and far between, but here are a few that might linger: Autry and his comedy sidekick launching their horses over the edge of a cliff into a river below; mine workers singing a curious ditty and performing a shuffling sort of step as they stroll through town to collect their wages; the (then) present-day costumes worn by half of the characters; the complete absence of music during a chase scene

Gene Autry is essentially the only reason to watch Red River Valley (aka Man of the Frontier). He's a pretty good actor, an even better singer, and looks good in his cowboy costume. He's an interesting person to watch. Unfortunately, he's about the only thing to recommend this film. I found the whole affair dull and, quite frankly, uninteresting. Granted, the makers of this film weren't trying to create a masterpiece. It's pretty clear that their primary objective was to quickly and cheaply make a picture with a story that would appeal to most people and that would exploit the vocal abilities of their star. Autry doesn't arrive onto the scene until several minutes into the film. When he does, he waits around for twice as long until he gets to sing. Why wait so long to have him get back to doing what he does best? I don't know. As for the rest of the cast, few of them aspire to even slightly memorable portrayals of their roles. Smiley Burnette is probably the only exception to this. The townspeople, the judge, the romantic interest, all of them are totally forgettable in their roles. Not having see any of Autry's other western vehicles, I can't honestly say that I have anything to compare this film to. This is just my first impression. Still, despite it's numerous flaws, it's still fun to watch Autry do his stuff on screen.

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.