Prairie Moon

"Prairie Moon" is a most unusual sort of Gene Autry film. While it has the standard bad guys who rustle cattle, it also features a trio of young punks which make this a one of a kind western.

When the story begins, a wanted criminal is killed in a shootout. Gene is there and witnesses his old friend-turned-bad as he dies. With his dying breaths, he asks Gene to be the godfather for his three boys back east. Gene agrees...not realizing these boys are little gangsters at heart!

In many ways, you can see that this film was influenced by earlier films like "Dead End" and the punk kid films were very popular in the late 30s and through the 40s....though I can't say I ever saw one that was a western! Fun and a great change of pace for Autry.

An entry like this is largely a matter of taste. If you enjoy tough-talking delinquents like the East Side Kids (popular at the time), then you might enjoy this Autry oater. The juvenile actors do a convincing job as little toughies that Frog fetches from Chicago to take over their dead dad's ranch before the baddies grab it. But most of the screen time is taken up with their hijinks. As a result, there's not much action and very little gunplay maybe because of the kids. Shirley Deane does make appealing eye candy, while it's good to see the great Tom London picking up another payday. Other than the little waterfall cleverly used in the plot and a few rather blandly delivered tunes, there's not much else to note, unless, of course, you like the kids' brand of comedy.