Oh, Susanna!

Killer Boothe Howard hops on a train, knocks napping radio singer Gene Autry on the head, rifles his pockets dumps what he assumes is a corpse out the train, and assumes Autry's identity. Musicians Smiley Burnette and Earl Hodgins rescue him, none the worse for wear, and make for Carl Stockdale's ranch. There, everyone thought Howard was Autry, until Howard asked for the $10,000 he had lent Stockdale back, whereupon Stockdale realized it wasn't Gene; so Howard killed him. Now the police are looking for Autry, who's been hired to perform at the ranch with Burnette and Hodgins.

As you might guess form that description, it's a carelessly plotted western,and the title is a random one too, although they do play the title song about two-thirds of the way into the film, just before The Tiger Rag. Director Joseph Kane does keep up the pace of the movie, and the music is pretty good, but the reliance on Autry to carry the movie, rather than having a story that burnished the brand was far too typical of the poorer sort of B westerns of the era.

Uh Oh, it's Gene who gets thrown from a train, not the bad guy. In fact it's bad guy Wolf who's done it to escape the law and assume Gene's identity. So, our hero spends the rest of the movie getting back his real name and putting Wolf where he belongs.

Good Autry mix, with songs, scenery, and flying fists. Some good touches as well, like Gene's scattering walk down Main Street where everybody thinks he's the bad guy. And how about that chase where Gene and the bad guy use roadsters instead of horses. The process photography may be fuzzy but the results are still a hoot. Also, pairing big talker Hodgins with portly Burnette is good for some laughs, but note that neither is mocked in his comedic role. And, wow, I don't think I've seen faster fingers than the '...Crust Boys jamming away on one of their numbers. I guess my only gripe is not seeing more of the Alabama Hills and their rocky spires; only nature's hand can carve such mighty sculptures. Anyway, the hour's a fun slice of old time matinees for us front row geezers, thanks to a rather hefty Gene Autry.

In his first full year of turning out B-Westerns, Gene stars in this one that has a different slant than many of his films. He is knocked out early by a prison escapee and thrown off a train; the escapee, Wolf Benson, then heads for a ranch operated by a friend of Autry's from many years before, to masquerade as Gene Autry and try to wheedle a big "loan" from the man.

Meanwhile, Gene is found, just coming back to consciousness, by Smiley Burnette and Earle Hodgins, a two-man traveling medicine show. They take Autry to the nearest town, where he was heading anyway, with them being unaware (and evidently Gene is, too) that Benson changed clothes with Autry while he was unconscious, and that the clothing he is now wearing is depicted on a "wanted" poster of Benson. Autry winds up being arrested and thrown in jail as "Wolf Benson".

The story goes on from there, with Gene and the "good folks" from his friend's ranch coming out on top at the end -- naturally.

This movie has some fine music of the early Western Swing variety, including two songs by the famous band the Light Crust Doughboys. In addition, Gene does a brief riding stunt about halfway through, standing up in his saddle as Champion gallops alone. Did he do it himself? Or was it "obviously a stunt man," as the Autry haters who post most of the reviews of his movies would insist? I don't know; could have been either way.

And for the first, but not the last, time in his movies, Gene displays his ability to spin a lariat, a la Will Rogers. Not as well as Rogers could, but he does it. Autry often used his lariat in movies, usually to lasso an escaping bad guy.

As I said above, this is a "different" B-Western. But then, most of Gene's were, with a mix between the "Old" and the "New" Wests. Of course, the Autry haters voice frequent dislike of this. But it's just what makes Autry's movies unique -- an element of fantasy. And the American people loved it, with Gene being the leading movie cowboy for six straight years, from 1937 to 1942. They loved the Singing Cowboy. Some of the people who post on here, obviously don't. Well, that's their problem. Gene cried all the way to the bank.

An outlaw named Wolf Benson escaping from a posse boards a train from horseback. On the train is radio singing cowboy Gene Autry on the way to an engagement. Benson slugs Gene and changes clothes with him and throws the unconscious Gene off the moving train.

Fortunately our singing hero doesn't break his neck from the fall and he gets rescued by a couple of itinerant actors played by Smiley Burnette and Earl Hodgins. From then on it's a merry chase through the west as Gene tries to prove who he is and foil the dastardly plans of the man who's stolen his identity.

One of the funnier scenes in the film is when all three of them, Autry, Burnette, and Hodgins are locked up in jail with Autry insisting who he is and one of the deputies saying if you're Gene Autry, I'm Bing Crosby.

But the plot situations are forced to say the least and I can't believe the folks out west are such a gang of rubes they don't know Gene Autry.

But Gene does get to warble a couple of nice, but forgettable cowboy ballads and he even gets a duet partner in the form of co-star Frances Grant. Unlike Roy Rogers who married his regular co-star Dale Evans and sang many a duet with her, Gene was usually a solo act in the musical department.

Strictly for those who love Gene and the singing cowboy genre.

This is a fairly early film from Gene Autrys career.I bought the VHS by air mail.I have to say that the manufacturers have copied from a very battered print.So much so that the film is stated to be 59 minutes in length but in fact is only 53 minutes.I have to say that the fact that it is entertaining is despite not because of the screenplay.The plot hinges on the fact that nobody can recognized Autry and therefore accept that because an escaped murderer has changed clothes with him he is the murderer and vice versa.At the end there is a fight on a moving car which defies logic.However there are the usual quota of songs,although i believe that one or two may be missing.To conclude it will entertain you if you are an enthusiast of Western films.Otherwise you would be better off spending 53minutes digging in the garden.