Le Champion

As part of my western-watching project, I wanted to watch some B-westerns, including one with the original singing-cowboy, Gene Autry. B-westerns were usually around an hour long, or less, and they were projected in theaters as the first part of a double feature, preceding some A-movie. Normally they were not sophisticated stories and looked to please younger viewers.

So, what I found in this one is quite pleasant fluff. Less than an hour long, and featuring several songs and comedy routines, the plot is straightforward and direct. The young English lord arrives dressed like Lord Fauntleroy and despite some initial snottiness quickly turns out to be a nice kid. The foreman (Gene Autry) doesn't have to work much to turn him into a "real Westerner", as he promised the boy's father he'd do. Soon Autry and the youngster are involved in a plan to avoid having to sell the property by turning it into a horse ranch and supplying the army. They have the inept help of the foreman's comic relief sidekick (Smiley Burnette, who is actually better at singing than at comedy... seriously, his was the best song of the movie).

So there's several songs, including some nice country yodeling by Autry, comedy, the unavoidable romance for Autry and a plot involving a rival horse breeder out to sabotage them and win the contract with the army, culminating in a horse race to prove to the officer in charge of supplies whose are the best horses. You can't ask for more in less than an hour.

The comedy is only occasionally funny and the plot is simplistic, but the movie does feature some impressive scenery and skillful horse stunts.

So, not at all a great movie, but I'd say this one accomplishes quite well what it sets out to do as a B-western.

Gene Autry goes through the "Save the Ranch for some one else" plot, in this case for Ronald Sinclair, doing his Freddie Bartholomew routine. It's decently performed and there are no mechanical men living beneath the Melody Ranch. Judith Allen is the very muted love interest and there is some nice comedy there, besides the songs and Smiley Burnette.

Nonetheless, I didn't find it particularly compelling. Autry may have been the king of Republic's singing cowboys at the time, but producer Sol Siegel wasn't spending enough money on music for him, and it shows. Soon enough Autry would balk, and Roy Rogers would get his chance.

This is a typical early Gene Autry western which means it is above average for a B oater. There are half a dozen musical numbers in the film, most of them sung by Gene. Frog does get to sing one of his own compositions "Dusty Roads," which is always a treat. The song title was apropos since the film was made during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Smiley was a much better musician and songwriter than he was a comic. The show is filled with the usual amount of Republic action. Republic stunts and special effects were always top of the line for its day, an exciting horse race toward the end is a good example. The audience was never disappointed. There is even a bicycle chase added for variety. Gene's movies were almost always "modern" westerns, which meant they often had automobiles, telephones, radios and other such 20th century gadgets.

The story is not bad. A British heir to the ranch where Gene and Frog work arrives to sell the place. He is a youngster who looks like a dude. To Gene and Frog's surprise the dude, called Spud after his father's nickname, turns out to be a driver and a skilled horseman. Gene takes him under his wing and persuades him not to sell. Enter Gordon Elliott, who not long after wards would become Wild Bill Elliott and rival Gene at the box office. Elliott plays the villain. With his sneaky looks and mustache, he comes across as a Snidely Whiplash type that was popular in the melodramas of the silent era. Seems he is selling horses to the cavalry and wants the British heir's horse ranch to extend his domain. Gene and Frog turn the tables and convince Spud who looks like Little Lord Fauntleroy at first to sell his horses and get the ranch out of debt. Col. Allen, the cavalry horse buyer, has a beautiful daughter, Bernice, who pretends to be a housemaid to get back at Gene for a run-in on the trail. One humorous part has Bernice telling Gene that the Colonel is hard of hearing and so has to be yelled at. The Colonel is told that Gene is the one who is hard of hearing and has to be yelled at. This leads to a few funny scenes between the two. The rest of the film involves Gene trying to save the ranch for Spud from his arch rival Elliott.

Even Frog is not as silly as usual. There is one hilarious part where Frog shows Spud how he can blow the bugle they found in an army tent. Spud finds a music book for Frog to go by and Smiley starts blowing up a storm. Unintentionally Frog's blowing mobilizes the entire cavalry unit who mount their horses and charge into battle.

See this film if you're looking for a good singing cowboy picture or if you're one of Gene's many fans.

When the story begins, the new owner of the ranch arrives out west. Apparently, some spoiled rich kid named 'Spud' inherited the place. Now this is the odd part....he arrives out west dressed in a top hat....looking for all the world like a Charlie McCarthy puppet! I know the kid is supposed to be rich, but who would show up dressed like THAT?!

Spud initially just wants to sell the place. However, he soon becomes friends with Gene and he agrees to sell him the ranch. But another bidder also wants it, so it's up to Gene and his competition to have a race to decide who gets the place....an odd way to decide things, I know. And, considering that the hero ALWAYS has an unscrupulous nemesis, you can only assume this other guy will stop at NOTHING to get the land! In between, there's time to romance the Colonel's daughter, for Smiley to somehow find himself in the Army and much more.

It's not surprising that Smiley Burnette is on hand to play Gene's sidekick, as he made a ton of pics with Autry. And, as usual, he sings and uses his froggy voice in a humorous tune. After all, why have Smiley in a film without a song?

I noticed one reviewer compared this movie to a Gene Autry flick meets "Little Lord Fauntleroy"...and that is pretty much on the mark, though the kid warms up to Gene MUCH faster than the grandfather in "Fauntleroy".

So is all this worth watching? Well, if you like Gene Autry films, you'll no doubt enjoy this. As usual, he sings a bunch of tunes and ends up being a paragon of virtue and niceness. Typical...but also typically enjoyable and well worth your time.

Top- notch Autry oater that gives fresh meaning to old adage about "eatin' dust". So, will ranch foreman Gene win horse race that keeps Spud's horse ranch away from bad guy Neale (Elliot). Maybe kid Spud started out as finely attired little British gentleman, but he's quickly adapted to Western ways and to the ranch his dead father left him. But to keep it, Gene's got to win the race against the baddies and thereby sell the ranch's horse pack to the cavalry.

The flick's lifted by a number of good touches, like the scenic eastern Sierras and its rocky teeth; lots of hard, meaningful riding; inventive use of Buttram's usual comedic role; a barn fire to end all barn fires; a youthfully handsome Gene, plus a more-than-decoratve Judith Allen; and, oh my gosh, is that cowboy hero Wild Bill Elliot as wicked baddie Nance! (I guess crooked trails sometimes lead to straight ones.) Anyway, it looks like usual low-budget Republic spared no expense in this 1937 cowboy production.

Overall, it's a darn good hour's entertainment from a valued American tradition. And if I recall correctly, the movie's title tune "Boots and Saddles" became Autry's signature song and a good one, at that. Anyway, if you're having trouble hearing me, I'll take my cues from the flick and yell a little louder! Whoops, here comes the wife, so get 'em up, cowboy.