ShangLuda Admirable film.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

dougdoepke Good imaginative mix of music, action, comedy, and man vs. machine. Gene's trying to stop a gang of cattle rustlers. Trouble is they're using modern technology like airplanes (spotters) and refrigerated trucks (hauling carcasses) to elude capture. Old Sheriff Doniphon and younger deputy Autry are not having much success, so ranchers call in a high-falutin' motorized detective company (think Pinkertons). So how's this all going to work out—will the new win out over the old. There's a little more story depth here than usual.Catch ace director, old Joe Kane using an off-angle camera shot to heighten effect of careening cars. Good touch even if on the arty side. Then there's cutie Ann Rutherford showing why she had such a durable Hollywood career. Heck, I even got laughs out of Frog and buddy donning a cow hide, especially when the horny and apparently near-sighted bull chases them. Okay, these are basically kid's shows, not to be taken seriously. So I have no problem with all the goofy anachronisms as long as they add to entertainment, which they do. On the matinée scale (not to be confused with adult westerns) I give this Autry entry a solid 8.

thefensk This is a pretty typical early Gene Autry Western. Cowpokes and cattle and horses and cars/trucks/airplanes ... yeehaw.Anyway, the most unusual scene in this movie, very subtle indeed, is the opening sequence. Gene, ridin' and singin' along, the titles rolling by. Check out behind him and see if you see anything odd.What's that? Looks like a dummy or something. No, it's Smiley Burnette, riding backwards with a forward facing mask on the back of his head. Even funnier, once the titles and song are finished, Gene and another guy have a long conversation before they even mention the bizarre Smiley and his "disguise" ...His explanation: It was a disguise so that he could keep an eye out so no one could sneak up on them from behind. Ah, Smiley. Ah, humanity.

John W Chance We watch Gene Autry movies for his sincerity, his interplay with a female lead or Smiley Burnette (all on display in 'Yodelin' Kid From Pine Ridge' from 1937), a mean villain or an interesting story (as in 'The Big Show' from 1936) but in this film we get none of these.Too much of it is outdoors with new or stock footage of cattle movements, rustlings and chasing of the rustlers. Unless Yakima Canutt is available for doing Gene's stunts, we get more singing than slam bang action. The only good song is "Old Buck-a-Roo" about an old man hanging up his boots and saddles.We get to see the spunky Ann Rutherford, who went on to play Polly Benedict in the Andy Hardy movies. But in this one, too much time is wasted on poor low comedy (Smiley Burnette sitting backwards on a horse, trapped in a meat packing truck, and paired as the head in a two man steer costume), and outdoor landscape chases. One of Smiley's songs was cut from the edited version I have ("I Got the Heebie Jeebie Blues")and his "Defective Detective from Brooklyn" is certainly one of the high points (?) of his career as a singer-composer.Hardly any character interaction or development to speak of. Only good if you like to watch lots of men on horseback chasing more men on horseback across the plains. I'll give it a two and half.

bkoganbing Times are changing out in the west and there's this gang of rustlers who've got sheriff William Farnum and Deputy Gene Autry baffled. The local newspaper editor Ann Rutherford is calling for sheriff Farnum to be replaced and that's not sitting well with Gene. Besides that political differences are interfering in a promising romance.Who'd ever have believed it, but Gene's perennial sidekick Smiley Burnette decides that a short wave radio just might be the key to things and son of a gun he turns out to be right. Ham radio operators the world over must have loved this picture.No really great songs for Gene come out of this particular film, but Smiley Burnette is a sight to see in a disguise as a cow trying to fend off the attentions of an amorous bull. All in the line of doing some undercover work. Worth watching Public Cowboy No. 1 for that alone.