Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

MartinHafer Despite the novelty of having Roy Rogers appear (very briefly) in this Gene Autry film, there is very little to distinguish this cowboy film. The plot isn't especially interesting and Autry doesn't sing anything particularly memorable or enjoyable.The film begins with a mobster murdering some sap--and a woman witnessing it. Instead of going to the police, she runs--and ends up out west. Naturally she soon meets up with nice-guy, Gene and the two soon end up between a local gang of jerks (one of which is played by Lon Chaney, Jr.) and the gang from back east. Can Gene restore niceness to the land? And, will anyone particularly care?I've seen a few dozen Autry films and would have to place it near the bottom. Even the usually likable Smiley Burnette and his antics are really subdued in this one and the action never really heats up. A slow-motion sort of picture at best with little to distinguish it.

classicsoncall This is one of Gene Autry's most easily obtained films, but if you pick up a recently made copy, you're likely to see Roy Rogers with equal billing on the video or DVD sleeve. It was only one of two times that the cowboy stars appeared in a film together, and since it was Gene's picture for Republic Studios, Roy appears uncredited as one of the Sons of the Pioneers. Actually, he might have been between names as it were. Born Leonard Slye, his name with the Pioneers was Dick Weston before he became Gene's replacement at Republic as Roy Rogers.Smiley Burnette is on hand as Autry's sidekick here as he often was, his character was named Frog owing to that deep, low falsetto he sometimes uses. Perhaps the most unique casting decision of the film, after the fact of course, was that of Lon Chaney Jr. as a henchman for Martin Simms (Cornelius Keefe). It would be another five years or so before "The Wolf Man" would establish Chaney's name as a horror icon, but you know, he appeared in quite a few Westerns in his career, and some quite good ones at that, including 1952's "High Noon". You'll also catch him as a guest in a handful of classic TV Westerns as his career was winding down.As far as the story goes, "The Old Corral" is one of those modern Westerns where the Old West meets a developing America with automobiles and electrical appliances in plain sight; I thought it was pretty cool to see a General Electric marquee during an opening traffic scene. I wonder if that was a little bit of early product placement, or just a consequence of being in the right place at the right time.The plot has a story loosely built around a witness to a murder back East, with singer Eleanor Spencer (Hope Manning) attempting to maintain a low profile in an out of the way town called Turquoise City where Gene is sheriff. Actually, there are two sets of bad guys in the picture, with gangster Scarlotti (John Bradford) chasing Spencer cross country to eliminate her as a witness, while Simms and Garland (Chaney) try to ingratiate themselves with the singer in order to cash in with Scarlotti.You know, I'll never be able to figure out why the shooting starts in a lot of these early 'B' oaters. For example, when Scarlotti's gang takes off in their car chasing Simms and Spencer, one of the gangsters turns and shoots at Gene during the Turquoise Day festivities. What would have been the motivation for that? - he could have hurt somebody!Here's something to think about. When Scarlotti arrived at Turquoise City, he had five henchmen along with him. During the final confrontation with the good guys, Smiley shoots the driver, one is run over by the cattle stampede, and another is shown being shot and falling down (Smiley again). Presumably, those villains are as good as dead, but at the very end, all six are shown in jail together! No math majors on this set.But I guess that's what made up the fun in these early films, with not much thought given to logic and reasoning. That, and a healthy smattering of cowboy crooners belting out the tunes. Gene was actually pretty generous in sharing the singing assignments here. While he handles his share, Roy and the Pioneers knock out a couple as well, and Smiley shows his versatility by playing an accordion and harmonica at the same time, while using his feet to bang a xylophone! Oh yeah, Gene and Roy both yodel too!

Mike-764 Eleanor Spencer, a nightclub singer, witnesses racketeer Scarlotti shoot down rival gangster Pearl. Spencer takes a run for it with Scarlotti and every newspaper from Chicago to Los Angeles posting notices for her testimony. She ends up in Turquoise City, where bar owner Simms recognizes her and decides to hold her for Scarlotti, who he hopes will give him money for turning her over. Simms is being watched closely by Sheriff Gene Autry, who decides to protect her. It's up to Gene and the Sons of the Pioneers (who held up Gene and a group of bus passengers in order to get some food money, even though they really wanted a radio contract) to save Eleanor from being taken by Scarlotti's thugs (who made the cross country trek). Very enjoyable western thats very typical of an early Autry Republic. Also interesting to see Roy Rogers holding up Gene early in the movie (something you don't see everyday). The climax was a little weak, and the songs were not integrated too well with the movie (Autry's country voice and Manning's operatic did not blend well in the barroom song). Rating, based on B-westerns, 8.

Snow Leopard "The Old Corral" has most of what you could ask for in one of these old Westerns, with good action and interesting characters, as well as the variety entertainment that you expect in a Gene Autry feature. It has Autry as a sheriff having to contend with a family of outlaws at the same time that he is trying to protect a woman on the run, and while the plot often lacks credibility, it's entertaining and moves at a good pace. Besides Autry, it has Smiley Burnette in one of his usual roles, and the supporting cast features brief appearances by Lon Chaney, Jr., Roy Rogers, and Edward Platt - quite an assortment. Certainly there's nothing remarkable here, but it's good entertainment that most fans of older Westerns will find enjoyable.