The only other time I ever heard a polka in a Western I would have bet that it was the only time it ever happened. That was 1951's Charles Starrett/Durango Kid programmer, "Snake River Desperadoes". So I guess that leaves Smiley Burnette with the unique distinction of having appeared in the only two Westerns to feature a polka, but knowing that lightning struck twice, I'll have to keep my eyes open for perhaps one more. The tune featured here by the way, was the Beer Barrel Polka, more easily identified as that Roll Out The Barrel song.
This is one Gene Autry flick that I would like to have seen in color had the technology been more readily available and affordable at the time. There are a number of scenes featuring lively Mexican dance and costumes to go with a fair amount of pageantry. That would have been a nice backdrop for the title song, performed a couple of times throughout the story by Gene.
One of the things that distinguishes the film from most B oaters has to do with the plot, as it has nothing to do with your traditional evil town boss attempting to cheat local ranchers out of their land rights, water rights, or mineral deposits. The bad guys in this one attempt to bilk the citizens of Sage City out of a collected sum of thirty five thousand dollars as an investment in a big time Hollywood picture. Joe Sawyer and partner Murray Alper (looking a lot like a young Don Rickles) even go so far as to name the celebrity the phony studio has hired to star in the picture - John Wayne! That caught me off guard a bit, as Wayne's only memorable film to that point would have been 1939's "Stagecoach", most of his other work was in similar B Westerns like Autry.
Also unusual here is that Gene is given two sidekicks, Smiley and Harold Huber doing a gimmick as their Mexican guide, Pancho Grande. In hindsight, it would have made more sense to give that role to Duncan Renaldo, who appeared later in the story as Pancho's friend in San Ramon. Speaking of Pancho, keep an eye on that scene when one of the bad guys takes a gunshot at him, knocking his hat off. Pancho's horse was standing directly behind Pancho and he didn't get hit!
Gene and his partners make the save for the citizens of Sage City of course, following a Keystone Kop style chase through the Mexican highlands. Champion deserves a lot of credit for his work in this picture, he does some tremendous downhill footwork maintaining his balance while on the chase after the bad guys. I hope he got a little bonus in his feedbag for this one.
Also helping Gene out in the story was Fay McKenzie as a pretty senorita who provided the romantic interest. Her help was needed to set up the villains, as her father was also on the hook for a pile of pesos in the crooked movie scam.
This is one Gene Autry flick that I would like to have seen in color had the technology been more readily available and affordable at the time. There are a number of scenes featuring lively Mexican dance and costumes to go with a fair amount of pageantry. That would have been a nice backdrop for the title song, performed a couple of times throughout the story by Gene.
One of the things that distinguishes the film from most B oaters has to do with the plot, as it has nothing to do with your traditional evil town boss attempting to cheat local ranchers out of their land rights, water rights, or mineral deposits. The bad guys in this one attempt to bilk the citizens of Sage City out of a collected sum of thirty five thousand dollars as an investment in a big time Hollywood picture. Joe Sawyer and partner Murray Alper (looking a lot like a young Don Rickles) even go so far as to name the celebrity the phony studio has hired to star in the picture - John Wayne! That caught me off guard a bit, as Wayne's only memorable film to that point would have been 1939's "Stagecoach", most of his other work was in similar B Westerns like Autry.
Also unusual here is that Gene is given two sidekicks, Smiley and Harold Huber doing a gimmick as their Mexican guide, Pancho Grande. In hindsight, it would have made more sense to give that role to Duncan Renaldo, who appeared later in the story as Pancho's friend in San Ramon. Speaking of Pancho, keep an eye on that scene when one of the bad guys takes a gunshot at him, knocking his hat off. Pancho's horse was standing directly behind Pancho and he didn't get hit!
Gene and his partners make the save for the citizens of Sage City of course, following a Keystone Kop style chase through the Mexican highlands. Champion deserves a lot of credit for his work in this picture, he does some tremendous downhill footwork maintaining his balance while on the chase after the bad guys. I hope he got a little bonus in his feedbag for this one.
Also helping Gene out in the story was Fay McKenzie as a pretty senorita who provided the romantic interest. Her help was needed to set up the villains, as her father was also on the hook for a pile of pesos in the crooked movie scam.