User Reviews

As a cattle inspector for the state, Gene Autry finds himself in the middle of a dilemma when Smiley Burnette finds a dead calf, and all shipments to market have to be stopped to prevent the spread of hoof and mouth disease. This puts Gene at odds with pretty Martha Wheeler (June Storey), daughter of rancher Jim Wheeler (George Cleveland), because even though their cattle are disease free, he has to play fair by all the other cattlemen.

I always enjoy seeing Earl Hodgins show up in an Autry flick, this time he's accompanied by an elephant sidekick that proves instrumental later in the story. With Gene incarcerated for assaulting the area commissioner, Smiley uses the old peanut on the end of a string trick to lure Nepaw over to the jail house window, whereby the ponderous pachyderm literally pulls down the entire window and wall of the jail.

It doesn't take long for Gene and Smiley to zero in on villains Belknap (Walter Miller) and Shelby (Gordon Hart), who conspire to ship off Belknap's infected cattle to market before they show signs of disease. It's one of those stories where Gene and the local sheriff all wind up on the same page by the end of the picture, so Gene can wrap things up with the leading lady by his side.

As usual, Gene and Smiley offer up an entertaining mix of tunes, starting out with 'There's Nothing Like Work', the theme of which Smiley attempts to emulate as the story progresses. There's also a cowboy band called the Sherven Brothers Rodeoliers who present a lively instrumental, appearing more like a novelty act as the members play an assortment of homemade instruments in addition to your standard accordion and bass fiddle.

Songs: "I'm Gonna Roundup My Blues" by Johnny Marvin; "Big Bullfrog" by Walter Samuels; "Moonlight on the Ranch House" by Walter Samuels.

Copyright 3 February 1939 by Republic Pictures Corp. No New York opening. U.S. release: 3 February 1939. No record of any theatrical release in Australia. 6 reels. 58 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: Gene Autry and Frog Millhouse are cattle inspectors who discover an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease on the Belknap ranch. But Belknap and his partner Shelby bury some of their infected cattle on the neighboring Wheeler ranch.

NOTES: Autry's 30th of his 94 movies.

COMMENT: There's a fair number of songs and comedy routines in this one, but they don't outweigh the action which includes some grand stunt-work and chases filmed with running inserts.

Yes, the pace is fast, whilst the script combines enough action, songs and comedy to please all western fans. Only quirk — it's a modern western with the cowboys still incongruously sporting pistols.

Screenwriter Jack Townley'x script is efficient but totally undistinguished.

Acting also rates as just okay, but surely the villains could have been a bit more colorful, both script-wise and acting- wise?

Earle Hodgins plays a patent medicine professor whose elephant takes a liking to Burnette. Not an original idea, but it does lend a bit of color.

I liked the heroine best. June sure has a trim little figure and even joins Autry in a duet.

Production values are quite fair and credits appear adequate. But the lighting as usual seems flat and dull, making the actual locations seem very ordinary and uninteresting. Obvious day- for-night shooting adds another negative factor.

OTHER VIEWS: "Home on the Prairie" marked the first appearance by June Storey, a pretty little blonde from Canada, as my favorite rein- holder. June was Smiley Burnette's favorite audience. Still in her teens, June was one of those people who wanted to nominate you for a prize every time you did a good deed. — Gene Autry.

This story, from one of Gene's peak years before he fell victim to Republic's obsession with "spoiled Eastern heiresses," not only has an interesting plot, but a couple of differences besides.

For one, this is the first Autry Western with June Storey as Gene's leading lady. In the early scenes together, they each have an air of, "Wow! Where have you been all my life?!" In addition, they have a scene "in the moonlight" early on where they sing a duet (well, sort of; Gene does most of the singing), and Gene's vocalizing causes June to close her eyes in rapture at one point. Closest you'll come to anything "sensual" in a Gene Autry movie!

In this flick where Gene and his buddy Frog Millhouse are cattle inspectors, Storey's father, George Cleveland, needs to get his herd to market as soon as possible due to financial difficulties. But he is stymied because Gene has had to halt all cattle shipments due to an outbreak of hoof and mouth in the area. Of course, the outbreak was manipulated by the bad guys so that they can clean up at the market with their OWN cattle.

Enter snake-oil salesman Earle Hodgins with his elephant, Neepaw. The beast becomes a giant pet for Frog, and manages to free Gene, Frog and Hodgins from jail as we lead up to the climactic scene.

Autry appears to do all his own stunts in this film, showing that he was capable of same, when permitted by the director. The stunts include a transfer from Champ's back to the last car in a speeding train to catch the head baddie who is fleeing. As Champion is catching up to the train, Gene reaches up and settles his stetson more firmly on his head. There is a cut to a different camera from a slightly different angle, but the hat is positioned in that shot exactly as when Gene's hand left it, a few seconds before. Looks like Gene all the way to me. Besides, numerous people who worked with him in movies have said that he liked doing his own stunts -- just wasn't allowed to sometimes, for safety reasons.

Anyway, this is an excellent Gene Autry Western, with hard riding, fighting, pleasant music, and Gene's first scenes with one of his best-known leading ladies.