Some seem to think it was a clever move to have Autry living in, leaving and returning to the Georgia/Florida pine forests because Autry was popular there - I guess that makes cash sense, but makes for a forced plot about cattle thieves pitting cattle ranchers against "turpentiners", that is hill folk or hillbillies who tap the pine trees for their sap. Hillbillies were popular film fodder in the 1930s as well, so there's cash sense again. These days the whole "hillbilly" thing is anachronistic - save in the "The Beverly Hillbillies" series which ran from 1962-71. Autry, always fair about things, gets on everyone's bad side and leaves for the West where he becomes a wild West show star. The show travels back to his hometown where everything is much the same and he winds up in the middle of it and has to sort it out. The owner of the show Smiley Burnette plays his role for laughs as usual. Le Roy Mason as the oily two-faced crook egging everyone on does his usual good job. There are good performances by Charles Middleton as Autry's father and Russell Simpson as the turpentiner's leader, both as nasty pieces of work. Lovely Betty Bronson is Autry's love interest. IMDb tells us that after an early star turn in film, she was relegated to acting in B films. Between 1922-37 she appeared in 30 films, this one being the last in that run; then between 1955-71 appeared in 11 movies/TV shows. The Tennessee Ramblers, comic western/country musicians are good in small doses, and are best when playing funny and improvised instruments. The two TR ladies singing with them are an early country-western duo who may have had some regional popularity. We even get a bit of a spiritual from the Black workers mourning Middleton's (Autry, Sr.) death. Autry sings and yodels his way through 3 or 4 songs. And, Champion, his horse is great as usual. IMDb says this is a
60:00 movie, but this version runs
59:03 - I screened a
53:00 version available on the IA, so can't comment on what that extra
6:00 provides. Its an enjoyable film.