When the story begins, Gene Autry robs the stage! While this might sound insane, it's because he knows a gang is about to rob the stage and he later returns the bag he stole. Why? Because he's a postal inspector investigating that gang. Not surprisingly, he is assisted by Smiley Burnette...but a couple things about this are surprising. First, like Gene often does in films, here he goes by his real name. Second, early in the story there is a fight and Smiley actually beats the stuffing out of SEVERAL people! Clearly, this is an ultra-manly and smart Smiley Burnette...and I prefer sidekicks like this.
The trail to the gang leads to a crappy town run by Big Jim Lassiter. Normally, the sheriff and prosecutor run off any stranger, but Gene and Smiley refuse to run. After all, they are federal agents and the more the Lassiter gang tries to make them run, the more it looks like they are the ones behind the robberies.
So is this one any good? Yes. Much of it is because the film better utilized Smiley and I appreciated his being something other than comic relief. Additionally, the plot and writing are decent for a B-western.
By the way, usually the studios use a pretty good double for Gene's fighting scenes. But in this case, look at the first fight....it's OBVIOUSLY not Gene nor the actor but two stuntmen.
The trail to the gang leads to a crappy town run by Big Jim Lassiter. Normally, the sheriff and prosecutor run off any stranger, but Gene and Smiley refuse to run. After all, they are federal agents and the more the Lassiter gang tries to make them run, the more it looks like they are the ones behind the robberies.
So is this one any good? Yes. Much of it is because the film better utilized Smiley and I appreciated his being something other than comic relief. Additionally, the plot and writing are decent for a B-western.
By the way, usually the studios use a pretty good double for Gene's fighting scenes. But in this case, look at the first fight....it's OBVIOUSLY not Gene nor the actor but two stuntmen.