Gene Autry stars in a Gold Mine of Entertainment

Gold Mine in the Sky (1938)

Gene Autry appeared to have had a great working relationship with director Joseph Kane, they worked together quite a bit on Gene’s earlier movies, and the only director he worked with more than Kane was George Archainbaud. Of course Joseph Kane was also one of Republic Pictures’ busiest directors, so it shouldn’t come as any surprise that the company would have used him on so many Autry oaters, because Gene was probably Republic’s biggest star at this time.

Autry’s films were generally very formulaic, but since the formula worked, most of his directors, writers, and producers never felt the need to deviate too far from it. This movie is no exception to the rule, it follows many of the usual routines that Gene’s movies always did, and a lot of these same formulas were later copied (almost whole cloth) by Roy Rogers too.

Autry is the foreman of a ranch that is owned by an old timer known as Lucky. Despite his name, Lucky is anything but, he’s lost his fortunes in the stock market, and all he has left is the ranch. His luck really turns sour when he’s thrown from his horse in a race and dies from his injuries.

Lucky’s daughter Cody arrives in town for the reading of her father’s will, but is shocked to find that Lucky had nothing left to leave to her, but the ranch. Plus, she can’t sell it with out Gene’s permission until she gets married. If that isn’t bad enough, Cody also can’t get married to any man that Gene doesn’t approve of.

So, Cody sends a telegram to her boyfriend Larry, and he arrives in town, ready to marry his girl. One problem though, Gene dose not trust Larry, and his suspicions are only reinforced when Autry discovers that Larry has hired rustlers to not only rip-off the ranch, but also to kill Gene in the process.

Overall, this is a fine Autry outing, it’s well paced, and the action is pretty well delivered too. Of course, there is the expected number of tunes, and these work pretty good too. I especially enjoyed a couple of Smiley Burnette’s numbers, but I have to admit to having a soft spot in my heart when it comes to Smiley Burnette. Plus, Smiley even has a woman chasing him in this movie, not that he wants her attention though, but it added a nice twist to the usual comic relief that Burnette was always employed to deliver.

-William J. White