Going back a couple of years, it was easy to go week after week with an Encore Western Sunday noon broadcast of a Gene Autry flick and never catch a repeat. But after a while of course, one's luck begins to run out. Until today, when "Gold Mine in the Sky" turned up, and I was back in the saddle again so to speak with Gene and sidekick Smiley Burnette.
As I think about it now, there's a whole bunch of unconnected dots occurring in the story, so maybe I'll mention just a few. This was one of those 'modern day' Westerns in which automobiles appeared alongside cowboys on horseback, and it was interesting to hear Smiley make a comment about newspaper and radio personality Walter Winchell, but you had to be quick to catch it. The principal female character was named Cody Langham (Carol Hughes), but I couldn't figure out if the Langtry Inn in Horseshoe, Wyoming was named after her father and Gene or not, or just a coincidence. It was never specifically mentioned, so I guess it's left up to the viewer.
As for events in the story, things get muddled with the staged shoot-out between the good guys and the good guys, and if you can tell me why Smiley needed to impersonate Jane Crocker (Cupid Ainsworth) skirt and all, then you were paying better attention than I was. As for Gene, he's usually a pretty sharp cookie in these films, but you have to admit, that was a pretty dumb move when he handed villain Cummings (Craig Reynolds) the telegram that implicated himself in the shakedown against Miss Cody - it went right into the fireplace!
Well, I guess this stuff didn't have to make sense to the matinée fans of the Thirties. There's plenty enough chase scenes and shoot-outs to keep the youngsters happy here, along with Smiley's antics and the song contributions of Gene, The Golden West Cowboys, and the female trio portrayed by the Stafford Sisters who didn't look like sisters at all. It's all entertaining enough, but if I were writing the story, I think I'd leave out the part where Miss Cody runs over Annabella the pig.
As I think about it now, there's a whole bunch of unconnected dots occurring in the story, so maybe I'll mention just a few. This was one of those 'modern day' Westerns in which automobiles appeared alongside cowboys on horseback, and it was interesting to hear Smiley make a comment about newspaper and radio personality Walter Winchell, but you had to be quick to catch it. The principal female character was named Cody Langham (Carol Hughes), but I couldn't figure out if the Langtry Inn in Horseshoe, Wyoming was named after her father and Gene or not, or just a coincidence. It was never specifically mentioned, so I guess it's left up to the viewer.
As for events in the story, things get muddled with the staged shoot-out between the good guys and the good guys, and if you can tell me why Smiley needed to impersonate Jane Crocker (Cupid Ainsworth) skirt and all, then you were paying better attention than I was. As for Gene, he's usually a pretty sharp cookie in these films, but you have to admit, that was a pretty dumb move when he handed villain Cummings (Craig Reynolds) the telegram that implicated himself in the shakedown against Miss Cody - it went right into the fireplace!
Well, I guess this stuff didn't have to make sense to the matinée fans of the Thirties. There's plenty enough chase scenes and shoot-outs to keep the youngsters happy here, along with Smiley's antics and the song contributions of Gene, The Golden West Cowboys, and the female trio portrayed by the Stafford Sisters who didn't look like sisters at all. It's all entertaining enough, but if I were writing the story, I think I'd leave out the part where Miss Cody runs over Annabella the pig.