As I watched "Gold Mine in the Sky", I noticed a lot of story elements that I've seen in other later Republic westerns. Only three years later, Gene Autry would make "The Singing Hill"....which is, essentially, a remake of "Gold Mine in the Sky". In addition, the way Gene meets Cody is almost exactly the way Roy Rogers met Dale's character in "The Far Frontier". Most folks wouldn't have noticed this back in the day, but with YouTube, Netflix, DVDs and many other ways to see old films, I noticed it because I have been binging on B-westerns.
Soon after the story begins, Lucky Langham is killed by accident. His only relative is his daughter, who has lived back east for a decade...and spending everything she could. Soon she arrives out west...and turns out to be a dreadful and awful person (the b-word would be appropriate but IMDB doesn't allow such words in its reviews). She nearly runs over Gene and the gang in her car when she arrives...and she even assaults the constable who stops her for reckless driving! And, when she goes before the judge, she isn't exactly contrite about her actions. So, it's obvious she's spoiled and self-absorbed. But the joke is on her when the will is read, as she does inherit the ranch BUT Gene is the executor who must approve all her spending...as well as who she can marry. And she insists on marrying a worthless pretty-boy who is at heart a real scum-bag. If she doesn't agree to Gene overseeing the ranch, she's to be left with nothing...and she resents him. Not surprisingly, she schemes to get around this, as she only wants to sell the place and continue living her unsustainable high life. Now you just know that by the end of the story, she'll learn humility and self-control...thanks to Gene.
So is it any good? Well, it's not nearly as good as "The Singing Hill"....mostly because of a few logical errors in the film. It's enjoyable but when Gene can prove that the lady's boyfriend tried to have Gene killed, he only told him to leave the ranch! Why not have him sent to prison?? And, right after this, the crook tells his now ex-fiancee that he'll have Gene killed unless she pays him $10,000. So again...why not just have him arrested?! There was more than enough to send him to prison for many years. Illogical, that's for sure...which is a shame as otherwise it's a fun film.
Soon after the story begins, Lucky Langham is killed by accident. His only relative is his daughter, who has lived back east for a decade...and spending everything she could. Soon she arrives out west...and turns out to be a dreadful and awful person (the b-word would be appropriate but IMDB doesn't allow such words in its reviews). She nearly runs over Gene and the gang in her car when she arrives...and she even assaults the constable who stops her for reckless driving! And, when she goes before the judge, she isn't exactly contrite about her actions. So, it's obvious she's spoiled and self-absorbed. But the joke is on her when the will is read, as she does inherit the ranch BUT Gene is the executor who must approve all her spending...as well as who she can marry. And she insists on marrying a worthless pretty-boy who is at heart a real scum-bag. If she doesn't agree to Gene overseeing the ranch, she's to be left with nothing...and she resents him. Not surprisingly, she schemes to get around this, as she only wants to sell the place and continue living her unsustainable high life. Now you just know that by the end of the story, she'll learn humility and self-control...thanks to Gene.
So is it any good? Well, it's not nearly as good as "The Singing Hill"....mostly because of a few logical errors in the film. It's enjoyable but when Gene can prove that the lady's boyfriend tried to have Gene killed, he only told him to leave the ranch! Why not have him sent to prison?? And, right after this, the crook tells his now ex-fiancee that he'll have Gene killed unless she pays him $10,000. So again...why not just have him arrested?! There was more than enough to send him to prison for many years. Illogical, that's for sure...which is a shame as otherwise it's a fun film.