Frank Marvin Movies

Gene Autry was clearly tiring of the rigors of moviemaking by the time he starred in The Old West. Even so, Autry gives his all to this story of frontier religiosity. Left for dead in an outlaw ambush, Gene is nursed back to health by a travelling parson (House Peters Sr.) Our hero decides to help the parson build a church in the wide-open town of Saddlerock, which does not sit well with local crime kingpin Doc Lockwood (Lyle Talbot). The villain not only tries to drive the parson out of town, but also does his best to ruin Autry's reputation. The good guys emerge triumphant, but it isn't easy. Featured in the cast of The Old West are Autry "regulars" Gail Davis and Pat Buttrum; also appearing is the ubiquitous Louis-Jean Heydt, delivering a superb performance as a stagecoach driver plagued by encroaching blindness, and House Peters Sr's namesake son House Peters Jr. as one of the outlaws. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The United States Air Force dropping bombs on decent, taxpaying ranchers is perhaps not your standard B-Western theme but that is exactly what happens in In Old Monterey. It's 1939 and war is breaking out in Europe. Fearing a possible invasion, the air force feels the urgent need to test its weaponry but the locals, lead by Gabby Whittaker (George "Gabby" Hayes), refuse to relocate and the government dispatches army attaché Gene Autry to contribute his special blend of musical persuasion. The patriotic populace is one thing, however, but Gene and sidekick Frog Millhouse (Smiley Burnette) must also contend with greedy borax mining magnate Stevenson (Jonathan Hale) and his foreman Gilman (William Hall, who have a vested interest in keeping things exactly as they are. In the end, the villains are willing to commit murder to keep the military from taking over. Gene, Smiley and a hayseed congregation calling itself The Hoosier Hot Shots perform "It Happened in Monterey", "Born to the Saddle", "Little Pardner", "My Buddy", "The Vacant Chair", "It Looks Like Rain" and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" in this uneven music Western/propaganda film restored by Gene Autry Entertainment in 2001. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Singing cowboy Gene Autry stars in this formula western as Gene Autry (so far, so good), who teams up with his buddy Frog Millhouse (Smiley Burnette) to investigate a series of accidents which have stopped construction of a dam being constructed by Sam Flint (George Baxter) and claimed the lives of much of the work crew. The progress of the damn is also thwarted when Bull Dural (George Cheseboro) and his gang attempt to steal the payroll; Gene and Frog suspect Bull may also be behind the deadly dirty tricks campaign before discovering he's just a pawn in a bigger game. Autry finds time to sing five tunes during the proceedings, inclusing the classic title song. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi