Titreenp
SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?
MamaGravity
good back-story, and good acting
Solidrariol
Am I Missing Something?
dougdoepke
Oddball Autry entry, from his limping into a ghost town, to a woman possessed by a ghost, to horse Champion doing everything but talking. Looks like Gene and Columbia were reaching for something different from the matinée formula. What they come up with is an uneven but interesting storyline that jumps around quite a bit. Nonetheless, prolific director English sneaks in some unusual camera shots adding to the movie's generally exotic flavor. And catch leading lady Leslie riding around in what looks like an overflowing prom gown, along with a wild horse herd numbering in the thousands. And note the general absence of the usual comedy relief. As a result, you can't be sure what will pop up next since Gene (the actor) also gets to play Gene's (the character) dad, Steve, and with a mustache, no less. Minimize a convoluted plot that plays around with three outlaws and a ghost trying to find a hidden thirty-thousand in gold. Nope, the real draw here is an exotically flavored programmer much less predictable than the usual matinée fare.
classicsoncall
I guess I would consider this a ghost themed Western, even if the title didn't use the words 'ghost' or 'haunted' to describe the picture. I find this to be a neat little sub-genre of the Western movie experience, and find particular delight in these kinds of stories. The only thing is, this wasn't much of a ghost story, as the 'ghost' turned out to be a character who faked his own death some twenty years earlier. On the face of it, I'm not buying that premise but what the heck, it's a Gene Autry picture.You know, if you keep an eye on Gene in the early going, it looked like he really might have hurt himself when his stagecoach crashed during the Frontier Days Celebration race. He grabs his right thigh as if in pain, and actually grimaces as the scene transitions to the next part of the story. Gene uses a makeshift cane for the ensuing scenes, so I'm curious now whether the story was written that way, or around the fact that he might have been slightly injured.Nan Leslie appeared in quite a few B Westerns but I have to say, she never looked more glamorous than she did here once she shed the bookworm image used when Gene first found her at The Bonanza. The story goes on to reveal how she became aware of Gene back in Canyon Junction and fell in love with him from afar, knowing that he had a thing going with saloon gal Lily Shannon. I was curious about a phrase Lily used when she showed Gene her new dress - "Isn't it pash"? I had to look that up - a slang expression for passionate, which I take would be the way she felt about Gene, even while Alan Hale was making his move on her. Interestingly, she didn't show up in the story again.So what we have here is a story about a trio of outlaws out to recover some stolen loot after serving a twenty year hitch for a stagecoach robbery. Well, two of them anyway, the third outlaw was shot and replaced by Jock Mahoney, appearing as he did in these early B Westerns as O'Mahoney. It's too bad he didn't get to show off his riding skills here, he was one of the best in my book. But this was Gene's picture.Now I've got to say, I was at a loss for words at the finale when Champion got in on the action and stomped one of the baddies to death. It was done off screen, but it still resonated with this viewer. You could say that villain Jake Fargo (Walter Sande) had it coming to him, but gee, that was tough way to go. As far as movie horses go, I'd say he was one up on Trigger.
Michael O'Keefe
Riding, shooting and singing...Gene Autry plays in a dual role chasing bad guys that his dad Marshal Steve Autry(Autry)jailed over twenty years earlier. Wonder horse Champion is stolen and Gene has tracked the culprits to a ghost town where school teacher Ruth Lambert(Nan Leslie)believes to have talked to the ghost of an old prospector(Clem Bevans). Gene finds Champion and the horse gets his revenge by trampling a villain. Gene finds time to romance Ruth and gets to sing the popular "You're The Only Star In My Blue Heaven" as well as the title song "Rim Of The Canyon". It is easy to see that Columbia Pictures has a larger budget than Republic. Also in the cast: Thurston Hall, Jock Mahoney and Alan Hale Jr.
rsoonsa
Shortly after Gene Autry returned to the world of Western film-making following his wartime service, he left Republic Pictures, moving with his production company to Columbia where he enjoyed the greater fiscal capabilities of the larger studio, as can plainly be observed in this well-made melodrama that is marked by strong contributions from all involved, and that offers a storyline having precedence over Autry's former bedrock singing scenes, of which there are but two examples in this piece. Gene plays a double role, incorporating flashbacks as his sheriff father Steve who, 20 years prior, had arrested a trio of stagecoach bandits that are now prison escapees and have returned to their former hunting grounds, in the area where Gene owns a spread, to regain their secreted loot, and before this briskly-paced film has come to its closing, we may enjoy a scenario featuring an exciting stage coach race, a ghost ( naturally residing in a ghost town), a rampaging herd of wild horses, excellent stunt work, a romance (for which a homely schoolteacher abruptly blossoms), along with gunplay and superb horsemanship. The original story penned by Joseph Chadwick and published in the long-running pulp magazine "Western Aces" is adapted to a script by John K. Butler that improves upon it, adding elements that match the skills of those involved, including director John English who further tightens the work, cinematographer William Bradford, notable cameraman of equine fare, editor Aaron Stell (TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD) who works closely with English, George Montgomery, whose designs are moodily effective for the ghost town interiors, Russell Malmgren with noteworthy sound mixing, in addition to the duo of Paul Malcolm (makeup) and Beth Langston (coiffeurs) who successfully bring about a metamorphosis of Ruth (Nan Leslie) from a plain, lovelorn spinster into an actual beauty; Leslie is impressive, as are future cinema Tarzan Jock Mahoney and rugged Walter Sande as hold-up men, and there are fine turns from old hands Thurston Hall, Alan Hale Jr., Clem Bevans, John McKee, Francis McDonald and Denver Pyle, while Champion Jr. must not be ignored, the Tennessee Walker's actions being fundamental to plot development.