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Oh, Susanna, 1936
While on a train, Gene Autry (as himself) is accosted by the villainous Wolf Benson (Boothe Howard), who trades outfits with the singing cowboy and throws him off of the train. Arrested as Wolf, Autry must find a way to escape the hangman’s rope, with the help of friends Frog (Smiley Burnette) and Ezeckial (Earle Hodgins).
This is a very slight, light-hearted vehicle for the singing cowboy.
As you might expect from a movie where a singer plays themselves, this film is plot strung together in a way to move the viewer from one song setpiece to another. Fortunately, the characters are likable and the musical numbers are pleasant enough (and the runtime is short enough) that it doesn’t get old or irritating.
This is the epitome of low-stakes, gentle entertainment, the kind of movie you might put on over and over in the background while you do house chores. My favorite musical number was one performed by Frog and Ezeckial where Frog in gentle drag bemoans the infidelity of bicycle riding men.
Along the way there are also plenty of hijinks. Wolf stages an outrageous murder attempt during a knife-throwing performance. Frog and Ezeckial use a stolen phonograph to help Autry lip sync when his voice goes out. Frog stages a mouth-foaming pretend rabies attack in order to help steal said phonograph. I personally found something really darkly funny about the idea that Autry has to perform for “a group of fans”, and that if he sounds enough like himself he will not be killed.
The substance of the film is pretty much all in the musical numbers, which are all perfectly fine, and in the case of the bicycle number pretty funny. This is nothing grand, but it’s sweet and unpretentious.
Oh, Susanna, 1936
While on a train, Gene Autry (as himself) is accosted by the villainous Wolf Benson (Boothe Howard), who trades outfits with the singing cowboy and throws him off of the train. Arrested as Wolf, Autry must find a way to escape the hangman’s rope, with the help of friends Frog (Smiley Burnette) and Ezeckial (Earle Hodgins).
This is a very slight, light-hearted vehicle for the singing cowboy.
As you might expect from a movie where a singer plays themselves, this film is plot strung together in a way to move the viewer from one song setpiece to another. Fortunately, the characters are likable and the musical numbers are pleasant enough (and the runtime is short enough) that it doesn’t get old or irritating.
This is the epitome of low-stakes, gentle entertainment, the kind of movie you might put on over and over in the background while you do house chores. My favorite musical number was one performed by Frog and Ezeckial where Frog in gentle drag bemoans the infidelity of bicycle riding men.
Along the way there are also plenty of hijinks. Wolf stages an outrageous murder attempt during a knife-throwing performance. Frog and Ezeckial use a stolen phonograph to help Autry lip sync when his voice goes out. Frog stages a mouth-foaming pretend rabies attack in order to help steal said phonograph. I personally found something really darkly funny about the idea that Autry has to perform for “a group of fans”, and that if he sounds enough like himself he will not be killed.
The substance of the film is pretty much all in the musical numbers, which are all perfectly fine, and in the case of the bicycle number pretty funny. This is nothing grand, but it’s sweet and unpretentious.