Gene Autry: Riders in the Sky [1949] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

Customer Reviews:

"Gene Autry B-Western Series ... Riders in the Sky (1949) ... Image Ent. (2007)".......2007-11-29

Columbia Pictures present "RIDERS IN THE SKY" (29 November 1949) (71 mins/B&W) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) --- relive those thrilling days when the "First Singing Cowboy" Gene Autry took us down the dusty trails with hard riding and straight shooting hitting the bull's eye with excitement every time --- the Gene Autry series of B-Westerns were a staple of Saturday matinees in the 1930s and 1940s --- The Following Segments are from the "Melody Ranch Theater", which originally aired on the Nashville Network in 1987 --- Hosted by Gene and longtime sidekick Pat Buttram the program showcased many of Gene's classic motion pictures and featured personal anecdotes about how the films were made --- Information on costars and significant happenings in Gene's personal life and career. --- don't miss any of the Singing Cowboy's features loaded with action and songs that will leave you wanting more of Gene Autry's B-Western Adventures --- The sale of this DVD will further the educational and cultural mission of the renowned "Autry National Center in Los Angeles".

Under Jon English (Director), Armand Schaefer (Producer), Gerald Geraghty (Screenwriter), Herbert A. Woodbury (Short Story Author), William Bradford (Cinematographer), Mischa Bakaleinikoff (Musical Direction/Supervision), Jimmie Davis (Songwriter), Stan Jones (Songwriter), Paul Mertz (Musical Direction/Supervision), Henry Batista (Editor), Harold H. MacArthur (Art Director), George Cooper (Sound/Sound Designer) - - - - - our story line and plot, Gene opens the film with the song "Ghost Riders In the Sky" as he and his ranch hands herd cattle --- When Gene's cowboys question the origin of the song, Gene relates the legend of how rancher Ralph Lawson (Steve Darrell) was accused of the shooting of a gambler in the border town of Desert Wells, Old Pop Roberts (Tom London) and other witnesses are threatened when they attempt to testify Lawson shot in self defense --- When Lawson is convicted Gene as an investigator for the county attorney and his pal chuckwalla (Pat Buttram) try to help Lawson's daughter Anne (Gloria Henry) clear her father's name --- The hit ballad literally comes alive at the end as the ghostly riders, led by Pop Roberts, echo across the songfielled sky, as a fitting tribute to Tom London, the greatest of B-Western character actors and among the most memorable moments in B-Western history --- the power of the music asserts itself and the cinematography comes alive in high contrast black and white photography -- The old timers' face becomes epic, stark, and deeply moving so poetically powerful is this scene -- Tom London who plays the dying prospector tells Gene that the "Ghost Riders" are coming after him -- Gene goes to the window and looks out to see the image of shadowy riders coming through the clouds -- At this point, Gene sings the song and even today, when I look up into a stormy sky, the song comes immediately to mind --- Tom London, who had appeared in several Republic films as Sunset Carson's sidekick, has said that this particular scene got him other parts in films and television --- Both Gene and Partner Pat Buttram agreed that Tom London "stole the whole picture" - - - - - - some wonderful tunes, GHOST RIDERS IN THE SKY (Gene Autry and Studio Singers), THE COWBOY'S LAMENT (Gene Autry), GHOST RIDERS IN THE SKY (Gene Autry and Studio Singers), IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE NOW (Gene Autry), GHOST RIDERS IN THE SKY (Gene Autry and Studio Singers) - - - - - - some Autry fun facts, Gene always preferred his sponsor's product, Wrigley's Doublemint Gum, to smoking -- According to a 1948 Life magazine article, "if [Gene's records] were all shipped to one place, [they] would make up a freight train solid with Western songs and be more than a mile long.".

the cast includes
Gene Autry ... Gene Autry
Champion ... Gene's "World's Wonder Horse" Champion
Gloria Henry ... Anne Lawson
Pat Buttram ... 'Chuckwalla' Jones
Mary Beth Hughes ... Saloon girl Julie
Robert Livingston ... 'Rock' McCleary
Steve Darrell ... Ralph Lawson
Alan Hale Jr. ... Marshal Riggs
Tom London ... Old Man Roberts
Hank Patterson ... Stage Driver
Ben Welden ... Bartender Dave
Dennis Moore ... Henchman Bud Dwyer
Joseph Forte ... Engineer Agnew (as Joe Forte)
Kenne Duncan ... Henchman Travis
Frank Jaquet ... Coroner
Roy Gordon ... District Attorney J.B. Galloway
Loie Bridge ... Stagecoach Passenger
Cactus Mack ... Barfly
Kermit Maynard ... Knife-Wielding Henchman
Bud Osborne ... Juror
Sandy Sanders ... Sandy
Robert Walker ... Townsman

BIOS:
1. Gene Autry
Date of Birth: 29 September 1907 - Near Tioga, Texas
Date of Death: 2 October 1998 - Studio City, Los Angeles, California

Special footnote, Orvon Gene Autry was an American performer who gained fame as "The Singing Cowboy" on the radio, in movies and on television --- Discovered by film producer Nat Levine in 1934, he and Burnette made their film debut for Mascot Pictures Corp. "In Old Santa Fe" as part of a singing cowboy quartet; he was then given the starring role by Levine in 1935 in the 12-part serial "The Phantom Empire" --- Shortly thereafter, Mascot was absorbed by the formation of Republic Pictures Corp. and Autry went along to make a further 44 films up to 1940, all B westerns in which he played under his own name, rode his horse Champion, had Burnette as his regular sidekick and had many opportunities to sing in each film --- Autry became the top Western star at the box-office by 1937, reaching his national peak of popularity from 1940 to 1942. His Gene Autry Flying "A" Ranch Rodeo show debuted in 1940 --- Gene Autry is the only celebrity to have five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one in each of the five categories maintained by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce --- Radio, Films, Recordings, Television and Live Theater.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
1. Reminiscing with Gene Autry and Pat Buttram at the "Melody Ranch Theater"
2. "Don't Touch That Dial", Gene Autry is on the air - excerpts from the Original "Melody Ranch Radio Show"
3. Production and Publicity Stills
4. Horseplay
5. Poster and lobby Card Art
6. Trivia and Movie Facts
7. Original Press Kit Material
8. Centennial Bonus - Cliffhanger Serial "Phantom Empire": Chapter 6 - "Disaster from the Skies"

Check out a new book from Empire Publishing - "GENE AUTRY WESTERNS" (Hardcover) - by author Boyd Magers, like no other book on Gene Autry --- all of Gene's Mascot, Republic and Columbia westerns included, as well as his half-hour TV Episodes --- each segment contains the release date on each film ... major production credits ... complete cast (including character played) ... all songs included, songwriter and who performed them in the film ... running time of each film ... dates of the filming ... bios on the cast and major players (Smiley, Pat Buttram, Cass County Boys, Herbert J. Yates, directors, leading ladies, songwriters and various heavies, etc.) ... locations that were used ... budgets and negative cost ... stunt people involved ... analysis and synopsis on each film ... notes and comments (including film and cast background info, salaries paid, working titles, etc) ... comments from Gene and many other cast members on each film ... theater exhibitors comments at the time of the films release ...this tribute was written from the heart and it shows.

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc) and Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") as they have rekindled my interest once again for B-Westerns and Serials --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and B-Westerns ... order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on DVD --- stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with musical songs and adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out Image Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 71 min on DVD ~ Image Entertainment ~ (11/20/2007)

DVD:

DVD List

DVD