Included as an extra on the 2nd disc of the 2-disc VCI "Phantom Empire", "Boots and Saddles" is a 53-minute B-western that is apparently typical of Autry's work after the serial for the 18 years (1935-1953) that he was a regular film actor. Autry made dozens and dozens of these short features, playing himself typically and working through plots that were probably hackneyed even then.Gene's the foreman of a ranch named - you guessed it - Gene Autry, who happens to be - are you shocked? - just as good with a guitar and yodel as with a horse and sixgun. The ranch's owner has died and his spoiled English-raised bratty adolescent kid has come to take over, and plans to sell it. After a ride on the range with Gene though the boy changes his mind, thus putting a snag in the plans of the villain of the piece, Jim Neill (Bill Elliott) who wanted to raise horses to sell to the army. Gene decides to do the same thing himself and also runs afoul of the army colonel (Guy Usher) in charge of buying horses, and his lovely daughter (Judith Allen) who of course gets some romancin'. Some decent riding sequences, a couple of very brief and bloodless gunfights, Smiley Burnett on hand for some slapstick, and lots of songs. It moves along nicely and is competently put together, but if this in fact is one of the better Autry westerns, I probably won't be seeking out a lot of the other 90 or so out there....

Boots and Saddles finds Gene Autry the foreman of a ranch that is inherited by young Ronald Sinclair, the Earl of Granville. His father owned the ranch and passed away and the son comes over from the United Kingdom. A lot of British folks came over and did buy property in the American west, the most known probably is Henry Tunstall, patron of Billy the Kid and who got killed in the Lincoln County War.Anyway the young Earl under Gene's tutelage becomes a real cowboy, but the ranch has problems until Gene comes up with an idea to break and sell horses to the cavalry. Unfortunately Gordon Elliott also has the same idea and he's pretty ruthless about getting what he wants. Yes, that's the same Gordon Elliott who later became Wild Bill Elliott, a cowboy hero of no mean proportion later on.Judith Allen plays the colonel's daughter and some of the romantic capers that she and Autry engage in is very similar to what later went on with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Smiley Burnette is around also for laughs because he certainly doesn't help Autry too much. He has some funny moments when he almost gets enlisted in the army after trying to locate Gene on the army post.Gene has some good songs to sing, topped off by the cowboy standard Take Me Back to my Boots and Saddles. He also sang a song called The One Rose which was a Hawaiian number oddly enough and a million selling record for Bing Crosby the year before. Crosby also recorded the title song and another version of it in my collection is by concert baritone John Charles Thomas.Boots and Saddles is one of the better Autry westerns that Republic put out and it still is enjoyable.

Gene Autry takes a young English aristocrat under his wing, Edward the Earl of Granby, and quickly nicknames him 'Spud' after the boy's father. Starting out one gets the impression that Spud will use his nobility to be a royal pain, but he soon warms up to Gene and his sidekick Frog (Smiley Burnette) after Gene saves him from a runaway bronco. The Earl has arrived out West with the intention of selling the working ranch that he's inherited, but changes his mind when he takes a liking to Gene's plan to round up range horses and train them for the military.The film's villain Jim Neale has other plans though, he would like to get his hands on Spud's ranch to expand his own operation. Neale is portrayed by a mustachioed and smarmy looking Gordon Elliott, soon before he came to be known as Wild Bill and a cowboy hero in his own right. The showdown occurs when Army Colonel Allen (Guy Usher) agrees to a race between Gene's white hats against Neale's black hats, with the winner to be awarded the military contract. The Colonel's daughter (Judith Allen) is the film's romantic interest, and tries to have some fun getting even with Gene for an earlier encounter.There's a neat scene when two of Neale's henchmen take off after Gene on horseback; Gene leaps up to break off a tree limb and uses it to trip up both men's horses. I'd really be curious as to how they managed to film that, as both horses took a heavy spill to dismount their riders.Smiley Burnette manages to take center stage a number of times in the story, getting caught up in a marching drill, and launching a military charge as he runs through a medley of trumpet solos. Later he gets to ham it up in a bicycle race with one of the baddies after they lose their mounts in the horse race.As expected, Gene Autry saves the day for Spud and his ranch by crossing the finish line just ahead of bad guy Neale. The film ends as it began, with Gene crooning a tune, this time with the pretty Miss Allen riding by his side.

This is a typical early Gene Autry western which means it is above average for a B oater. There are half a dozen musical numbers in the film, most of them sung by Gene. Frog does get to sing one of his own compositions "Dusty Roads," which is always a treat. The song title was apropos since the film was made during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Smiley was a much better musician and songwriter than he was a comic. The show is filled with the usual amount of Republic action. Republic stunts and special effects were always top of the line for its day, an exciting horse race toward the end is a good example. The audience was never disappointed. There is even a bicycle chase added for variety. Gene's movies were almost always "modern" westerns, which meant they often had automobiles, telephones, radios and other such 20th century gadgets.The story is not bad. A British heir to the ranch where Gene and Frog work arrives to sell the place. He is a youngster who looks like a dude. To Gene and Frog's surprise the dude, called Spud after his father's nickname, turns out to be a driver and a skilled horseman. Gene takes him under his wing and persuades him not to sell. Enter Gordon Elliott, who not long after wards would become Wild Bill Elliott and rival Gene at the box office. Elliott plays the villain. With his sneaky looks and mustache, he comes across as a Snidely Whiplash type that was popular in the melodramas of the silent era. Seems he is selling horses to the cavalry and wants the British heir's horse ranch to extend his domain. Gene and Frog turn the tables and convince Spud who looks like Little Lord Fauntleroy at first to sell his horses and get the ranch out of debt. Col. Allen, the cavalry horse buyer, has a beautiful daughter, Bernice, who pretends to be a housemaid to get back at Gene for a run-in on the trail. One humorous part has Bernice telling Gene that the Colonel is hard of hearing and so has to be yelled at. The Colonel is told that Gene is the one who is hard of hearing and has to be yelled at. This leads to a few funny scenes between the two. The rest of the film involves Gene trying to save the ranch for Spud from his arch rival Elliott.Even Frog is not as silly as usual. There is one hilarious part where Frog shows Spud how he can blow the bugle they found in an army tent. Spud finds a music book for Frog to go by and Smiley starts blowing up a storm. Unintentionally Frog's blowing mobilizes the entire cavalry unit who mount their horses and charge into battle.See this film if you're looking for a good singing cowboy picture or if you're one of Gene's many fans.