Gene Autry and The Mounties

The movie does a good job of emulating western Canada using the San Bernardino forest east of LA. Gene and Pat are US Marshals crossing into Canada on the trail of French-accented robbers. This gets them tangled up with the niece (Verdugo) and nephew (Frasher) of one of the robbers, and the shifting allegiances that result.

It's a more complex plot than usual, plus Gene is not the romantic interest. Also, as a marshal, Pat's hijinks are kept at a minimum except for a hefty, amorous Indian woman. The shootout at the beginning is an eye-catcher, along with some hard riding and flying fists. Then too, that bang-up, or should I say burn-up, finale is a grabber. There's a couple low-key Autry tunes, but no big production numbers. Too bad gimlet-eyed Trevor Bardette (Duval) doesn't get more screen time since he's such a scary bad guy. Anyway, it's a trusted Autry mix, done up Canadian style.

A "7" on the matinée scale.