Sagebrush Troubadour

Gene Autry and Smiley Burnette are trying to figure out who murdered Frank Martin. They have two pieces of evidence to serve as clues: a broken guitar string and Martin's old swayback horse. Daughter Barbara Pepper is in town for the first time in years. She's Martin's principal heir. Martin's adopted son, J. Frank Glendon, is next in line, followed by lawyer Hooper Atchley. Those are good reasons for murder, and for more deaths. But why does everyone want the horse?

There are eight musical numbers, and Burnette demonstrates his musical versatility in "Lookin' For The Lost Chord". Fred Kelsey is on hand, not playing a comic law man for a change, and the movie proceeds at a good clip under Joseph Kane, aided by a good and efficient editing pace by Joseph H. Lewis and Lester Orleback. There are a couple of good stunt sequences enacted by Joe Yrigoyen. Overall, this is a good little B Western, and far superior to the usual slothful offerings by Gower Gulch. It's clear that Republic had a winning combination in the starring and production team.