Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride

Back in the 1930s-40s, one cliche that was familiar in B-westerns was the inexplicably angry woman. They appeared most frequently in Gene Autry films, though Roy Rogers and other screen cowboys also used this overused plot device. I say overused because these characters were difficult to believe and seemed to say that the liberated women of the day were actually in need of a strong man to show them the error of their ways! Feminists watching the films today might just have a heart attack if they watch the movies with this plot!! As for me, I just hated the characters because they were more caricatures than believable women.

Shortly after the movie begins, the woman who owns a ranch meets Gene and is incredibly angry and hates him...even though she just met him. Well, it turns out she owns the ranch for which Gene works and with little provocation, she fires him. This is a mistake, as she soon finds out that Gene is the inheritor of a packing company wants to buy...and her boorish behavior makes this purchase seem very, very unlikely.

In addition to this plot, a kooky teenager who is a runaway from a girls school is telling people she's Mrs. Autry...Gene's wife!! Now considering that the actress (Mary Lee) was 16 and looked about 13 or 14, this is pretty creepy! Oh, and did I mention that this kooky teen is the sister of the woman who was so insulting towards Gene earlier in the movie?!

Despite the disturbing infatuation the teen had on Gene as well as the very stereotypical angry sister, this film managed to overcome its deficits. Much of it is because the story itself is very good and the characters quite likable....albeit creepy!