The Old West

"The Old West" is a Gene Autry film he made towards the tail end of his career. So, instead of the youthful guy you see in his early pictures, here he's a middle-aged cowboy hero.

The story begins with a religious service and soon a wagon master begins to narrate the story...letting you know what happened leading up to this meeting. It seems that the town has been lawless and full of riffraff for some time...all thanks to Doc (Lyle Talbot). This jerk wants to control everything...including who supplies the stage coach line with horses. And, ultimately this all comes down to 'the big race'...which is pretty much the theme of an earlier Roy Rogers film, "Man From Oklahoma".

The film has a sort of vague religious message that likely won't satisfy religious viewers but won't offend others. It's odd how a preacher in the film talks and talks and preaches...yet never mentions God or the Bible or anything that is actually religious! I understand why they did it...they didn't want to drive away viewers. But it also comes off as a bit hard to believe.

So is the rest of the film any good? Well, it's not bad...but certainly not a masterpiece. I noticed one reviewer called it this...and I'm glad they enjoyed it. But I just think Gene made far better films than this rather run of the mill picture.