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Reviews
Blue Montana Skies (1939)
The theme song keeps ringing in my ears
Gene Autry was way ahead of his time in almost every way. If you watch enough of his movies and The Gene Autry show you will see many actors and actresses who went on to be stars in their own right. These include such giants as Clayton Moore (The Lone Ranger), Jimmy Durante, and, of course Gail Davis who went on to star in the Annie Oakley series.
Also notice his relationship with women, which was way ahead of its time, as well as his treatment of "minorities", such as the Mexican young men, and others in his movies and TV show---way ahead of his time. Take, for example, his speech to the children in the school house about the Mexican boy being as American as the rest of the children.
But far more important than the people who came up through Gene Autry, is the music that came from Gene Autry. The show on the top 40 rated Gene as one of the top 40 most important country/western singers/songwriters. Roy Rogers did not make that list, but his wife, Dale Evans, did with her song "Happy Trails to You until we meet again", which was rated the number one country/western song of all time, and rightly so. Gene's "Back in the Saddle Again", my favorite of all time, was also rated very high.
The song "Blue Skies of Montana", which is early in the show, is, to me, a classic that I find myself humming a lot. Maybe that has something to do with the time we spend in Montana, but I really doubt that is the reason.
Those that rank Gene Autry's movies low have no understanding of his pioneer role in movies. Gene was a star long before modern technology and acting provided the modern movies today, which are, arguably, better movies. To compare Gene's movies to those that followed him and built on his genius is absolutely wrong. That's like comparing an F16 to the Wright Bros. airplane.
I would encourage voters to remember the times, place, and technology, as well as the type that Gene set, before giving him a low score.
Gene Autry is the ONLY Hollywood star to ever get five stars on the Hollywood walk of fame. No one else will probably ever get that kind of recognition for their work in show business.