Riders in the Sky (1949)

Director:

John English

Writers:

Herbert A. Woodbury (story)
Gerald Geraghty (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 February 1953 (West Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music | Western

Tagline:

Gene and Champion Ride To Glory!... as the range echoes to the stirring strains of the great cowboy ballad!

Plot:

When asked about the Ghost Riders song he sings, Gene Autry (Gene Autry) tells this legend: Gene...

Plot Keywords:

Self Defense | Ranch | Legend | Rancher | Investigator

Cast

Gene Autry	...	Gene Autry
Champion	...	Champ, Gene's Horse
Gloria Henry	...	Anne Lawson
Pat Buttram	...	'Chuckwalla'
Mary Beth Hughes	...	Julie Stewart
Robert Livingston	...	'Rock' McCleary
Steve Darrell	...	Ralph Lawson
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Marshal Riggs
Tom London	...	Old Man Roberts
Hank Patterson	...	Luke, Stagecoach Driver
Ben Welden	...	Bartender Dave
Dennis Moore	...	Henchman Bud Dwyer
Joseph Forte	...	Engineer Agnew (as Joe Forte)
Kenne Duncan	...	Henchman Travis
Frank Jaquet	...	Coroner
Roy Gordon	...	District Attorney J.B. Galloway
Loie Bridge	...	Stagecoach Passenger
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Victor Adamson	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Lynton Brent	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Jack Evans	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Herman Hack	...	Juror (uncredited)
Vernon Johns	...	Juror (uncredited)
Cactus Mack	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Kermit Maynard	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Alex Montoya	...	Mexican in Saloon (uncredited)
Pat O'Malley	...	Juror (uncredited)
Bud Osborne	...	Juror (uncredited)
John Parrish	...	Sam Devlin (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Juror (uncredited)
Robert Robinson	...	Croupier (uncredited)
Sandy Sanders	...	Sandy (uncredited)
Tom Smith	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Boyd Stockman	...	Guard with rifle (uncredited)
Robert Walker	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Isabel Withers	...	Galloway's secretary (uncredited)
Bob Woodward	...	Henchman (uncredited)

Directed by
John English

Writing credits
Herbert A. Woodbury		(story)
Gerald Geraghty		(screenplay)

Produced by
Armand Schaefer	....	producer
Gene Autry	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
John Leipold		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
William Bradford		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Henry Batista

Art Direction by
Harold H. MacArthur		(as Harold MacArthur)

Set Decoration by
Frank Kramer

Makeup Department
Irene Beshon	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Newt Jones	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Paul Donnelly	....	assistant director

Sound Department
George Cooper	....	sound engineer

Stunts
Kermit Maynard	....	stunts (uncredited)
Sandy Sanders	....	stunts (uncredited)
Boyd Stockman	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Don Christie	....	still photographer (uncredited)
James Goss	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Don Murphy	....	grip (uncredited)

Music Department
Mischa Bakaleinikoff	....	musical director
Paul Mertz	....	music supervisor
Joseph Dubin	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
George Duning	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Irving Gertz	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Paul Mertz	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Arthur Morton	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Heinz Roemheld	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Paul Sawtell	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Marlin Skiles	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Clarence Wheeler	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Dorothy Cumming	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Gene Autry Productions

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1949) (USA) (theatrical) (as Columbia Pictures Corporation)
• Columbia Pictures Corporation (1949) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Columbia Films (1949) (France) (theatrical)
• Parade Pictures Inc. (1957) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Columbia Films (1949) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Columbia Film Aktiebolag (1949) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Columbia Film Aktieselskap (1949) (Denmark) (theatrical)
• Kamera Film Aktieselskap (1949) (Norway) (theatrical)
• Kamera Film Aktieselskap (1949) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures Near East (1949) (Egypt) (theatrical)
• Consorzio Cinematografico (1949) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Columbia Films (1949) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures of Argentina (1949) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures of Chile (1948) (Chile) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures do Brasil (1948) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures de Cuba (1948) (Cuba) (theatrical)
• Columbia Films S. A. (1948) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures of Peru (1948) (Peru) (theatrical)
• Christiaan van der Ree (1948) (Venezuela) (theatrical)
• Medal Fim Exchange (1948) (Puerto Rico) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures of Panama (1948) (Panama) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures of Panama (1948) (Guatemala) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures of Panama (1948) (Costa Rica) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures of Panama (1948) (Honduras) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures of Panama (1948) (Nicaragua) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures of Panama (1948) (Ecuador) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures of Panama (1948) (El Salvador) (theatrical)
• Columbia Films of India (1948) (India) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures of Philippines (1948) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Columbia Films of Netherlands Indies (1948) (Netherlands Antilles) (theatrical)
• Columbia Films of Malaya (1948) (Malaysia) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures Proprietary (1948) (New Zealand) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures Proprietary (1948) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures Corporation (1956) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Columbia Films (1956) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Columbia Films (1956) (Belgium) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Columbia Pictures of Argentina (1956) (Argentina) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Consorzio Cinematografico (1956) (Italy) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Columbia Pictures Proprietary (1956) (Australia) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Columbia Pictures Proprietary (1956) (New Zealand) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Christiaan van der Ree (1956) (Venezuela) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Medal Fim Exchange (1956) (Puerto Rico) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Columbia Pictures of Panama (1956) (Panama) (theatrical) (re-release)

Other Companies

• RPG Productions  film restoration

Also Known As:

Runtime:

69 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #14063)

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Gene Autry Productions

Trivia:

Former Forest Ranger Stan Jones wrote "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky," a hit big enough that it crossed over from country-western charts to standard pop music. A chance meeting with Jones led Gene Autry to buy the rights to the song, and he gave Jones a part in the film. A nearly-complete Autry movie, "Beyond the Purple Hills," was quickly retooled to include the song. Jones himself appears as a cowboy riding herd with Autry in the opening and closing scenes, singing along with Gene's rendition of the spooky song. That same year, Vaughn Monroe had topped the charts with his version (#1 US Pop for 22 weeks). Over the years, many others have recorded it including Peggy Lee, Willie Nelson , Frankie Laine, Johnny Cash, The Marshall Tucker Band and The Doors. Stan Jones would later compose the title song to the classic TV western series "Cheyenne" (1955).

Quotes:

Chuckwalla Jones:Oh, ah, say Gene, you didn't have no trouble gettin' the, ah...
[makes money sign with thumb and forefinger]
Gene Autry:Got the money right here in my pocket - a roll big enough to choke Champ on.
Chuckwalla Jones:Oh, don't give him no ideas. He'd eat it, too, if it was green enough.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Gene Autry: White Hat, Silver Screen (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

It Makes No Difference Now

Dull programmer, redeemed by the title song and 1 powerful sequence

For the most part this is a movie only of interest to Autry enthusiasts and those who like the superb title song (around which the script was presumably cobbled together). Sure enough, the song pops up twice and is easily the film's highlight on each occasion. The way that it is sung here, with emotion and zeal, and the mythic quality of its lyrics means that it transcends the B-material in which it is embedded.

The exception to boredom is the sequence in the film where the song plays out over the stark mono images of the old timer's grizzled face (as a character he dies shortly afterwards.) For an all too brief few minutes the power of the music asserts itself and the cinematography comes alive in high contrast black and white photography. The old timers' face becomes epic, stark, and deeply moving. In fact, at the risk of sounding ridiculous, I was reminded of Eisenstein's framing of facial 'types' in his Alexander Nevsky or October. So poetically powerful is this scene that it seems to have wondered in from another, more prestigious, movie (a good Western candidate being perhaps Anthony Mann's The Furies, where such stylisation abounds).

Then like a pan handler's lucky strike, the moment of glory fades and we are back to cinematic mediocrity, and a negligible, undramatic oater of most interest to hard core fans and completists.