Beyond the Purple Hills (1950) User Reviews

Who shot the judge? Gene Autry to the rescue.

[michaelRokeefe · 5/10 · 6 August 2006]

The purple hills are rocky hills and not enough to stop Sheriff Gene Autry. During a bank robbery, the sheriff is shot and Judge Beaumont(Roy Gordon)appoints Gene the new sheriff. Stumble-bum Mike Rawley(Pat Buttram)arrives in town and volunteers to help Gene. Jack Beaumont(Hugh O'Brian)is the town's bad boy and has trouble living a responsible life and is easily blamed for the murder of his father the judge. Gene in spite of not liking Jack, is willing to prove his innocence. Pretty busy story that keeps most of Autry's films very watchable and fun to boot.

Also starring are: Jo-Carroll Dennison, James Millican and Don Kay. Gene gets to sing a few songs with the best being: "Dear Hearts and Gentle People" and "Beyond the Purple Hills". And along with the World's Wonder horse Champion, there is a Champion Jr.

"Better to have me slap you around than have somebody bore a hole in ya".

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 17 February 2008]

This has all the look of a hastily patched together story, but for Gene Autry fans it's a pretty quick paced and entertaining flick that brings together a number of familiar faces. Pat Buttram shows up not quite mid-way through following a dust up between Gene and a young Hugh O'Brian!, and goes by the name of Mike Rawley, which seems somewhat unusual to me since he usually went by Pat in Autry's Westerns, at least in the TV series. Buttrams' character gets some mileage out of a running gag involving Gene's horse Champion and Champ Jr., which entices him to swear off the bottle. That actually seemed a little bold to this viewer, to have a good guy sidekick admit to having one too many.

O'Brian's character is the kind of guy that if this was a biker movie, he'd be the lead tough guy. Except that Gene shoves him around without too much trouble and really isn't challenged by him all that much. Jack Beaumont (O'Brian) winds up getting framed for his own father's murder, but one needn't expand on that too much since that's a staple element in dozens of 'B' Westerns. The guys doing the framing (James Millican and Don Beddoe) wind up getting smoked out by Gene, as Rawley is continuously amazed by all the 'firsts' he experiences as Gene's deputy. And to think, Gene didn't even check his resume.

This film finally forced me to get to the bottom of a nickname I've been wondering about for some time. In the story, the character Chip Beaumont, young brother of Jack, is portrayed by a teenage actor named Don Reynolds, who's often credited as 'Brown Jug'. At least in this picture he was; in even earlier films he's listed as 'Little Brown Jug'. Reynolds was the son of a horse trainer and rodeo performer, and made his own rodeo debut at only three years old! The Reynolds family members all had nicknames, he had cousins named Blackie and Whitie, so Don became Brownie. His father was visiting a man in Texas, and right as they were walking through the door, the Glenn Miller song 'Little Brown Jug' was playing on the radio. The man exclaimed that here was Fess (Reynolds' Dad) and Little Brown Jug. So now you know the story too!

Keep your eyes open and stay attentive during the story and you'll pick up on a couple of novelties you probably haven't seen before. In the first half of the picture, Gene gets involved with some bank robbers, and the second guy he shoots on horseback throws his right leg over the saddle to his left side before falling off his horse; I guess he didn't want to hurt himself! The other has to do with Autry's final showdown against bad guy Rocky Morgan (Millican). Morgan attempts to shoot at Gene aboard Champion, and as Champ bucks up on his hind legs, he knocks Rocky's gun out of his hand! You know, I never realized it, but Champion is a fantastic looking animal, and for whatever reason, it's strikingly noticeable in this film.

You can have some fun with this one, it breezes by pretty quickly and packs a lot of action into it's sixty nine minute run time. Gene characteristically knocks out a couple tunes, one of which comprises the title song - "Beyond The Purple Hills".

An Unruly Kid

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 31 May 2011]

Future television Wyatt Earp Hugh O'Brian plays the unruly son of Judge Roy Gordon who is at his wit's end with him. He plans to disinherit him and a couple of unscrupulous characters use that estrangement to shoot and kill Gordon and frame O'Brian for the crime. But before he died Gordon appointed Gene Autry the acting sheriff after these same characters killed sheriff Harry Harvey in a bank robbery.

Gene arrests O'Brian on the circumstantial evidence, but doesn't believe he did it and is working to clear him. But O'Brian also has a case of the green-eyed monster as he sees Autry a rival for Jo-Carroll Dennison.

This Columbia Autry western moves at a nice pace and Gene proves quite the clever detective in this one. We know who has done the deed, the entertainment is watching Gene get these guys to trip themselves up.

The music is kept to minimum here as Gene sings the title song Beyond The Purple Hills and a big current hit Dear Hearts and Gentle People. Dinah Shore and Bing Crosby had the big sellers of that one, but Gene's singing of it is pretty good.

Definitely a good one for Autry fans.

Pretty good for one of Gene's later films.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 5 March 2023]

I've seen nearly every Gene Autry film and have noticed that generally the quality of the location shoot and cinematography in his later movies for Columbia really excel. However, these later films also are fare less exciting than his earlier Republic movies. Fortunately, "Beyond the Purple Hills" is one of his better later films.

In this story, the sheriff is killed and Gene is appointed the new sheriff...with Mike (Pat Buttram) as the deputy. However, Gene soon hates his new job as he must arrest a friend for murdering his father! But, he insists on doing his job...even if he believes the guy is innocent. So, he also acts like a detective and investigates to prove his friend isn't a killer.

The film isn't bad at all and is entertaining throughout. With fewer songs, it also seems well paced and isn't bogged down by too many numbers. Overall, an interesting plot and some nice Lone Pine location shooting.

Horse Trainer Turns Detective

[Henchman_Number1 · 6/10 · 25 September 2021]

After the town sheriff is killed during a bank robbery Gene Autry is pressed into service by town Judge Beaumont to replace him. When Beaumont himself is found murdered, his hot-headed estranged son Jack (Hugh O'Brian) becomes the chief suspect. Gene who doesn't believe Jack murdered his father sets out to solve the crime with his newly appointed deputy Mike Rawley (Pat Buttram).

The John English directed post-war westerns are some of the best that Gene ever did. Usually featuring more location shooting and less emphasis on the musical numbers. The slightly longer run times allowed for a little more in depth plot lines and just generally enjoyed higher production values.

Good entry into the Gene Autry series.

Excellent action and stunting in this Autry

[corporalko · 8/10 · 30 December 2015]

Gene Autry is appointed acting sheriff when the regular starpacker is killed by fleeing bank robbers. He has to deal with a "wild kid" (Hugh O'Brian) who is the judge's son, and jails him after the judge is found shot to death in his office. O'Brian didn't do it, and Gene is pretty sure he didn't, but he maintains a facade of O'Brian being the chief suspect to try to smoke out the real killers -- which he does in the end, of course.

This film moves at a more brisk pace than some Autrys, has more, and more skilfully done, action, and shows Gene Autry as a more stern, take-no-crap figure than he did in some of his films. Pat Buttram shows up some time into the movie, and after helping Autry with a saloon fight where he is outnumbered, becomes his sidekick and deputy. Pat's ongoing comic routine involving Champion and Champ Jr. does get a little tiresome, though.

However, Gene shows his special affection for his horse, and pony, while putting them through their "performance" paces, and both animals demonstrate "personality" in a way that cowboys' four-legged companions seldom do.

This is a different Gene Autry, and I highly recommend it. Its release date (1950) was part of the 1948-1951 time period when Gene made what were probably the best B-Westerns of that era, when they were starting to head for the "Last Roundup."

Wanted anyplace? No, but there's plenty of places I ain't wanted.

[frank4122 · 10/10 · 15 April 2020]

How many movies can you find Gene Autry, Wyatt Earp, Mr. Haney from Green Acres, and Miss America? The sheriff (Harry Harvey) is killed in a bank robbery but the action really starts when Hugh O'Brian is framed for the murder of the judge (Roy Gordon). The top beauty and talent in America, Jo-Carroll Dennison is stuck between her uncle (Don Beddoe) and Autry. Younger brother (Don Reynolds) and villain James Millican, play their parts well as turncoats against Sheriff Gene. Kermit Maynard, Sandy Sanders and the stunt crew were extraordinary. Then there's the most beloved man in television history, Pat Buttram as Autry's sidekick with the outstanding comic relief.