With many of Gene Autry's pictures taking place in the 'modern' era, it's only fitting that modern methods be used to tell the story. Consequently, cattle rustlers resort to spotter planes, short wave radio and refrigerated trucks not only to steal cattle, but butcher them and load the meat out before anyone can figure out how it's being done. With the times passing him by, old time sheriff Matt Doniphon (William Farnum) is approached to resign in favor of the Quackenbush Detective Agency, using the latest in scientific criminology techniques to put an end to cattle rustling in Prairie County.
Interestingly, Gene himself finds himself on the side of the old timers in this one, which is probably not the way you want to present your leading man, but he manages to make it work. With a play list of a half dozen tunes or so, "Public Cowboy No. 1" demonstrates that experience and loyalty can sometimes trump innovation.
The one to watch in this picture is Gene's sidekick Smiley Burnette. His character, Frog Millhouse goes for more slapstick than usual, with an unusual opening scene where he's riding on his horse backwards with a goofy mask on the back of his head. It's distracting enough by itself, and you're left wondering quite a while what's up with that until Gene finishes his first song, 'Wanderers of the Wasteland'. Later on, Smiley dangles from a meat hook, trapped in the back of a meat packing truck, and takes a swipe at Oriental Detective Charlie Chan with his rendition of 'The Defective Detective From Brooklyn'. One thing about that meat hook scene - after Smiley falls off the truck, there's no longer a hole in the back of his jacket!
There shouldn't be any doubt about the picture's eventual outcome. Gene and his cowboy posse track down villain Shannon (Arthur Loft) and his bad guy bunch, and manages to win over the pretty editor of the Prairie Junction Courier (Ann Rutherford). For their part, the methods of the Quackenbush Agency turn out to be all wet, and you have to hand it to Smiley and pal Stubby (Frankie Marvin). As a pair of would be cattle rustling detectives, it turns out they did their best work under cow-ver.
Interestingly, Gene himself finds himself on the side of the old timers in this one, which is probably not the way you want to present your leading man, but he manages to make it work. With a play list of a half dozen tunes or so, "Public Cowboy No. 1" demonstrates that experience and loyalty can sometimes trump innovation.
The one to watch in this picture is Gene's sidekick Smiley Burnette. His character, Frog Millhouse goes for more slapstick than usual, with an unusual opening scene where he's riding on his horse backwards with a goofy mask on the back of his head. It's distracting enough by itself, and you're left wondering quite a while what's up with that until Gene finishes his first song, 'Wanderers of the Wasteland'. Later on, Smiley dangles from a meat hook, trapped in the back of a meat packing truck, and takes a swipe at Oriental Detective Charlie Chan with his rendition of 'The Defective Detective From Brooklyn'. One thing about that meat hook scene - after Smiley falls off the truck, there's no longer a hole in the back of his jacket!
There shouldn't be any doubt about the picture's eventual outcome. Gene and his cowboy posse track down villain Shannon (Arthur Loft) and his bad guy bunch, and manages to win over the pretty editor of the Prairie Junction Courier (Ann Rutherford). For their part, the methods of the Quackenbush Agency turn out to be all wet, and you have to hand it to Smiley and pal Stubby (Frankie Marvin). As a pair of would be cattle rustling detectives, it turns out they did their best work under cow-ver.