Customer Reviews

Rim of the Canyon [VHS]

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This is a movie in which Gene is at his best and plays a dual role. The part of himself Gene and the part of his father, Steve Autry. In this movie, Gene's horse Champion is stolen and Gene is trapped in a ghost town with a spinster schoolmarm, that turned out to be quite a beauty before the show was over. Confronting 3 escaped convicts, it is action at it's best. For those that are Gilligan Island fans, Alan Hale,Jr. plays a part in this in the first 15 minutes of the show. So for a qlimpse of a young "Skipper" and a handsome hero "Gene Autry" the good guy wearing a white hat, riding the world's greatest horse, "Champion", watch this movie. Champion does a bit of acting in this one himself! You will see the worlds greatest cowboy, singer and entertainer save the day and win his lady's hand!!! Let your kids watch too. They still need a hero like Gene Autry!!!

Shortly after Gene Autry returned to the world of Western filmmaking following his wartime service, he left Republic Pictures, moving with his production company to Columbia where he enjoyed the greater fiscal capabilities of the larger studio, as can plainly be observed in this well-made melodrama that is marked by strong contributions from all involved, and that offers a storyline having precedence over Autry's former bedrock singing scenes, of which there are but two examples in this piece. Gene plays a double role, incorporating flashbacks as his sheriff father Steve who, 20 years prior, had arrested a trio of stagecoach bandits that are now prison escapees and have returned to their former hunting grounds, in the area where Gene owns a spread, to regain their secreted loot, and before this briskly-paced film has come to its closing, we may enjoy a scenario featuring an exciting stage coach race, a ghost ( naturally residing in a ghost town), a rampaging herd of wild horses, excellent stunt work, a romance (for which a homely schoolteacher abruptly blossoms), along with gunplay and superb horsemanship. The original story penned by Joseph Chadwick and published in the long-running pulp magazine "Western Aces" is adapted to a script by John K. Butler that improves upon it, adding elements that match the skills of those involved, including director John English who further tightens the work, cinematographer William Bradford, notable cameraman of equine fare, editor Aaron Stell (TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD) who works closely with English, George Montgomery, whose designs are moodily effective for the ghost town interiors, Russell Malmgren with noteworthy sound mixing, in addition to the duo of Paul Malcolm (makeup) and Beth Langston (coiffeurs) who successfully bring about a metamorphosis of Ruth (Nan Leslie) from a plain, lovelorn spinster into an actual beauty; Leslie is impressive, as are future cinema Tarzan Jock Mahoney and rugged Walter Sande as hold-up men, and there are fine turns from old hands Thurston Hall, Alan Hale Jr., Clem Bevans, John McKee, Francis McDonald and Denver Pyle, while Champion Jr. must not be ignored, the Tennessee Walker's actions being fundamental to plot development.

ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES I HAVE SEEN TO-DATE. HAVE 19 GENE AUTRY MOVIES AND THEY JUST KEEP GETTING BETTER AND BETTER. HE WAS GREAT IN HIS EARLY MOVIES AND JUST KEPT GETTING BETTER THE OLDER HE GOT.