Rating: NR
Genre:
Western
Release Date: 11/20/2007
Sound: DD1
Run Time: 77 Minutes
Flags: Excellent For Children, Suitable for Children
Distributor/Studio: Image
Dissatisfied with his postwar
Republic westerns (not to mention his comparatively low salary),
Gene Autry switched his base of operations to
Columbia in 1947, where he wore two hats as both star and producer.
Autry's first
Columbia effort,
The Last Round-Up, is a vast improvement over the
Republics that preceded it. The story finds
Autry arranging for an impoverished Indian tribe to move from their desolate reservation to a more fertile and attractive location. Understandably, the Indians doubt
Autry's motives, having been previously burned by such usurping crooks as Mr. Mason (
Ralph Morgan) and his son Matt (
Mark Daniels). Once
Autry has convinced the Indians that he's on their side, he must contend with the Masons' murderous minions. In the course of events,
Gene Autry sings five songs, several of them directed to pert leading lady
Jean Heather. Featured among the Indian characters is little
Bobby Blake, a recent graduate of
Republic's "
Red Ryder" series. Some of the action highlights in
The Last Round-Up were lifted from the 1940
Columbia "A" western
Arizona.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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