On Top Of Old Smoky (1953)
Director:
George Archainbaud
Writers:
Gerald Geraghty (story), Gerald Geraghty (screenplay)
Stars:
Gene Autry, Champion, Gail Davis
Gene Autry's second 1953 entry, On Top of Old Smoky casts Autry more or less as himself, a travelling balladeer. The story gets under way when Autry and his back-up vocalists are mistaken for a group of Texas Rangers. Not wishing to disappoint anyone, Gene agrees to help heroine Jen Larrabee (Gail Davis, later TV's "Annie Oakley") protect her toll road against villainous prospectors. The big-money scene occurs during the closing reel, wherein Gene and the bad guys duke it out atop a burning railroad trestle. Smiley Burnette co-stars as Autry's sidekick, while Burnette's wife Sheila Ryan plays a secondary role.