Beyond the Purple Hills

Storyline

Beyond the Purple Hills, In a typical western (movie) town (possibly described as ‘hick’ by someone who possibly hasn’t seen the film) Gene Autry and his friend Jack Beaumont are present when the bank is robbed and Sheriff Whiteside is killed. Judge Beaumont, Jack’s father, appoints Gene the new sheriff. When Jack learns that his father is making a new will in his disfavor, they quarrel and Jack leaves under suspicious circumstances. Rocky Morgan who has been swindling the judge murders him and Gene has to jail his friend, who thinks Gene is double crossing him. But Gene has a plan to clear Jack.

An Unruly Kid

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.

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