This feature film from 1936 is a B-movie Western directed by Joseph Kane and starring Texas native Gene Autry. In Old Corral, Autry plays the sheriff of a small town in California called Turquoise City. While pursuing a band of highway thieves, he meets Eleanor, a nightclub singer from Chicago on the run after witnessing a mob murder. The film also stars Smiley Burnette, Irene Manning (as Hope Manning), Cornelius Keefe, and John Bradford. Roy Rogers, soon to make his feature-film debut as a singing cowboy like Autry, also makes a bit appearance with the Sons of the Pioneers.
Orvon Grover Autry, better known as Gene Autry, was born in Tioga, Texas on September 29, 1907. He rose to fame as “The Singing Cowboy” in radio, television, and film. Autry started his recording career in 1929 when he signed with Columbia Records, ultimately releasing several hits including his signature song “Back in the Saddle Again,” as well as numerous Christmas songs, such as “Here Comes Santa Claus” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” In 1934, Autry was discovered by film producer Nat Levine, after which he made numerous B-movie Westerns through the 1950s. From 1940 to 1956, Autry also had his own CBS radio show called “Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch.” Beginning in 1950, Autry produced and starred in his own television show on CBS, “The Gene Autry Show,” which aired 91 episodes. Autry retired from show business in 1964, having made almost 100 films and over 600 records. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1969 and 1970, respectively. Autry is also the only person to have five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one in each of the five categories: motion pictures, radio, recording, television, and live theater. Autry died of lymphoma on October 2, 1988, aged 91, in Studio City, California.