Touches You

How sad is this?

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Looks like Republic was angling for a cross-over audience with this bigger-budget blend of comedy, romance, music, and shoot-'em-up. Comedy prevails since we get three comics ( Durante, Hayes, and Allen) instead of the usual one. In fact, in terms of screen time, Durante gets more than Gene. He also gets a number of extended routines, making him the real "center" of the show. For me at least, that's too bad because a little of his bombastic style goes a long way.The chuckles should have been left to Hayes who can help carry a story and not interrupt it. In fact, the screenplay appears an awkward cut-and-paste job, at best, which is not too surprising since not one or two, but six writers are credited! Whatever else, it's certainly not a formula Western.Instead, it's basically tongue-in-cheek. Check out bad guys Sawyer and McMahon doing a duet that's really rather charming. Or the little spoof of shoot-outs when a heedless Allen chatters her way through a supposed hail of bullets. Or a Western town named, of all things, "Torpedo". At the same time, the movie does have its moments—the great gabby Hayes and a charismatic little Mary Lee, or the trolley car rolling oddly through the desert, or an amazingly accomplished 17-year old Ann Miller. Still and all, I could have used a lot more Gene and a lot less Jimmy.

Take your #1 Box Office Star of Republic Pictures, GENE AUTRY the 'Singing Cowboy' sensation. Now insert a love interest in a very young ANN MILLER, 'Tops In Taps'. Support GENE with comedic side-kicks JIMMY DURANTE and GEORGE 'Gabby' HAYES with character actors like JEROME COWAN. Garner in a opposition more suitable too a Warner Brothers (WB) gangster film, like BARTON MacLANE, JOE SAWYER and HORACE McMAHON. Then add in the typical mixture of GENE singing and two-fisted Republic action and you have MELODY RANCH (1940).The plot is typical of a AUTRY film. Set in a West that is a cross-breed of 1890 and 1940. GENE needs to promote his Radio career, bring 'law and order' to a town gone wrong and win the girl. This is effectively done in 84" which is rather longer then the typical Republic 'oater' of the time. The interesting thing is while GENE and the rest act like this is part of the 'Old West', MacLANE, SAWYER and McMAHON perform as if they are working with CAGNEY in N.Y.C. circa 1936 at the WB.The better AUTRY's as well as the ROY ROGERS films are generally a good watch most coming in at a IMDb Six******Stars. They are entertaining and both Stars will easily transition to the new medium Television. Not surprising, since Republic's economy and speed of production was well suited as a training ground for T.V.

I was somewhat taken aback to see Jimmy Durante in this picture backing up Gene Autry. No Smiley Burnette or Pat Buttram on hand, and even though having Gabby Hayes around wasn't such a big surprise, he didn't have his usual comedic sidekick role. In fact, when you get right down to it, this picture had some fairly big name supporting players for a B Western. Barton MacLane and Ann Miller had headlined pictures of their own, and the rest of the cast were well recognized character actors of the era. It was cool to see all the disparate personalities in a film together.I got the biggest kick though out of Durante, playing up his persona as the 'man who knowses noses'. I couldn't quite figure out what the whole idea of the Nose Posse was all about, but with Durante you don't have to. He'll just misdirect you with his lively patter, like the hilarious cross examination of himself during the courtroom scene.Aside from your standard round the campfire songs, this picture also offered some lively alternative entertainment, like Ann Miller's energetic tap dance routine and the surprising duet by two thirds of the Wildhack Brothers - Sawyer (Jasper) and Horace McMahon (Bud) in a duet of 'Go Back to the City Again'. It actually sounded pretty good to my tin ear.Unusually lengthy for an Autry flick at eighty four minutes, it would have been interesting if Republic got through the entire thing without resorting to the shoot 'em up action at the finale. But that's what the matinée fans turned out to see back in the Forties, and on that score they weren't disappointed. I'm wondering though, did they ever get around to counting the final votes?

This is my favorite western film. I would gladly recommend it to anyone who enjoys clean entertainment. It features 2 great actors Gene Autry and Jimmy Durante. It provides the family with great entertainment that even young children can enjoy. This film features some very nice songs, among them the title song "Melody Ranch" and "We Never Dream the Same Dream Twice". It is one of the best examples of adventurous musical westerns. Comedy routines including Jimmy Durante make the movie appealing to fun loving audiences as well. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes Gene Autry and his western style of crooning the songs of the old West.