To me, this movie is perfection.

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Songs: "I'm Gonna Roundup My Blues" by Johnny Marvin; "Big Bullfrog" by Walter Samuels; "Moonlight on the Ranch House" by Walter Samuels.Copyright 3 February 1939 by Republic Pictures Corp. No New York opening. U.S. release: 3 February 1939. No record of any theatrical release in Australia. 6 reels. 58 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Gene Autry and Frog Millhouse are cattle inspectors who discover an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease on the Belknap ranch. But Belknap and his partner Shelby bury some of their infected cattle on the neighboring Wheeler ranch.NOTES: Autry's 30th of his 94 movies.COMMENT: There's a fair number of songs and comedy routines in this one, but they don't outweigh the action which includes some grand stunt-work and chases filmed with running inserts.Yes, the pace is fast, whilst the script combines enough action, songs and comedy to please all western fans. Only quirk — it's a modern western with the cowboys still incongruously sporting pistols. Screenwriter Jack Townley'x script is efficient but totally undistinguished. Acting also rates as just okay, but surely the villains could have been a bit more colorful, both script-wise and acting- wise?Earle Hodgins plays a patent medicine professor whose elephant takes a liking to Burnette. Not an original idea, but it does lend a bit of color.I liked the heroine best. June sure has a trim little figure and even joins Autry in a duet.Production values are quite fair and credits appear adequate. But the lighting as usual seems flat and dull, making the actual locations seem very ordinary and uninteresting. Obvious day- for-night shooting adds another negative factor. OTHER VIEWS: "Home on the Prairie" marked the first appearance by June Storey, a pretty little blonde from Canada, as my favorite rein- holder. June was Smiley Burnette's favorite audience. Still in her teens, June was one of those people who wanted to nominate you for a prize every time you did a good deed. — Gene Autry.

Gene and Smiley are cattle inspectors, who get mixed up with infected herds and slippery owners.I've seen a ton of matinees, but this is the first where an elephant, yes an elephant, is complicit in a jailbreak. Now let's see the sheriff lock Him up. Pretty good Autry oater, some hard riding, but not many flying fists, nor much fast shooting. Still, the plot's unusual, dealing as it does with a common cattle disease—hoof & mouth-- that's seldom mentioned in oaters. Not much in the way of scenery, looks like Big Bear woods east of LA, at least for some of the shots. I'm constantly amazed by Burnette's low-key versatility. Watch him twirl the six- shooters, maybe comically, but as expertly as anyone. Here he also gets a big part in shaping events. What an underrated comic sidekick he was. Anyway, Storey's fetching, while blowhard Hodgins gets to peddle his patented snake-oil in amusing fashion. Too bad, the song selections are pretty undistinguished, but who cares when we've got Storey to ogle. All in all, it's a decent Autry package, with Gene in the spiffiest outfit this side of uptown Dallas.A "5" on the Matinée Scale

As a cattle inspector for the state, Gene Autry finds himself in the middle of a dilemma when Smiley Burnette finds a dead calf, and all shipments to market have to be stopped to prevent the spread of hoof and mouth disease. This puts Gene at odds with pretty Martha Wheeler (June Storey), daughter of rancher Jim Wheeler (George Cleveland), because even though their cattle are disease free, he has to play fair by all the other cattlemen.I always enjoy seeing Earl Hodgins show up in an Autry flick, this time he's accompanied by an elephant sidekick that proves instrumental later in the story. With Gene incarcerated for assaulting the area commissioner, Smiley uses the old peanut on the end of a string trick to lure Nepaw over to the jail house window, whereby the ponderous pachyderm literally pulls down the entire window and wall of the jail.It doesn't take long for Gene and Smiley to zero in on villains Belknap (Walter Miller) and Shelby (Gordon Hart), who conspire to ship off Belknap's infected cattle to market before they show signs of disease. It's one of those stories where Gene and the local sheriff all wind up on the same page by the end of the picture, so Gene can wrap things up with the leading lady by his side.As usual, Gene and Smiley offer up an entertaining mix of tunes, starting out with 'There's Nothing Like Work', the theme of which Smiley attempts to emulate as the story progresses. There's also a cowboy band called the Sherven Brothers Rodeoliers who present a lively instrumental, appearing more like a novelty act as the members play an assortment of homemade instruments in addition to your standard accordion and bass fiddle.

There's plenty of action including a scene where Gene & Champion try to catch a speeding locomotive in this entertaining oater. As expected, Smiley "Frog" Burnette is along for a few belly laughs but unfortunately doesn't get to show off his musical talents much, mainly just observing Gene (one time throwing him a guitar) and a group called the Sherven Brothers Rodeoliers, sort of a budget Hoosier Hot Shots. Frog does have a novelty tune at the beginning called "There's Nothing Like Work," which is fun. The romantic interest is provided by the lovely June Storey as Martha Wheeler whose father's ranch stands to lose a lot of money if the herd has to be destroyed because of the hoof and mouth disease. Gene and Smiley are government inspectors who report finding a diseased animal to the main official who drives out to check out the story. In reality, the Belnap ranch (Belnap is played with just the right amount of insidiousness by Walter Miller)has in reality the only infected herd, but Belnap is in collusion with the equally sinister H. R. Shelby (Gordon Hart). Both villains are determined to put the blame on Gene, Smiley, and the Wheeler herd. Gene loses his job and spends the remainder of the film trying to prove himself innocent and the villains guilty. There is still enough time for a few musical outings, none up to the usual Gene Autry standards, but a few pleasing to the ears, the standout being one written by Gene called "I'm Gonna Round Up My Blues." With two of the best songwriters around why didn't Republic let Gene and Smiley compose more songs for their films? An added attraction is Earle Hodgins playing a film-flam man as only he could do.Oh, I forgot to mention, an elephant plays a key role in the plot. And where's the prairie?