Saturday matinee double features (the screening of two motion pictures for the price of one) were an industry standard in the first half of the 20th century. In 2013, the Autry continues the tradition with its own Saturday matinee double features starring America's Favorite Singing Cowboy, Gene Autry. Two Autry films are screened the fourth Saturday of every month in the Imagination Gallery's Western Legacy Theater.
Perhaps you've heard Gene sing "A man's best friend is his horse." January's films showcase his horse, Champion. In the film
Comin' 'Round the Mountain, Champion portrays the wild horse El Diablo and battles wolves, partakes in a cross-country race, and helps Gene expose the bad guys. Then, in
Rim of the Canyon, Champion is stolen, and Gene's search for his horse leads him to a ghost town haunted by thieves and decades-old pilfered money.
Read More
February's films find Gene Autry not in the great American West but in the chilly Canadian North. In
Blue Montana Skies U.S. Federal Investigator Gene Autry and his pal, Frog Millhouse, are on a murder case involving fur raiders who are smuggling pelts across the Canadian border. Then in
Gene Autry and the Mounties U.S. Marshall Gene Autry and his deputy Pat Buttram face murdering bandits and stolen gold bullion. Both films feature plenty of music, Mounties, and more!
Read More
"Women's History Month/
Leading Ladies"
Colorado Sunset (1939)
Republic Pictures (65 minutes)
Valley of Fire (1951)
Columbia Pictures (64 minutes)
March is Women's History Month. To celebrate, this month's films feature two of Gene's most popular leading ladies.
Colorado Sunset stars June Storey, who was Gene's leading lady in ten Republic Pictures films. Gail Davis, who stars opposite Gene in
Valley of Fire, appeared in fourteen Columbia Pictures films with Gene and fifteen episodes of
The Gene Autry Show television series.
Read More
Gene Autry's Westerns are known for their music, comedy, and action. April's films each showcase terrific singing by Gene and others.
Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride has the musical talents of Smiley Burnette, June Storey, Mary Lee, Cindy Walker, and the Pacemakers. Gene's popular singing group, the Cass County Boys, is joined by Carolina Cotton on several numbers in
Apache Country. After this double feature, you'll know why Gene Autry is called "America's Favorite Singing Cowboy"!
Read More
"Comedy"
Sierra Sue (1941)
Republic Pictures (64 minutes)
Saddle Pals (1947)
Republic Pictures (72 minutes)
Gene Autry's Westerns are known for their music, comedy, and action. This month's films each feature Gene Autry's funny and talented sidekicks. Smiley Burnette brings his musical and physical humor to
Sierra Sue, and comedian Sterling Holloway provides the comic relief in
Saddle Pals. Read More
Gene Autry's Westerns are known for their music, comedy, and action. Showcasing the thrilling action of Gene Autry Westerns, June's films include fistfights, rodeo action, and a spectacular fire in
Bells of Capistrano, and a bank robbery, a wagon chase, and even more fistfights in
Winning of the West.
Read More
"National Day of the Cowboy and Cowgirl plus New Gamble Firearms Gallery"
The Singing Cowboy (1936)
Republic Pictures (56 minutes)
Loaded Pistols (1949)
Columbia Pictures (79 minutes)
Celebrate National Day of the Cowboy and Cowgirl at the Autry with the opening of the museum's new exhibition,
Western Frontiers: Stories of Fact and Fiction in the Gamble Firearms Gallery plus two terrific Gene Autry cowboy films:
The Singing Cowboy and
Loaded Pistols.
Read More
Gold mines, and the problems that come along with them, are the subject of many Gene Autry films. In this double feature of
Under Fiesta Stars and
Goldtown Ghost Riders, unscrupulous bad guys, explosive action, and a few songs by Gene bring it all together.
Read More
This month's movies honor Gene Autry's birthday, which is September 29.
Stardust on the Sage and
Call of the Canyon, which were released back-to-back in 1942, feature swell leading ladies, the hilarious antics of Gene's sidekick, Smiley Burnette, and sing-along medleys that you are sure to enjoy.
Read More
Many of Gene Autry's musical Westerns have predictable storylines involving mistaken identities, greedy gangsters, or troubled ranchers, but this month's films have surprising storylines.
Home on the Prairie's familiar plot line of cattle in peril also includes an elephant! Then, in
The Blazing Sun Gene and Pat Buttram wrangle with bank robbers, but the villain's evil plans involve plastic surgery. And not surprisingly, Gene's trusty horse Champion appears in both adventures.
Read More
Every Gene Autry movie includes great songs, and November's double feature has two of his biggest hits. "Back in the Saddle Again" is Gene's signature song and the title of the fan-favorite film
Back in the Saddle. Still popular today, "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" is sung in only one of his films,
The Cowboy and the Indians.
Read More
Gene Autry's onscreen jobs varied from film to film and included ranch foreman, Texas Ranger, and rodeo rider. But one of the more true-to-life jobs that Gene had onscreen was that of radio star.
Mexicali Rose and
Home in Wyomin' are two of Gene's best musical Westerns in which he is cast as a radio star who solves mysteries in between broadcasts!
Read More
