Loaded Pistols

The lights go out at the dice game, shots are fired, and Stanley Blystone is dead. Hot-headed young Russell Arms is the obvious suspect, and he bolts. Gene Autry was a friend of Blystone, so when he finds Arms with his sister, Barbara Britton, he's surprised. He doesn't think Arms did it. So he gets him away before sheriff Chill Wills can arrest him, and begins to investigate.

The singing cowboy pictures that Autry did are a couple of steps above his Republic fare. First, the story is a lot better set out and run. And second, there's a much better cast in the small parts. Jack Holt, Robert Shayne, and Clem Bevans have good parts, and Wills is an absolute delight in his role, at ease and natural. The songs seem a bit less of a grab-bag, with "Pretty Mary" being quite charming. If much of the behind-the-screen talent is the same, with John English directing, and William Bradford handling the camera, everyone seems far less focused on letting Autry carry the picture, and more on seeing what they can do to make it all work.