Melody Trail
| Melody Trail | |
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Lobby card
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| Directed by | Joseph Kane |
| Produced by | Nat Levine |
| Screenplay by | Sherman L. Lowe |
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| Starring | |
| Music by | Lee Zahler |
| Cinematography | Ernest Miller |
| Edited by | Lester Orlebeck |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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61 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15,075 |
Melody Trail is a 1935 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Gene Autry, Ann Rutherford, and Smiley Burnette. Written by Sherman L. Lowe and Betty Burbridge, the film is about a singing cowboy who goes after the men who kidnapped the baby he should have been babysitting. The film features the songs "On the Melody Trail", "A Lone Cowboy on the Lone Prairie", and "Western Lullaby".
A radio and music star, Gene Autry (Gene Autry), and his friend, comedian Frog Millhouse (Smiley Burnette), attend a rodeo where Gene falls in love with one of the spectators, Millicent Thomas (Ann Rutherford). Millicent, who is being harassed by her father's former ranch hand, Matt Kirby (Al Bridge), is delighted when Gene sings for the crowd, then later beats Matt in a bucking bronco competition.
That night, while Gene dreams about Millicent, his $1,000 in rodeo winnings are stolen by a gypsy named Frantz (Willy Castello), the husband of a fortune-teller named Perdita (Marie Quillan). The next day, while Millicent goes into town with her father, rancher Timothy Thomas (Wade Boteler) with Millicent's dog, Souvenir (a compulsive thief), takes a detour into the gypsy camp. Souvenir steals a basket containing Frantz and Perdita's baby daughter Rica. Millicent later discovers the infant and takes her in, not knowing who her parents are. Frog and Gene, who end up working as cooks on the Thomas ranch, assume the baby is hers.
Going by the name of "Arizona", Gene captures two wild stallions to impress Millicent and the cowgirls she has hired to replace Matt and his men, who have defected. After Souvenir steals Gene's cookbook, his efforts in the kitchen are far less successful, and the meal that he and Frog prepare for the cowgirls makes them all sick. Meanwhile, Matt plots to rustle the Thomas' cattle. While the cowgirls bathe in a pond, Matt steals their clothes in order to prevent them from protecting the herd.
While searching for Baby Rica, Frantz recovers her from Millicent. Believing him to be a kidnapper, Gene pursues and captures the gypsy, who returns the money he stole from Gene after explaining that Rica is his daughter. Later, Gene sees Matt and his men stealing the cattle and apprehends all eight of them, including Matt, single-handedly. After Gene saves the ranch, he and Millicent, and Frog and Cuddles (one of the cowgirls), are married in a large, musical ceremony along with the other cowboys and girls. The wedding is interrupted, however, when everyone realizes that Souvenir has stolen all their wedding rings.
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