DVD Sioux City Sue
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Review(s): DVD Sioux City Sue | |
Back from the war, and still under contract to Republic Pictures, Gene Autry made a few more films for that studio before switching to a more lucrative relationship with Columbia. Of the five Republic movies Gene made after the war, "Sioux City Sue" was the first, and some feel the best. While not on a par with his classic Republic films of the late thirties, "Sioux City Sue" still provides enjoyable entertainment for fans of filmdom's greatest singing cowboy. There are many good western songs featured in this movie sung by Gene and the Cass County Boys ( when Gene moved to Columbia, he was smart enough to take the "boys" with him ), including "Someday You'll Want Me to Want You" and the catchy title song.The plot is very slight--Gene is manipulated by an unscrupulous movie studio and has to deal with a bitter, former cowhand from his ranch--but Gene's personality and relaxed vocal stylings overshadow any shortcomings. Lynne Roberts is an attractive leading lady. On the other hand, Sterling Holloway is downright annoying--he is not really a sidekick in this movie, but his silly over-acting and mannerisms get far too much screen-time. Great character actors like Tris Coffin and Kenne Duncan are wasted in minor roles. Bottom line--this film is still good fun for fans of "America's Favourite Cowboy", and as usual Image gives us as pristine a picture as one could expect.
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| Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear |  |
A highly enjoyable Autry western, boosted by a spirited supporting cast, a non-formula script, and a sprinkling of very listenable songs including the delightful title number. Autry was always an unlikely cowboy hero, short, stout, and wooden, yet his way with a song was always pleasant and natural, while his horsemanship and fight scenes were as convincing as any. His secret of success may well have been his ordinariness. Unlike a towering John Wayne, Crash Corrigan, or innumerable other icons of the Saturday matinee, Autry was always within reach of the audience, a reassuring nearness for those of us who knew we would never grow into the boots of a Wayne or Corrigan. Anyway, I suppose the audience for this kind of innocent bucholic fun dwindles each year as we matinee kids age and shuffle off, leaving such fare to film historians and curiosity seekers. Historians should find this film particularly revealing for its behind-the-scenes look at the making of musical westerns, and also for a fluttery Sterling Holloway, a most unlikely comic relief for the macho western, which, I suppose, amounted to someone's comment on the film industry since he appears as a production assisstant. The leading lady also goes against type. A hard-driving studio scout, who overshadows the laid-back Autry, she defies patriarchal expectations by remaining with the studio at film's end. All in all, this programmer rises above the low expectations of a cowboy movie and remains well worth a look on several levels.
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| ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL! | |
THIS PICTURE JUST GOES TO PROVE THAT GENE AUTRY WAS STILL COWBOY #1 EVEN AFTER HIS RETURN FROM THE WAR. WAS THEN AND STILL IS NOW!
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