Gene Autry, appearing at a large rodeo, sees in the grandstand Millicent Thomas, beautiful daughter of a local wealthy rancher, Timothy T. Thomas, and is immediately attracted to her. Gene wins the $1,000 dollar purse in the bronc riding event over Matt Kirby, crooked foreman of the Thomas "Triple T" ranch. That night, while Gene and his pal, Frog Millhouse, are sleeping, Gypsy Black Franz steals the money. Millicent comes to the local employment office to hire a new cook and assistant. Thomas has also fired Kirby and the other ranch hands, so Millicent has persuaded Thomas to let her hire cowgirls, Cuddles, Helen, Mamie and Sally, as ranch hands. Accompanying Millicent and her father, is their large dog, Souvenier, who is in the habit of stealing anything that isn't nailed down. Souvenier wanders over to the Gypsy camp and steals the sleeping baby of Franz and Perdita, basket and all, and drags it home. Millicent decides to take care of the baby until it's parents can be found. Gene and Frog gets jobs on the ranch as cooks. Gene thinks the baby belongs to Millicent. Millicent summons Gene to the ranch house, and is told to mind the baby while she goes to town. The next morning, Franz appears and Millicent turns the baby over to him. Gene and Frog see him leaving with the baby and think he is a kidnapper. They give chase. Meanwhile, Kirby and his minions have been rustling the Thomas herd.Gene also has to put an end to that. Gene is happy to learn that the baby is not Millicent's. Cowgirls as ranch hands does not meet the approval of Gene, who is now the foreman, and he hires back all of the honest cowhands that were fired. But Millicent arranges a meeting between the cowgirls and the rehired hands. And, before you can say "who wrote this stuff", there is a communal wedding in which Gene and Millicent, Frog and Cuddles and four other cowgirls and cowboys are married in unison. But when the preacher asks for the rings, they find that Souvenier has stolen them. Laughs all around at the fade for everybody but the audience. Somewhere along the way Black Franz reforms and gives Gene's hard-earned bronc-busting money back to him. The dog Buck was billed above the title with Gene Autry on the "original" 11/14 Title Card and posters from this film but not on the reissue paper. The "Buck" in this film was the dog in 1935's "Call of the Wild" and 1936's "Country Beyond" from Fox/TCF, and Republic, evidently because "Buck" had one heck of a good agent, used him in this film,and "The Trigger Trio" with the Three Mesquiteers and their "Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island" serial. This "Buck" last appeared in 1939's "Gentleman From Arizona" at Monogram. After Gene has his watch stolen by the Gypsy he takes a job on the Thomas ranch. Thomas' dog has brought home the cradle with the Gypsy's baby and when the Gypsy retrieves his baby, Gene thinks he is a kidnaper. But as he chases after him he now sees that Thomas' cattle are being rustled. Not to be confused with Gene Autry's 1940 picture "Melody Ranch", this one came at the very start of his career just a couple of pictures after "The Phantom Empire" serial. Much of the opening sequence appears to be utilizing stock footage of rodeo events complete with an announcer's corny attempts at cowboy humor. As in why the bucking bulls have bells on their horns - to keep the riders from falling asleep.<br/><br/>After Gene's contest money of a thousand dollars is stolen by a member of a gypsy band, he and Frog (Smilley Burnette) seek work on a local cattle ranch where cowgirls have replaced the regular ranch hands. This might have given rise to all sorts of romantic entanglements, but the story didn't go very far in that direction, until the final scene (you'll just have to see it). The boys get to investigate a spate of cattle rustling along with a baby kidnapping, while hosting a handful of musical numbers including the title song.<br/><br/>I always love watching these early films for their take on life in simpler times. Back then, eggs were priced at twenty eight cents a dozen, and can you believe it - they were offered for sale on the sidewalk outside the store - without refrigeration!<br/><br/>Gene's horse Champion has a canine rival for your attention in this one, as a Saint Bernard by the name of Souvenir gets a lot of screen time with his mischief. He snatched the baby basket in the first place early on, and I kept wondering when the gypsy camp would go manic over the loss of the little guy, but that never happened. Instead, the father Frantz simply showed up at the Thomas Ranch because he heard the baby might have been there. That just left me completely puzzled. By the way, the role of Souvenir was played by Buck and he got his own credit at the start of the picture - go figure.<br/><br/>It's not unusual to pick up on continuity goofs in these early pictures, and if you stay attentive you'll catch one here. In the scene when Frantz the Gypsy comes to claim the baby from the Thomases, Mr. Thomas (Wade Boteler) calls his daughter Nancy. Her name was Millicent. Real early in Gene Autry's film career and a very busy western movie. Autry, the popular radio singer wins $1,000 at a rodeo and in the night his money is stolen by a gypsy, Black Frantz(Willy Castello). Gene and his sidekick Frog Millhouse(Smiley Burnette)take jobs at a ranch that is plagued by cattle thieves. Autry becomes attracted to the owner's daughter Millicent(Ann Rutherford)and helps her and her cowgirls round up the rustlers. Instead of Gene riding his famed horse Champion…he catches the bad guys by automobile. The cowboys are given their jobs back on the condition they marry the cowgirls that took their place on the ranch.<br/><br/>There is a handful of songs in this mid 30's Republic Picture and Gene sings "A Lonesome Cowboy on the Lone Prairie" and "On the Melody Trail". Also starring are: Timothy Thomas, Al Bridge, Gertrude Messinger and Marie Quillen.
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