Gene Autry & Television in 1936

[bozey45]

For those that aren't aware, just about all of Autry's movies were "current" time period, i.e. 1935-1953, save just a few. Radio was used quite often in his films, the plot taking place in a radio studio or wherever. I remember one of his features recently took place in a town that would shortly receive electricity for the first time from a new dam being built. Part of the action was in an appliance store where all the latest "1936" appliances were in display such as clothes washer/dryers, electric stoves, radios, hair dryers, etc etc with most of the brand names visible during the film--this was quite a comedy sequence with Smiley Burnette (as "Frog" Millhouse) and a couple of women singing one of his nutty tunes. Another involved Autry's character 'becoming' a singing cowboy in the movies with interesting scenes of the Republic Studios backlot and location filming used within the film. 'Modern' cars, trucks, puses, airlplanes, etc were used all the time. His films showcased technology of the time quite well.