Old Barn Dance, The

2979. THE OLD BARN DANCE (1938-USA). With GENE AUTRY, SMILEY BURNETTE. This entertaining Western adventure features singing cowboy Gene Autry in one of his most enjoyable performances. Gene and his pals are horse traders on their way to Grangeville to offer their prospective customers musical fare followed by a horse auction. That evening, the boys present a festive barn dance at which Gene puts on a rip-roaring musical fest for the farmers who are their regular customers. Afterwards, however, nobody bids on any horses! The farmers no longer have any use for them, as they have been talked into purchasing tractors from the Thornton Equipment Company through a time payment plan. To make matters worse for Gene, he is approached by Sally Dawson of local radio station KLD with an offer that shocks and repels him. Sally wants Gene (who is known as the “Ramblin’ Rambler from Rainbow Ranch”) to sing on the radio to advertise Thornton’s tractors! When he refuses, she schemes to make him the voice of Thornton’s tractor business without his knowing it! The plot thickens as the farmers learn that Thornton is a crook and Gene comes up with a very dangerous plan to help them. As he rides for the hills on this difficult mission, Thornton vows that Gene will not return alive! Keep your eye on a young singer billed in this film as Dick Weston. When Gene Autry left the studio after this movie, Republic replaced him with Dick Weston as their new cowboy hero. But, first, they changed his name to ROY ROGERS and the rest is history! 55 minutes. Western