Cattleman
Gene Autry is put out-to say the least-when he finds out that he's been slickered by crooked purchasing agent Thomas McCoy (
Edmund MacDonald). It turns out that McCoy is in debt to bookies, and has been skimming his customers to pay off his gambling losses. Autry hopes to put a stop to all this by going directly to McCoy's boss, Grantley B. Johnson (
Thurston Hall), but the Big Guy's office is crammed full of radio agents who hope to persuade Johnson to sponsor their programs. One of these agents is a young lady named Kit Carson (
Ruth Terry), whose sample record disc is accidentally broken in the crush. Thus is the main plot briefly put on the back burner as Kit persuades Gene and his ranch-hand pals (
The Sons of the Pioneers) to pose as radio crooners to impress Mr. Johnson. Eventually, Call of the Canyon gets back on track with an exciting runaway-buggy climax, but for the most part the film is more musical than western. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide