Television
The Gene Autry Show
Gold Dust Charlie
Flying A Pictures
Season 1, Episode 2 (1-02)
Production #1
Network: CBS
Running Time: 30 minutes
Black and White
Original Air Date:
Sunday, July 30, 1950
Sponsor: Wrigley's Doublemint Chewing Gum
Brief Synopsis:
Gene stumbles upon a murdered prospector and finds gold while digging the old man’s grave. When he reports this, however, he is arrested on suspicion of murder.
Detailed Synopsis:
Traveling with a medicine show, Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys stumble upon the murder of Gold Dust Charlie, an old-time miner, just as the culprit escapes. Gene discovers gold while burying the victim and is detained when trying to register a claim. He is arrested after the murdered victim's belongings are found on him. Through a ruse and with the help of the Boys, Gene escapes from jail because he suspects Harry Taylor of the crime. Gene surprises Taylor at the site of the murder and learns Taylor was the dead man's partner and had filed a claim after Charlie was killed. His daughter, Betty Taylor, covers Gene, drawing out the real killer when she fires a gun to attract the sheriff's posse. The killer overpowers Gene, locks the Taylors in a mineshaft, and sets a dynamite fuse. The sheriff arrives just as the killer makes his getaway, but Gene puts out the fuse and rescues the Taylors from the shaft. During the wild chase and fight that ensues, Gene captures the killer and sends him in jail.
Cast:
| Character: | Performer: |
| Gene Autry | Gene Autry |
| Pat Buttram | Pat Buttram |
| Betty Taylor | Sheila Ryan |
| Goss | Alan Hale, Jr. |
| Smith | Steve Darrell |
| "Doc" Bailey | Ralph Sanford |
| The Sheriff | Tom London |
| Harry Taylor | Sam Flint |
| The Cass County Boys | The Cass County Boys |
| Champion | Champion, World's Wonder Horse |
Songs:
| Cowboy Blues | Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys |
| Mexicali Rose | Gene Autry |
| Home on the Range | Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys |
| Great Grand-Dad | The Cass County Boys |
Crew:
| Executive Producer | Armand Schaefer |
| Associate Producer | Louis Gray |
| Directed by | Frank McDonald |
| Screenplay by | Jack Townley |
| Director of Photography | William Bradford |
| Film Editor | Jodie Copelan |
| Musical Director | Carl Cotner |
| Recorded by | Glen Glenn Sound Company |
