Television
The Gene Autry Show
The Portrait of the White Cloud
Flying A Pictures
Season 5, Episode 3 (5-03)
Production #84
Network: CBS
Running Time: 30 minutes
Color
Original Air Date:
Saturday, October 15, 1955
Sponsor: Wrigley's Doublemint Chewing Gum
Brief Synopsis:
Gene attempts to trap an artist who has been framing his subjects in more ways than one.
Detailed Synopsis:
One rainy night, in the bunkhouse of the Flying A Ranch, Gene Autry, Pat Buttram, and the Cass County Boys pass the time by singing. Pat prepares fishing tackle for a new trout season, while Gene shines his saddle. After Pat hooks Bert's vest, Gene reminisces about his and Pat's fishing trip to Waterville, New Mexico, when Pat hooked Sheriff Tim Davis's vest. At the same time they were applying for a fishing license at the sheriff's, the local Wells Fargo office was robbed of twenty thousand dollars. They saw two Indians riding hard and fast out of town. Telegraph operator Carl McHenry was unhurt, but his brand-new ten-dollar portrait by Lennie Renault was shot. Circumstantial evidence, a dropped bracelet, pointed to the young Indian, Running Deer, son of White Cloud, the chief of the tribe on the nearby reservation. Gene met with White Cloud to ask about the bracelet, which turned out to have been stolen. He also noticed another portrait by Renault and figured out that the "artist" had spent his time in the telegraph office listening to the Morse Code and knew when the twenty thousand dollars would be delivered. Gene convinced Sheriff Davis to release Running Deer from jail. Unfortunately, Gene and Pat were jailed instead. They "escaped" and went after the real culprits: Renault, Jack Hastings and Pete Crowder, both of whom had disguised themselves as Indians. The three criminals were captured by a clever ruse. In the end, Gene and Pat did not have time to catch any fish that season, but Chief White Cloud was so grateful, he gave Gene his portrait.
Cast:
| Character: | Performer: |
| Gene Autry | Gene Autry |
| Pat Buttram | Pat Buttram |
| Lennie Renault | Jack Daly |
| Jack Hastings | Dick Rich |
| White Cloud | Glenn Strange |
| Sheriff Tim Davis | John Close |
| Pete Crowder | Steve Raines |
| Carl McHenry | Terry Frost |
| Running Deer | Joseph Michaels |
| The Cass County Boys | The Cass County Boys |
| Champion | Champion, World's Wonder Horse |
Songs:
| Onteora | The Cass County Boys |
| It's My Lazy Day | Gene Autry, Pat Buttram, and the Cass County Boys |
| It's My Lazy Day | Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys |
Crew:
| Executive in charge of Production |
Armand Schaefer |
| Directed by | Robert G. Walker |
| Teleplay by | John K. Butler |
| Producer | Louis Gray |
| Director of Photography | William Bradford, A.S.C. |
| Supervising Film Editor | Anthony Wollner |
| Film Editor | Bruce B. Pierce, A.C.E. |
| Musical Director | Carl Cotner |
| Music Supervisor | Irving Friedman |
| Musical Score | Walter Greene |
| Music Editor | Erma E. Levin |
| Assistant Director | Clark Paylow |
| Recorded by | Glen Glenn Sound Company |
