After his father dies, Edward, the young Earl of Granville, travels from England with his solicitor, Henry Wyndham, to his father's ranch in the western United States. Edward is greeted by ranch foreman Gene Autry and Gene's pal, Frog Millhouse. Gene and Frog, who promised their late friend that they would make a real Westerner of his son, are dismayed by Edward's arrogant demeanor and Wyndham's assertion that the ranch, which is deeply in debt, will be sold at once. Gene rescues Edward from a runaway horse, and Edward's apology for his earlier attitude proves to Gene that he is a "regular fellow." Gene and Frog christen him "Spud," which was also his father's nickname, and encourage him to keep the ranch open. They are approached about buying the ranch by Jim Neale, a wealthy rancher to whom the late earl owed money. Neale inadvertently gives them the idea to save the ranch by selling their feisty cow ponies to the Army, but he warns them that if they do not pay him his money in sixty days he will sue. A few days later, Edward has proven his mettle by helping round up the horses, and the cowboys drive them back to the ranch. On the way to nearby Fort Wayne, where Gene intends to offer his horses for sale to Colonel Allen, Gene, Frog and the others insult the passengers of a buggy by deliberately overwhelming them with the dust raised by their wagons. Unknown to Gene, the passengers are Neale, Allen and his daughter Bernice. Bernice recognizes Gene when he comes to the colonel's quarters and pretends to be a maidservant in order to ridicule him later. She falsely advises Gene that Allen is hard of hearing, and so the next day, Allen is put off by Gene's yelling at him during the horse auction. Allen refuses to consider Gene's cow horses until he sees Gene's own horse, the magnificent "Champion," in action. Gene and Neale's bids are the same, so Allen proposes that they each race twelve horses the next morning and that the winner will receive the contract. That night, Gene eludes Neale's henchmen, who have been ordered to get him out of the way, while Edward locks up a process server attempting to serve a summons claiming all their property for Neale. Gene then gets the upper hand on Bernice and reveals that he knows who she is. They are quarreling when Gene spots a fire in the barn where his horses are being kept. While the horses are being saved, Frog reveals that he does not know who knocked him out and started the blaze, but that he was able to grab hold of the man's watch and can use it to discover the arsonist's identity. The next morning, Gene determines to carry on even though he has only five horses left, and the race begins. Edward tells Bernice what a fine fellow Gene is for helping him, and Frog discovers that the watch belongs to Neale's henchman, Joe Larkins. Despite Neale's dirty tricks, Gene wins the race, and Edward's ranch is awarded the contract. Larkins reveals Neales's underhanded schemes, and Gene and Bernice make up.

Genre: Drama, Action, Western

Directed by: Joseph Kane

Starring: Gene Autry (Gene Autry), Smiley Burnette (Frog), Judith Allen (Bernice Allen), Ronald Sinclair (Spud aka Edward Earl of Grandby), Guy Usher (Colonel Allen), Bill Elliott (Jim Neale)

Screenplay: Jack Natteford, Oliver Drake

Country: USA

Year: 1937