Git Along Little Dogies is a 1937 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and the Maple City Four. Written by Dorrell and Stuart E. McGowan, the film is about a singing cowboy who gets caught up in a war between oilmen and cattle ranchers, taking the side of the ranchers until he learns that oil will bring a railroad to town. The film is also known as Serenade of the West in the United Kingdom.
Plot
When Doris Maxwell starts drilling for oil, cowboy Gene Autry tries to stop the drilling, believing the territory's water supply will be ruined. Doris' father, bank president Maxwell, embezzled $25,000 to support the drilling project. Doris and Gene's fight heats up after he shoots out the tires on her car and she steals his horse, Champion. In an attempt to discredit Gene, Doris, who runs a radio station above Sing Low's cafe, broadcasts him on a program sponsored by the oil company. When Gene discovers the trick, he sets out in a rage to find her. George Wilkins, who is in charge of the oil well drilling, takes Doris to the drilling site and tell her the well is dry and he needs additional funds from her father to bring the well in. Doris doesn't know that Wilkins is actually trying to swindle her father by getting him to pay for all of the equipment while he stalls the drilling. Wilkins intends to take over the lease on the profitable land when the bank's lease runs out. While taking the payroll to the drilling site, Wilkins and Doris are held up by two thieves, who are actually Wilkins' henchmen. Gene comes to the rescue and grudgingly returns the money to Doris, who continues on to the drilling site. Wilkins reprimands his men for getting caught and then lets them go. Doris and Gene return to the bank, where they discover Maxwell has tried to commit suicide after receiving a letter notifying him that the bank examiner would be arriving soon. Protecting Maxwell from embezzlement charges, Gene makes it seem as if Maxwell was shot during a robbery. Sometime later, Gene learns that the railroad will go through the town if the oil comes in, and he informs Wilkins that he will publicly support the drilling. Not wanting any public attention on his operation, Wilkins orders his men to hold Gene captive until after the lease is transferred to him. Gene escapes and alerts the townspeople to Wilkins' crooked dealings. Wilkins spreads a rumor that Gene intentionally swindled his friends by making them buy worthless oil stock, and later tells a crowd that Gene was behind the bank robbery. A mob gathers and goes after Gene who is forced to flee. At the oil well, Gene finds Sam Brown, an oil worker who was shot by Wilkins after he discovered that the well only needed to be dynamited to come in. After getting a doctor to treat Sam, Gene and Frog Millhouse dynamite the well, despite the opposition from Wilkins and the crowd. Following the blast, the well comes in and soon the oil company, now called the Maxwell-Autry company, is prospering. Gene distributes dividends to his friends on their investment, and Frog, who has been searching for an addition to his butterfly collection, discovers a poor specimen.
