Gene Autry and the Red Bandit’s Ghost

Read Time:4 Minute, 10 Second

Gene Autry and the Red Bandit’s Ghost (1949) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Author Unknown

I recently received 21 Better Little Books/Big Little Books as a wonderful and amazing surprise gift from my parents. You can imagine my excitement that they found so many in one spot! This treasureful discovery was perfect timing, because I now have a specific New Year’s resolution: Read every single one of my BLBs before the end of the year, and write about them on my blog! I’m thrilled.

I selected this one at random, and it didn’t disappoint. Big Little Books were all put out by Whitman Publishing Company, and they were small, fat volumes that dealt with everything from comic strips, to movie personalities, to radio characters. They even created their own stories and original characters, though those are little known today. They were first produced in 1932 (at 10 cents each), and in 1938, they changed their branding to Better Little Books, (eventually going up to 15 cents each). They continued to publish in this format until some time in the 70s. Others adopted this format pretty quickly, notably Saalfield, as they saw that it was a successful way to sell books to children.

Two of the 21 books that were gifted are Big Little Books, and the rest are Better Little Books, meaning that most of these are from the 40s. I already had one or two Big Little Books, and a couple from Saalfield. I previously blogged about Prairie Bill and the Covered Wagon, here, though I don’t think I knew much about BLBs at this time. I apparently gave that one two stars. I’ll revisit that book again, perhaps, and see if my opinion has changed since then.

Now, on to our current book, Gene Autry and the Red Bandit’s Ghost. My copy is especially neato, because it still has the original price sticker on it. Schultz Bros. was a department store chain that, at its peak, had 76 stores, mostly in the Wisconsin area. They were in business from 1902 to the late 80s. See some pictures of the store here. In this photo, you can see that the later 15 cent pricing has been attached.

My book follows the usual format of text on the left page, illustration on the right. It is 288 pages.

I thought the above picture was funny, because it reminds me of my dad when he is trying to read and someone is making too much noise. Love ya, Dad! 😀 I take after him in the “love of books” department.

This book was a really nice action book. It’s basically nonstop action and thrill the whole way through. Gene Autry is riding his horse Champion toward Smoke City when he encounters a sheriff who recognizes Autry’s name. He’s known all over as the famous outlaw hunter. Autry is told that El Rojo Hombre is at it again, terrorizing the community. This is shocking to Gene, because he knows that El Rojo had been caught and killed years ago. Autry decides that Smoke City can wait, and he changes his course to Seven Pines, where the trouble is. They eventually find out, after one and then another bandit are caught and killed, that there were three brothers (literally called Tom, Dick, and Harry) masquerading as The Red Man, setting fire and shooting certain targeted individuals. Autry saves someone from a burning house and goes under cover with a band of bank robbers. He gets his man by arranging the undercover business with Sheriff Jane, who is the head sheriff in town. Now, how do you picture a lady sheriff without any description at all? Well, this is definitely not how I pictured her before I saw the illustration.

Turns out that this last bank robbery attempt was an inside job! Of course, Gene Autry gets his man, and the bandits are captured. It’s a pretty exciting story, and I read it in about an hour and a half. With a body count of 3, I’d exercise caution if you are going to let your little one read it. In my experience, the cowboy stories are always a little to a lot violent, and there is a medium amount of gun violence in this book. Three people die at a result of it.

Still, the story is what I’m rating here, and I thought it was a really good story! Five stars. And, no, there is no reference to the fact that he is a singing cowboy, to the regret of this reader. The title is a bit misleading, because there is only a tongue-in-cheek passing reference one time of it being a ghost who is attacking as El Rojo Hombre.

It actually says that the copyright is by Gene Autry, but there is no author listed for the story. I think it’s a fair assumption that it was probably ghostwritten for adaptation to Better Little Books.

Stay tuned for my other Big Little Books to come!