Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm

Even for a B western, this wasn't very good. Compared with A westerns of the period, this is really bad.

The plot is confusing as to who is who in all that dust and with all those costume changes. There's lots of shooting, but not many dead bodies. The action scenes are interspersed with some fair to middling western tunes by the hero and others.

Gene Autry made better movies than this. This one appears to be thrown together as the movies was being shot. The ending is completely predictable and dull.

Gene even has a half-hearted love interest that comes out of nowhere and makes no sense. And he leaves her with a song.

When the story begins, Gene and Frog Millhouse (Smiley Burnette) are out chasing after some evil cattle rustlers. Now here's the crazy part...they find clothes from two of the gang and wear them...hoping to infiltrate the gang. But the almost end up getting hung when they are caught by a posse, as the gang ALSO killed two deputies. To find out how the pair get out of this mess and catch the leader of the baddies, you'll just have to see the film yourself!

"Rootin', Tootin' Rhythm" is a very good Gene Autry film, though not among his very best. Most of this is because of the music. While pleasant, the songs in this one aren't among the great singer's best....and while I usually HATE singing in movies, I love Autry as he really had a lovely voice and knew how to put over a tune. Apart from that, it's quite enjoyable and features some of the best stunt work you'll see in one of his movies.

By the time Gene Autry made this film, he had been starring in B-Westerns for almost two years, and was right on the verge of being named "Public Cowboy No. 1" for 1937, based on the box-office returns from his movies. He held that honor for six straight years, before entering the U.S. Army Air Force in World War II.

Gene and Buffalo Brady (Hal Taliaferro) are co-owners of a large Western ranch from which cattle are being rustled. Gene and his sidekick Frog Millhouse (Smiley Burnette) set out to try to find the rustlers, at one point changing clothes with two lawmen they have found murdered, to aid in hiding their identities in their search. Their journey brings them into some shenanigans with two attractive ladies, and climaxes with a wild stagecoach chase. And I may be wrong, but I'm fairly sure Gene himself did the transfer from Champ's back to the stage.

Hope I haven't posted any "spoilers" here, because the movie is much better than the other posters here have implied, with their lukewarm descriptions like "OK," "Pleasant enough," etc. And when one posts, "Not up to Autry's usual standard," I'd like to know which "usual standard" of his movies they're talking about, as they almost always say that in their reviews.

By the way: Gene Autry's movies are known for their music -- naturally -- and the credits for this one feature a great, Western Swing-sounding instrumental that I've never heard before or since. The scene behind the music is that of a slam-bang rodeo -- which has nothing to do with the story. Explanation? Beats me! But I sure enjoyed that song!

Gene Autry and Smiley Burnette disguise themselves as bad guys to help crack a ring of cattle rustlers.

Clearly, Republic was trying to upgrade Autry's singing westerns, with a story that is fairly standard for a B western, but has a pretty good script. They've also started to upgrade the performers, with Armida and Monte Blue in major roles. On the downside, this one has Mack Wright directing, and while his credits show he was a well regarded assistant director, his handling of the actors is nothing to write home about. On the other hand, working with cameraman William Nobles, he shoots the stunt gags very well.

In the meantime, the random title, based on nothing in particular, is pretty off-putting.

If you've seen as many westerns as i have from the early 30's to the mid 50's you'll have recognized the alabama hills scenery ... it seems lone pine was a favorite location of directors especially if you needed a big cast of riders ... most were engaged on multiple films being shot around the same area ... the only thing that threw this oater off pace was the singing