Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm

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.

This is one of Gene's early starring westerns for Republic filled with plenty of action and just enough music to keep it interesting. Quite obviously famed stuntman Yakima Canutt is at the helm. He had already perfected the stunt used many years later in "Ben-Hur" where the stuntman goes under the horses, then continues back to also go under the wagon. It's amazing to watch, and just as exciting in 1937 as it would be in 1959 when a chariot rather than a wagon is employed.

Gene croons a few numbers. My personal favorite is "Mexicali Rose." It was so loved by Gene's fans that he named one of his later oaters after it. Frog too gets to show off his varied musical talents. An accomplished songwriter, singer, musician, Smiley Burnette could play over one hundred instruments. Besides guitar, this outing Frog also plays up a storm on an accordion. Frog's humor left a lot to be desired but was appealing to the youngsters. In the early days, as in this film, Frog used a yell for assistance from Gene or out of frustration that was similar to one later used by Lou Costello to greater effect when calling for help from Bud Abbott.

The script if fairly routine, but involves so many mistaken identities involving donning other's clothing and going undercover that viewers may get confused at times, especially the kids. Gene and Frog slip out to chase rustlers. Not long afterward, Gene's cowhands joined by a few new recruits with suspicious credentials also slip out to chase the same rustlers. Two fugitives with a price on their heads shoot two lawmen and exchange clothing with them. Gene and Frog come upon the crime. They proceed to take the fugitives' cast off clothing and exchange it for their own. This leads to all sorts of complications to say the least which eventually involve two ladies who catch Gene and Frog asleep and hogtie them. This time there's not only a woman for Gene but a fairly good looking one for Frog as well. In future films, Frog would usually get stuck with wallflowers or frog lookalikes of a different gender. In the end Frog and Gene are able to extricate themselves from the situation and also from the two women. Frog says it best, "Say goodbye? Why, Lady, we never even said hello."

Not one of Gene's better programmers mainly because of the cluttered plot that becomes confusing at times. The 60-minutes does have some good Lone Pine scenery, which means they get out of the woodsy San Fernando Valley. (I don't know about today, but in those days if the filming took place 50-miles or more from LA, the producers had to pay location costs, which is why so many of these low-budget oaters were shot just north of LA.) There's also some great stunt work hopping around on a wagon and a team of horses, while Gene and company offer up a tuneful version of Mexicali Rose, and Frog shows us how to squeeze a squeezebox. All in all, the movie's compensations come from the margins instead of the over-done plot.

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!

Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm has everything it takes to make a good cowboy movie, all the right cast members, great music, and beautiful scenery. Most of all it has a lot of action. This one has Gene Autry's best sidekick, Smiley Burnette as Frog Milhouse. That right there is enough to guarantee some fun.

The plot does not follow a clear line, and Gene makes a decision that is questionable. Rather than focus on the jumpy plot, one just has to follow the hero, Gene Autry, and all will work out in the end. Once the introductory scenes at the beginning of the movie are through Gene and Frog a constantly confronting bad guys and the women who think Gene and Frog are bad guys.

There are familiar faces in the cast. Charlie King was not utilized much in this movie, but his presence as a bad guy was part of so many westerns that his name alone justifies watching one more B western. Hal Taliaferro could be a good guy or bad guy. His roles varied in significance from movie to movie. In this movie he serves a purpose to the plot that ties things together at the end, but he really could have been on screen a bit more. Monte Blue was another actor who could be anything, good guy or bad guy, cowboy or indian. Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm had some of Republic's heavy hitters.

In his book, Singing in the Saddle, author Douglas B. Green wrote that regional western performers would make appearances in movies to get attention for those movies in their respective parts of the country. Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm is the only screen credit at IMDB for Al Clauser and His Oklahoma Cowboys. Notice how many songs they played to showcase their music. The promotion had to work for the cowboy band as much as it did for the movie producers.

Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm has everything for the B western fans and lovers of western music including Gene's hit song, Mexicali Rose.