El Diablo, cheval sauvage

Good Autry oater, with lots of outdoor action, and a lively rendition of the title tune. The run- away stallion sequence is especially well done. Also, the Lone Pine locations are dramatic, as usual, but I really like the moody skylines. Naturally, no one watches these matinée specials for plot surprises. Here, Gene's having to win a horse race in order to save pretty girl Rutherford's ranch, and a heck-uv-a race it is since the bad guys, surprise, surprise, don't play fair.

I agree, these early Autry's are superior to the later ones, maybe because Republic's resources could outfit these early productions. Note the well-stocked horse race, plus the "wolf" pack which may look more like "who let the dogs out", but's still an unusual feature for any oater. Also, the comedic bullfight is rather charming and well staged. All in all, the movie's a treat for those who like outdoor action.

(In passing—this early black-coated version of Gene's horse "Champion" is definitely not his better-known later one that was a much lighter color.)

To my way of thinking both Gene Autry and Roy Rogers made their best movies in the early days before fame and fortune gave them grandiose ideas of Hollywood greatness. So Many of their later movies were not much difference from the gala Hollywood musicals of the day. Then their post-war films lacked the drive and stamina of their early works. Comin' 'Round the Mountain does have a few musical numbers in it, including the title song, but they blend in without too much slowing down taking place. The credits given for the movie by IMDb list the horse El Diablo as Champion, but it looks like a different champion than the one later ridden by Gene. In this movie El Diablo is one of the stars and does an excellent job in his roll to keep the mustangs under Gene's control. Smiley is around with his usual sophomoric humor. This time he does have a few funny moments, for example riding the wrong way in the horse race and coming in first at the starting post. Smiley Burnett was a very talented and gifted musician and songwriter but left a little to be desired in the humor department. I always thought he appealed more to the preschooler set. The lovely Ann Rutherford is around for the romantic interests of Gene and his arch rival Matt Ford. The movie is of interest also because it depicts the brief but colorful attempt to deliver the US mail by pony express. As with most of the B westerns there is also the added attraction of on-location shooting. The scenery of the West with the galloping mustangs is shot in beautiful black and white that should appeal to any naturalist or lover of the picturesque. I highly recommend this movie to any Gene Autry fan or any true lover of the old Saturday matinée cowboy movie.

Señorita Delores (Ann Rutherford) is having problems paying her taxes, so she decided to sell off many of her livestock. But a baddie wants her ranch...so he arranges to shoot the Pony Express driver off his horse. The rider happens to be Gene Autry and now unconscious, the baddies' henchmen rob Gene and leave him for dead in the desert. Fortunately for Gene, a horse from Delores' ranch, a wild Mustang coined 'el Diablo' escapes and is cornered in a canyon near Gene. Gene, being a swell guy, saves the horse from a pack of wolves and soon he breaks the horse* and rides it back to the ranch.

With no money to pay for her taxes and an auction of the ranch in a few days, things look dire. But Gene has a plan to use the now tame el Diablo to lure more mustangs to the ranch....and they can then sell the horses to the Pony Express company** and pay off the taxes. At the same time, however, a seemingly nice guy is wooing Delores...though he really is the big bad boss who is trying to take away her land. Can Gene expose this baddie AND manage to get a contract to sell all these Mustangs? Well, it all boils down to a big race between Gene's Mustangs*** and the baddies Thoroughbreds.

This is a very good installment of the Gene Autry franchise. My only complaint is that the reused footage of a horse being broken bareback is exciting to watch...and obviously lifted from an older source, as the footage is very grainy. It really looked cheap and out of place. Otherwise, a very exciting and unique western...well worth your time.

*While Rutherford was a nice actress, she was all wrong to play a Mexican-American, as her accent sounded more Midwestern than Hispanic. Remember...this is only 11 years after California became a part of the USA and had been part of Mexico before this...so her accent couldn't have just disappeared like this.

**The Pony Express only operated for a year from 1860-1. Why? Because the telegraph system was much faster, safer and more reliable and would soon replace the Express.

***I researched and the film is correct...Mustangs are MUCH better than other breeds of horses for such long distance runs. They aren't as fast as Thoroughbreds on short courses but over longer distances, they are sturdier and faster...with greater stamina.