Red River Valley (1936)

Gene and Frog set out to find out who has been causing the accidents at a dam construction site.

Director:

B. Reeves Eason

Writers:

Stuart E. McGowan (screenplay), Dorrell McGowan (screenplay),

Stars:

Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Frances Grant

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gene Autry	...	Gene Autry
Smiley Burnette	...	Frog
Frances Grant	...	Mary Baxter
Boothe Howard	...	Steve Conway
Jack Kennedy	...	Mike
Champion	...	Gene's Horse
Sam Flint	...	George Baxter
George Chesebro	...	Bull Dural
Charles King	...	Sam
Eugene Jackson	...	Iodine
Edward Hearn	...	Sheriff Ed
Frank LaRue	...	Banker Moore
Ken Cooper	...	Henchman Long
Frankie Marvin	...	Henchman Becker (as Frank Marvin)

Storyline

One of Gene Autry's early Republic westerns, the film has plenty of action and songs by Autry and Burdette, along with other musical novelty acts. Gene and his friend Frog help the valley's irrigation company solve the mystery of who's behind the terror tactics of those fighting the dam. In the process, they become implicated in a payroll robbery and must clear their names while pursuing the real robbers and trying to save the dam for the valley's drought-ravaged landowners.

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Plot Keywords:

dam | construction | chase | song | robbery | 

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Taglines:

Your Singing Son of the Saddle Braves Dynamite Death to Clear Himself of the Bandit Brand!

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Genres:

Action | Music | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 March 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

Man of the Frontier

Filming Locations:

Laguna Dam, Yuma, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$225,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 59 min (2004 restoration) 54 min (re-edited version) (edited) (re-edited) 60 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor High Fidelity Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There are over 100 songs with the title "Red River Valley," virtually all based on the public domain, 19th century version that is often played by country-western artists and in movies. It is almost impossible to pinpoint any one version, but in this case the version used was published in connection with this movie (a picture of Gene Autry and scenes from the movie on its cover) and was written by Nick Manoloff. The music sounds identical to the traditional version, but the lyrics are slightly modified.

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Quotes

Gene Autry: If you walk out now, you'll ruin the valley. Everybody will lose their homes, farms. You'll get your money! Baxter's arranging for a loan now and he'll be here to tell you himself.

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Connections

Featured in Gene Autry: White Hat, Silver Screen (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Instrumental Dance #1"
(uncredited)
Composer unknown
Played by a band in the saloon
Danced by Eugene Jackson

User Reviews

From This Valley They Say You Are Going

In Red River Valley, Gene Autry delivers a herd of cattle to the camp of a group of construction workers and then saves a couple of children from a charging steer which of course nears and endears him to the boss's daughter Frances Grant. The workers are constructing a kind of Tennessee Valley Authority on the Red River, but someone has been regularly sabotaging the job. Gene and Smiley Burnette take jobs as ditch riders which is the expression for security guards to patrol the dams and river. It's a job that's been fatal for the last few riders.

Of course the bad guys are now dealing with America's number one singing cowboy so we know things will be set right. The most interesting performance in the film is that of George Chesebro who acts as an agitator among the workers, but he's really in cahoots with the one trying to sabotage the job for his own nefarious ends.

If you've seen a gazillion B westerns on the big screen and small you know exactly who's behind the dirty work. Gene sings a couple of forgettable songs and of course the unforgettable title song. As for the identity of the villain, just remember these are the years of the New Deal and certain professions inevitably were villains.