Springtime in the Rockies (1937)

Ranch owner Sandra, fresh from animal husbandry school, brings a flock of sheep into cattle country. The local ranchers don't like it, and ranch foreman Gene must deal with it.

Director:

Joseph Kane

Writers:

Gilbert Wright (original screenplay), Betty Burbridge (original screenplay)

Stars:

Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Polly Rowles

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gene Autry	...	Gene Autry
Smiley Burnette	...	Frog Millhouse
Polly Rowles	...	Sandra Knight
Ula Love	...	Sylvia Parker
Ruth Bacon	...	Peggy Snow
Jane Hunt	...	Jane Hilton
George Chesebro	...	Thad Morgan
Al Bridge	...	Briggs (as Alan Bridge)
Tom London	...	Tracy
Edward Hearn	...	Jed Thorpe
Frankie Marvin	...	Autry's Musicial Cowhand
William Hole	...	Bub - Messenger
Edmund Cobb	...	Sheriff
Fred Burns	...	Rancher Harris
Jimmy's Saddle Pals	...	Dance Band

Storyline

Ranch owner Sandra, fresh from animal husbandry school, brings a flock of sheep into cattle country. The local ranchers don't like it, and ranch foreman Gene must deal with it.

---

Plot Keywords:

shack | framed for murder | ranch foreman | sheep | animal husbandry | 

---

Genres:

Western

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 November 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

Våghalsen från pokerranchen

Filming Locations:

Garner Valley, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (copyright length) (2003 restoration) 54 min (edited)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor High Fidelity Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

[Frog reads a letter of instruction from the ranch's new owner]
Frog Millhouse: "While I'm not criticizing your management... " - she better not, you sent her more money than she ever got before... - "I feel confident that the application of modern sci-sci-sci... "
Gene Autry: "Scientific."
Frog Millhouse: Yeah. "... methods will make a marked difference in profits." Yeah, we'll probably be broke in a year.

---

Connections

Remade as Utah (1945)

---

Soundtracks

"Give Me a Pony and an Open Prairie"
(1937) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Gene Autry and Frank Harford
Performed by Gene Autry with Jimmy's Saddle Pals

User Reviews

Fun but also kind of shallow and sexist.

"Springtime in the Rockies" is a light-weight B-movie starring Gene Autry--the singing cowboy. As you'd expect, he sang a few songs during this hour-long film. However, one of them (the first in the film) had a rather strange setup. When the ranchers are angry at someone because he brought sheep onto the range, Gene breaks into song. Why? Because, according to him, "It's hard to sing and be mean at the same time"--among the lamest reasons I can recall in a cowboy film! Such is the sort of stuff you'll see and hear in this silly but enjoyable film.

Soon after this kerfuffle settles, the woman who owns the ranch where Gene is a foreman arrives from back East. She has never been to the ranch and she and her college friends are occasionally annoying caricatures--and Gene decides to have fun at their expense. So, instead of showing them to the beautiful ranch house, he takes them to a broken-down shack which he tells them IS the ranch house. Before he can tell them about his big joke, however, the goofy owner buys sheep! What's Gene to do? While the film is a bit fun in spots and is a rather inconsequential film, it may offend some. Again and again, the young women are the butt of jokes, as they are 'silly feminists'. While it's true that sometimes Gene and his friend Frog (Smiley Burnett) get theirs sometimes, in the end it's up to the men to save these poor women. And, the resolution to the problems seems to come way too quickly and easily. But, the songs are generally nice, Burnett makes for a nice sidekick and the film has a few good moments. On balance, a decent time-passer but not much more.