Man from Music Mountain (1938)

When nasty land developers try to bilk honest ranchers who don't know their land holds lots of gold, Gene puts a stop to it.

Director:

Joseph Kane

Writers:

Betty Burbridge (screen play), Luci Ward (screen play),

Stars:

Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Carol Hughes

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gene Autry	...	Gene Autry
Smiley Burnette	...	Frog Millhouse
Carol Hughes	...	Helen Foster
Sally Payne	...	Patsy
Ivan Miller	...	Scanlon
Ed Cassidy	...	William Brady (as Edward Cassidy)
Lew Kelly	...	Bowdie Bill
Howard Chase	...	Judge Bronson
Al Terry	...	Buddy Herman (as Albert Terry)
Frankie Marvin	...	Larry
Earl Dwire	...	Martin
Lloyd Ingraham	...	George Harmon
Lillian Drew	...	Mrs. Chris
Al Taylor	...	Henchman Hank
Joe Yrigoyen	...	Henchman Pete

Storyline

Scanlon is pulling off a land swindle by selling lots in a ghost town claiming the power company is bringing in a line. As a bonus he throws in shares in a worthless gold mine. Gene is on to Scanlon and tries to get him to buy back the deeds by salting the mine with gold. But when a new vein is really discovered Gene has to stop the sales but is trapped in the mine by Scanlon's men.

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Plot Keywords:

gold mine | ghost town | rancher | singer | gunfight | 

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Taglines:

A Ghost Town Comes to Life!

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Genres:

Comedy | Music | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 August 1938 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

58 min 58 min (copyright length) 54 min (edited)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA "High Fidelity" Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film features newsreel footage of the Boulder Dam opening in 1936.

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Quotes

Gene Autry: Now how do you expect to run all this junk without electricity?
Frog Millhouse: Well, we're gonna have electricity.
Gene Autry: Sure you will if lightning strikes you.

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Connections

Featured in Golden Saddles, Silver Spurs (2000)

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Soundtracks

"William Tell Overture"
(1829) (uncredited)
Written by Gioachino Rossini
Part of a medley performed by Polly Jenkins and Her Plowboys

User Reviews

A pretty good B-western--though the plot is a bit familiar.

A group of scoundrels decide to sell worthless land to naive settlers with promises that the land would be electrified and they'd make tons of money with their businesses. Instead, they know the new dam won't bring electricity there and the mine they sell them is worthless. When Gene Autry discovers this, he tries to help--but no one believes him.

There were a ton of B-westerns made in the 40s and 50s, so it shouldn't be any surprise that the plot to 'Man From Music Mountain" was VERY familiar. In fact, it had been used a year earlier in "Gunsmoke Ranch" and a few years later in "Pioneers of the West"--both Three Mesquiteer films and all three films from Republic Pictures. Still, this Gene Autry outing is quite good and worth seeing.

In this installment, Gene is joined by Smiley Burnett--one of the few sidekicks who could and would often sing in the films as well as the leading man. Smiley's comic songs are nice and I was strangely intrigued by the couple who made music using bells--you just have to hear it for yourself. Additionally, Gene is in his element and it's hard not to enjoy yourself when watching this film.