Man from Music Mountain (1938)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Joseph Kane

Writers:

Bernard McConville (story)
Betty Burbridge (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 August 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

A Ghost Town Comes to Life!

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Rancher | Gold Mine | Ghost Town | Manicure | Sheriff

Cast

Gene Autry	...	Gene Autry
Smiley Burnette	...	Frog Millhouse
Carol Hughes	...	Helen Foster
Sally Payne	...	Patsy
Ivan Miller	...	John Scanlon
Ed Cassidy	...	William Brady (as Edward Cassidy)
Lew Kelly	...	Bowdie Bill
Howard Chase	...	Abbott
Albert Terry	...	Buddy Harmon
Frankie Marvin	...	Larry Higgins - Autry Cowhand and Musician
Earl Dwire	...	Lew Martin
Lloyd Ingraham	...	George Harmon
Lillian Drew	...	Mrs. Chris
Al Taylor	...	Henchman Hank
Joe Yrigoyen	...	Henchman Pete

Runtime:

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

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA High Fidelity Recording)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #4476)

Company:

Republic Pictures (I)

Trivia:

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

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.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Golden Saddles, Silver Spurs (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

William Tell Overture

Boulder Dam Scam

This Gene Autry western, Man From Music Mountain uses the opening of Boulder Dam, later renamed Hoover Dam as the springboard for the story of this B film. The dam will now provide electric power for the residents of three states and some sharp operators are going to take advantage.

As this film is set in the modern west, it's a 20th century plot we're dealing with. Ivan Miller is the chief villain and he's selling real estate, lots in a ghost town to be precise. But the scam he's working is that with Boulder Dam in operation there will be power lines coming soon and there is a gold mine nearby. Oh, Miller's selling shares in that as well.

As Gene and Smiley Burnette have dealt with Miller before, they smell a rat. But in trying to outsmart him, they nearly outsmart themselves. You'll have to see Man From Music Mountain to know what I mean.

The feminine leads are Carol Hughes and Sally Payne who have traveled west and bought those lots to open a beauty salon. It was nice that Republic Pictures thought of giving Smiley Burnette a girl as well for a change.

The title song is the only new song in the film that was not written by Gene Autry, but it's the best number in the film. It's not a bad B western with a topical event to center the plot around.