Comin' Round the Mountain (1940)

Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve relates to a W.P.A. employment advisor the story of how he lost the mayorship of the town of Monotony and became a forgotten man: Jed Blower returned to his ... See full summary »

Director:

George Archainbaud

Writers:

Lewis R. Foster (story), Maxwell Shane (story)

Stars:

Bob Burns, Una Merkel, Jerry Colonna

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bob Burns	...	Jed Blower
Una Merkel	...	Belinda Watters
Jerry Colonna	...	Argyle Phifft
Don Wilson	...	Fictional Radio Program Announcer
Pat Barrett	...	Uncle Ezra Watters
Harold Peary	...	Mayor Gildersleeve
Bill Thompson	...	Barney Smoot (as William Thompson)
Richard Carle	...	Lester Smoot
Marjorie Bauersfeld	...	Ma Beagle (as Mirandy)
William Demarest	...	Gutsy Mann
Cliff Arquette	...	Droopy Beagle
Luke Cosgrave	...	Uncle Ditto
Leona Roberts	...	Aunt Polly Watters
Zeffie Tilbury	...	Granny Stokes
Donald Hall	...	Hillbilly Boy

Storyline

Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve relates to a W.P.A. employment advisor the story of how he lost the mayorship of the town of Monotony and became a forgotten man: Jed Blower returned to his sixteen member hillbilly family with his business partner Gusty Mann, who convinces the family that they should play their mountain music on the radio. The family moves down the hill to Monotony, where their radio show brings in tourists and improves business for everyone. The Blowers refuse a chance to play in Nashville however, when they return to the mountain to feud with the Beagle family. In the meantime, Gildersleeve has been campaigning for mayor and expects to win, although he treats the townspeople and the residents of the poorhouse ruthlessly. After Gildersleeve thwarts store owner Lester Smoot's attempt to enter the campaign, Jed decides to run for Mayor when he realizes that this would improve his chance of marrying Belinda Watters, who has been pining for a balloonist since he left town ...

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Taglines:

HILLS OF HILARITY! It's a feud-feast of run and fireworks! (original poster)

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

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Connections

Featured in Hillbilly (2018)

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Soundtracks

Rosa Lee

User Reviews

One and a half checks would be generous!

Comin' Round the Mountain - 1940 Version. This early Paramount feature doesn't hold up to the test of time. Unfortunately, it didn't fare any better when it was first released in 1940 when critics laid into it: "not very inspiring"; "Colonna's patter not up to radio persona"; "story is only an excuse -a poor one- for the hillbilly setting!" But it was filmed in the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains and at Lake Arrowhead, so from a historical perspective - I enjoyed it. Bob 'Bazooka' Burns was a famous radio personality of the day, as were many other members of the cast - but his stilted performance can't carry the lame story about a hillbilly who made good in the big city returning to his roots. Una Merkel is about the only believable person in the bunch. Harold Peary makes his film debut as the Great Gildersleeve, a personality he created in a 1935 Fibber McGee & Molly radio play. Only highlight of the day - a hot air balloon rising over Lake Arrowhead. I wonder where it landed? This film is on 4 nitrate reels at the UCLA archives, so you won't be seeing it on TV anytime soon. One of the local residents remembers it being filmed near Twin Peaks, in the San Bernardino Mountains, and also remembers that the community was asked to participate in the crowd scenes. One and half checks out of 5 would be overly generous.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 August 1940 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

63 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1