Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm (1937)

So much average

i must have seen a different film!!

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm has Gene Autry and his favorite sidekick Smiley Burnette on the trail of cattle rustlers. They've got a special interest in going after these because it's Gene's cattle they've stolen.Unfortunately what was supposed to be comedy in this film is just general silliness. Gene and Smiley finding some abandoned clothing belonging to some notorious rustlers decide to shed their outfits and go incognito to get a line on the gang. That little bit of undercover work gets them nearly killed because the outlaws they thought were dead show up most inconveniently.As for how they get out of it, Smiley Burnette has developed a new line of practical joke items like squirting flowers, exploding cigars and whoopee cushions. One of those actually saves Gene and Smiley.Despite the silliness Gene has some good songs to sing including Mexicali Rose. That was a big hit in 1937 with Bing Crosby gaining one of his gold records with his version of it. But the Autry version here is OK too, especially since we get to hear the verse as well.Gene's fans will like the movie and everyone will like the song.

With so many Gene Autry Westerns restored and played on the Encore Western Channel, seeing this one on DVD was something of a let down, kind of grainy with a story that rambles back and forth a bit. The Apache Kid (Max Hoffman Jr) and Black Jim (Charles King) are a pair of cattle rustlers who make their getaway by shooting a couple of deputies and exchanging clothes with them. In turn, Gene and Frog Millhouse (Smiley Burnette) come upon the dead lawmen and don their gear to impersonate the bad guys. As an outlaw, Gene draws a lot of attention with that gaudy vest that belonged to the Apache Kid. Seems to me one would want to keep a lower profile if you were on the wrong side of the law.Along the way, Gene and Smiley mix it up with a couple of senoritas at the Stafford adobe. The girls mistake them for the real rustlers and hogtie the boys before they realize their mistake. The intended match-ups between Gene and Armida (Rosa Montero) and Frog with Mary Ellen (Ann Pendleton) come off a bit awkward, and there's no romance to speak of even when Gene serenades his gal at the end of the story.With a title like "Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm" you would expect a fair number of tunes and the boys deliver on that score. Al Clauser and His Oklahoma Outlaws provide some of the music along with lending a hand as a good guy posse. This is one of the very few films with Gene where I've seen him yodel and he sounded pretty good to my ear. Frog provides his usual entertaining antics, including gimmicks with sneezing powder and exploding cigars he uses to good advantage.

This is one of Gene's early starring westerns for Republic filled with plenty of action and just enough music to keep it interesting. Quite obviously famed stuntman Yakima Canutt is at the helm. He had already perfected the stunt used many years later in "Ben-Hur" where the stuntman goes under the horses, then continues back to also go under the wagon. It's amazing to watch, and just as exciting in 1937 as it would be in 1959 when a chariot rather than a wagon is employed.Gene croons a few numbers. My personal favorite is "Mexicali Rose." It was so loved by Gene's fans that he named one of his later oaters after it. Frog too gets to show off his varied musical talents. An accomplished songwriter, singer, musician, Smiley Burnette could play over one hundred instruments. Besides guitar, this outing Frog also plays up a storm on an accordion. Frog's humor left a lot to be desired but was appealing to the youngsters. In the early days, as in this film, Frog used a yell for assistance from Gene or out of frustration that was similar to one later used by Lou Costello to greater effect when calling for help from Bud Abbott.The script if fairly routine, but involves so many mistaken identities involving donning other's clothing and going undercover that viewers may get confused at times, especially the kids. Gene and Frog slip out to chase rustlers. Not long afterward, Gene's cowhands joined by a few new recruits with suspicious credentials also slip out to chase the same rustlers. Two fugitives with a price on their heads shoot two lawmen and exchange clothing with them. Gene and Frog come upon the crime. They proceed to take the fugitives' cast off clothing and exchange it for their own. This leads to all sorts of complications to say the least which eventually involve two ladies who catch Gene and Frog asleep and hogtie them. This time there's not only a woman for Gene but a fairly good looking one for Frog as well. In future films, Frog would usually get stuck with wallflowers or frog lookalikes of a different gender. In the end Frog and Gene are able to extricate themselves from the situation and also from the two women. Frog says it best, "Say goodbye? Why, Lady, we never even said hello."

1st watched 10/7/2001 - 6 out of 10(Dir-Mack V. Wright): Light-hearted western fare with Gene Autry and his sidekick 'Frog' mistakenly seen as outlaws who restled cattled, but end up being the heroes in the end. Good combination of music, action, a little romance, and the good repertoire between Autry and Frog make for a good time had for all. This is the 1st Gene Autry flick that I've seen and I'm hooked. Without the music, it would be pretty boring and the plot isn't that detailed but we don't really care because we know the good guys will win out in the end. Autry isn't the greatest actor but he has a good set of side kicks that help out this flaw, and besides when things start looking rough he can just pick up the guitar and get us all singing and toe-tapping. I see why my dad used to like this guy, and I'm glad they've preserved some of his films for us new guys to see.