Gaucho Serenade (1940)

Good story, out of the ordinary for Gene and Frog, where they're driving home from New York City (a rodeo appearance there in Madison Square Garden), and by sheer chance wind up picking up two sisters who are fleeing the wedding the older doesn't want to go to (as the bride), and a young boy who thinks he's visiting his father's "Rancho San Quentin." Of course, his dad is actually in the prison of that name.The plot isn't "hard to understand" nor will it have you "scratching your head," as other reviewers who love to denigrate Gene Autry's movies have said. And watch a climactic scene where Gene is chasing a speeding train on Champion. Aboard, the bad guys are trying to kidnap the young boy. Autry makes his own transfer from Champ's back to the train, climbing up a ladder attached to the side of a freight car. And it's obvious that it's really Gene; not a case of "Autry CLAIMED to have made the transfer," as another negative reviewer once wrote.All in all, a darn good flick, with comedy, action, and plenty of good songs by Gene and others. I highly recommend it.

I'm guessing that not a whole lot of thought went into putting the story together for this picture. There are just so many disparate elements to it that if you're paying close attention you'll just wind up scratching your head. It starts off right away when Gene and Frog find they don't have enough money to book passage on a ship to California from New York, so they wind up driving. Now why would they want to do that anyway, huh?It continues from there when a young teenager schooled in London hooks up with the boys to join his father, not knowing that the San Quentin he's looking for is a state penitentiary and not a ranch. June Storey's character is on the run from one wedding ceremony and eloping to another with Smith Bellew, who doesn't even say 'Hi' to her when she arrives with Gene later on!! See what I mean?Now don't get me wrong, if you like Gene's pictures this one's as entertaining as any of them, offering a whole host of musical numbers and a couple of cute young ladies (June Storey and Mary Lee) to complement the action, but at times it almost feels like an Abbott and Costello flick with all the zany stuff going on. Somehow the Gaucho Serenade of the title is shoe-horned into the story when the whole gang finds themselves at a Mexican cantina after getting a flat tire, and the only way Gene can come up with the dough to have it fixed is to win a talent show. But the grand prize is the equivalent of twenty five dollars in groceries, so they have to rely on Frog's second place showing - he wins a used tire!! so they can replace the flat!!Well it goes on like this to an eventual satisfactory conclusion with youngster Ronnie Willoughby (Clifford Severn) reuniting with his Dad and the villains put in their place, but it all came together in rather haphazard fashion. I'll say this though, and I never really thought about if before, but Duncan Renaldo came up with a clever translation for Frog Millhouse's name in Spanish - Rana Casa Molino! Now there's a trivia question that will get you bonus points.

You can't go too wrong with a singing straight-arrow cowboy. Gene Autry and his sidekick Frog Milhouse(Smiley Burnett)are heading home from New York City via automobile with Gene's horse, Champion, in a horse trailer. Westward and onward Gene and Frog find a young man named Ronnie Willoughby(Clifford Severn Jr.)trying to hitch a ride. The boy joins the two thinking they were sent by his father to pick him up and take him to his father's ranch. Well there isn't such; because Mr. Willoughby is in San Quentin Prison after being framed by a big packing company. To keep the elder Willoughby from testifying against the company, it is thought a good idea to kidnap young Ronnie. Plenty of action and reasons to belt out a tune or two; cause now filling out the movie is a runaway bride played by Joyce Halloway with a precocious younger sister(Mary Lee). Other cast members: Joseph Crehan, Smith Ballew, Wade Boteler, William Ruhl and Duncan Renaldo. A few of the tunes in this 66 minute Republic Pictures feature: "The Singing Hills", "Wide Open Spaces", "A Song of Sunset", "Keep Rollin" and of course the "Gaucho Serenade".

What a fine Autry outing, just what the country needed trying to come out of the depression in 1940 right prior to WWII. Mary Lee, a very underrated singer from the era was only about 16 in this film and what a fine voice, as another user said a western Judy Garland. The young boy, played by Clifford Severn sort of reminded me of Freddie Bartholemew in his acting style. June Storey fine as usual in these B westerns; Duncan Renaldo later the Cisco Kid played Guacho Don Jose. Smiley Burnette, well what can we say?; the guy was fantastic. The on location shooting was wonderful, maybe Big Bear Lake area of California. The songs were fine in this film and was one of Autry's finest endeavours; not seen as often some others and deserves more airplay. The restored print aired on Encore Westerns is perfect.