Springtime in the Rockies (1937 film)

Last updated

Springtime in the Rockies
Springtime in the Rockies 1937 Poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Joseph Kane
Written by
Produced by Sol C. Siegel (associate)
Starring
Cinematography Ernest Miller
Edited byLester Orlebeck
Music by Alberto Colombo
Production
company
Distributed byRepublic Pictures
Release date
  • November 13, 1937 (1937-11-13)(U.S.)
Running time
60 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Springtime in the Rockies is a 1937 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Polly Rowles. Written by Gilbert Wright and Betty Burbridge, the film is about a ranch owner who brings a flock of sheep into cattle country and faces the opposition of local ranchers with the help of her ranch foreman. [1]

Contents

Plot

Gene Autry (Gene Autry), the Knight Ranch foreman, learns that a neighboring rancher Jed Thorpe (Edward Hearn) is bringing sheep into the area. Gene rushes to Thorpe's ranch, concerned that a hot-headed cattle rancher named Thad Morgan (George Chesebro) may try to kill Thorpe. Morgan was once ruined financially by sheep ranching. Gene is able to stop Thorpe from bringing in the sheep, and Thorpe agrees to send the sheep back.

Sometime later, Sandra Knight (Polly Rowles), who inherited the Knight Ranch from her late uncle, arrives in town with three female friends, who studied animal husbandry with her at the agricultural college. Before reaching the ranch, Sandra is approached by Thorpe's partner Briggs (Al Bridge) who sells her the sheep. Continuing on to the ranch with the sheep, Sandra nearly hits Gene and his horse Champion. Learning about the sheep deal, Gene tries to dissuade Sandra from raising sheep, explaining that they eat grass to the root so that it cannot grow back, but Sandra doesn't listen to him.

Instead of taking her to her ranch, Gene shows her to his own rocky ground and ramshackle cabin, telling her that it's her ranch. That night, as the girls try to sleep, Gene's friend, Frog Millhouse (Smiley Burnette), makes wild animal noises to scare the girls into leaving the next day. One such noise sends Sandra into Gene's arms, and she asks him to sleep on the porch. The following day, Gene and Sandra go riding and come across the beautiful house and fertile land that is actually hers. Gene, who is falling in love with Sandra, is about to tell her the truth when she says she wants to lease the rocky land (Gene's) for her sheep.

When Morgan learns about the sheep on Gene's ranch, he rides there intending to shoot them, but Gene is able to stop him. Gene agrees to the sheriff's demand that he remove the sheep from the area in twenty-four hours. When Gene notices Frog applying Mercurochrome to a wound, he gets the idea to paint the sheep so that they will appear to have hoof-and-mouth disease.

After Briggs discovers that Sandra believes she owns Gene's ranch, he offers her $5,000 for her property—a bargain for Gene's ranch, but far below the value of her own ranch, worth an estimated $100,000. When Sandra sees the painted sheep appearing diseased, she accepts Briggs's offer to buy them, and Briggs delivers the sheep to Morgan. That night at the dance, needing to keep Gene from interfering while Sandra signs over her ranch without understanding the legal implications, Briggs tells Sandra about Gene's trick. Angered by the ruse, Sandra fires Gene. Later, when Morgan confronts Gene about the sheep and draws on him, Gene pulls out his gun which fires before Gene pulls the trigger—Thorpe had rigged the gun earlier that evening. Morgan is wounded and Gene is arrested.

Sandra decides to accept Briggs' offer to buy the ranch and tells her girlfriends to pack. After informing Gene about the sale, Frog helps him escape by putting up a wrecking company sign in front of the jail and paying a truck driver to pull the wall off the building. Pursued by the sheriff and a mob, Gene rides after Briggs and Sandra. After Sandra signs the deed over to Briggs, Gene pursues Briggs to the county seat and rips up the deed. The sheriff is informed that Morgan, after regaining consciousness, identified Thorpe as the one who shot him. Gene and the sheriff shakes hands, and later, Gene and Sandra go for a romantic ride through her ranch.

Cast

Production

Filming locations

Soundtrack

Memorable quotes

Gene Autry: That's easy, our lady boss. She's goin' to an agricultural college and takin' animal husbandry.
Frog Millhouse: Husbandry, huh? Well, it do beat all what a woman will do to get married.
Cowhand: What did she say?
Gene Autry: Hombres. A colloquialism indigenous to the southwest. Derived from the Latin, "Homo".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smiley Burnette</span> American country music performer and comedic actor (1911–1967)

Lester Alvin Burnett, better known as Smiley Burnette, was an American country music performer and a comedic actor in Western films and on radio and TV, playing sidekick to Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and other B-movie cowboys. He was also a prolific singer-songwriter who is reported to have played proficiently over 100 musical instruments, sometimes more than one simultaneously. His career, beginning in 1934, spanned four decades, including a regular role on CBS-TV's Petticoat Junction in the 1960s.

<i>Red River Valley</i> (1936 film) 1936 film by B. Reeves Eason

Red River Valley, later retitled Man of the Frontier for American television screening, is a 1936 American Western film directed by B. Reeves Eason and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Frances Grant. Written by Dorrell and Stuart E. McGowan, the film is about a "ditch rider" and his sidekick who set out to find out who has been causing the accidents at a dam construction site.

<i>Oh, Susanna!</i> (1936 film) 1936 film

Oh, Susanna! is a 1936 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Frances Grant. Written by Oliver Drake, the film is about a cowboy who is robbed and then thrown from a train by an escaped murderer who then takes on the cowboy's identity.

<i>Public Cowboy No. 1</i> 1937 film by Joseph Kane

Public Cowboy No. 1 is a 1937 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Ann Rutherford. Based on a story by Bernard McConville, the film is about a singing cowboy who chases down rustlers who are using airplanes, shortwave radios, and refrigerated trucks to steal cattle.

<i>Man from Music Mountain</i> (1938 film) 1938 film by Joseph Kane, Betty Burbridge, Charles E. Ford

Man from Music Mountain is a 1938 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Carol Hughes. Written by Betty Burbridge and Luci Ward, based on a story by Bernard McConville.

<i>Ridin on a Rainbow</i> 1941 film by Lew Landers

Ridin' on a Rainbow is a 1941 American western musical film directed by Lew Landers and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette and Mary Lee. Written by Bradford Ropes and Doris Malloy, based on a story by Ropes, the film is about a singing cowboy whose investigation of a bank robbery takes him to a showboat, where he finds that a teenage singer's father has been working with the robbers to provide for her future. The film received an Academy Award nomination for best original song for "Be Honest with Me".

<i>Home on the Prairie</i> 1939 American film

Home on the Prairie is a 1939 American Western film directed by Jack Townley and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and June Storey. Written by Charles Arthur Powell and Paul Franklin, the film is about a cattle inspector's efforts to prevent a corrupt cattle rancher from shipping to market a herd of cattle infected with hoof and mouth disease.

<i>Melody Trail</i> 1935 film by Joseph Kane

Melody Trail is a 1935 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Gene Autry, Ann Rutherford, and Smiley Burnette. Written by Sherman L. Lowe and Betty Burbridge, the film is about a singing cowboy who goes after the men who kidnapped the baby he should have been babysitting. The film features the songs "On the Melody Trail", "A Lone Cowboy on the Lone Prairie", and "Western Lullaby".

<i>Boots and Saddles</i> (film) 1936 film by Joseph Kane

Boots and Saddles is a 1937 American western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette and Judith Allen. It was produced and distributed by Republic Pictures. Based on a story by Jack Natteford, the film is about a young Englishman who inherits a ranch that he wants to sell, but is turned into a real Westerner by a singing cowboy.

<i>Prairie Moon</i> 1938 film by Ralph Staub

Prairie Moon is a 1938 American Western film directed by Ralph Staub and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Shirley Deane. Written by Betty Burbridge and Stanley Roberts, the film is about a singing cowboy who takes care of three tough boys sent west from Chicago after their father dies and leaves them a cattle ranch.

<i>Mountain Rhythm</i> (1939 film) 1939 American film

Mountain Rhythm is a 1939 American Western film directed by B. Reeves Eason and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and June Storey. Based on a story by Connie Lee, the film is about a cowboy who organizes his fellow ranchers to oppose an Eastern promoter's land grab scheme.

<i>Colorado Sunset</i> 1939 film by George Sherman

Colorado Sunset is a 1939 American Western film directed by George Sherman and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and June Storey. Written by Betty Burbridge and Stanley Roberts, based on a story by Luci Ward and Jack Natteford, the film is about a singing cowboy and his buddies who discover that the ranch they bought is really a dairy farm—and worse, it's subject to intimidation from a protection racket that prevents dairy products from safely reaching the market.

<i>Rovin Tumbleweeds</i> 1939 American film

Rovin' Tumbleweeds is a 1939 American Western film directed by George Sherman and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette and Mary Carlisle. Written by Betty Burbridge, Dorrell McGowan, and Stuart E. McGowan, the film is about a cowboy congressman who exposes a crooked politician who is delaying passage of a flood control bill.

<i>Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride</i> 1940 American film

Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride is a 1940 American Western film directed by Frank McDonald and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and June Storey. Written by Winston Miller, based on a story by Betty Burbridge and Connie Lee, the film is about a singing cowboy who inherits a meat-packing plant and must face stiff competition from a beautiful business rival.

<i>Gaucho Serenade</i> 1940 American film

Gaucho Serenade is a 1940 American Western film directed by Frank McDonald and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and June Storey. Written by Betty Burbridge and Bradford Ropes, the film is about a singing cowboy who goes up against a group of businessmen who plot to kidnap the son of a former partner so he won't testify against them.

<i>The Singing Hill</i> 1941 film by Lew Landers

The Singing Hill is a 1941 American western film directed by Lew Landers and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Virginia Dale. Based on a story by Jesse Lasky Jr. and Richard Murphy, the film is about a singing cowboy and foreman of a ranch that may be sold to an unscrupulous banker by the young madcap heiress who is unaware that the sale will result in the local ranchers losing their free grazing land and their ranches. In the film, Autry performed the 1940 song "Blueberry Hill", first recorded by Sammy Kaye, which would become a standard recorded by such artists as Louis Armstrong (1949), Fats Domino (1956), and Elvis Presley (1957). The song became one of Autry's best-selling recordings. In 1987, "Blueberry Hill" received an ASCAP Award for Most Performed Feature Film Standards on TV.

<i>Stardust on the Sage</i> 1942 film by Betty Burbridge

Stardust on the Sage is a 1942 American Western film directed by William Morgan and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, William Henry, and Edith Fellows. Written by Betty Burbridge, based on a story by Dorrell and Stuart E. McGowan, the film is about a singing cowboy who helps his fellow ranchers against a corrupt mine superintendent looking to steal the mine in which they've invested. The film soundtrack features two duets by Autry and Fellows, "When the Roses Bloom Again" and "I'll Never Let You Go, Little Darlin'". The final scene includes an innovative audience sing-along medley of the classics "You Are My Sunshine", "Home on the Range", and "Deep in the Heart of Texas", with Burnette conducting and the words appearing at the bottom of the screen.

<i>Call of the Canyon</i> 1942 film by Joseph Santley

Call of the Canyon is a 1942 American Western film directed by Joseph Santley and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, the Sons of the Pioneers, and Ruth Terry. Based on a story by Maurice Rapf and Olive Cooper, the film is about a singing cowboy who leads a group of cattlemen against the corrupt agent of a large packing company looking to swindle them by undercutting the buying price for beef. The film features three songs by Autry and the Sons of the Pioneers, including the classic "Take Me Back to My Boots and Saddle".

<i>Cowboy Serenade</i> 1942 film with Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Fay McKenzie

Cowboy Serenade is a 1942 American Western film directed by William Morgan and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Fay McKenzie. Written by Olive Cooper, the film is about a singing cowboy and cattleman who goes after a gambling ring after they fleece the cattlemen association's representative of their cattle. The film features the songs "Nobody Knows", and "Sweethearts or Strangers", and the title song.

<i>Heart of the Rio Grande</i> 1942 film by William Morgan

Heart of the Rio Grande is a 1942 American Western film directed by William Morgan and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Fay McKenzie, and Edith Fellows. Based on a story by Newlin B. Wildes, the film is about a singing cowboy and dude ranch foreman who helps a spoiled teenager and her business tycoon father discover what is most important in life. The film features the songs "Let Me Ride Down in Rocky Canyon", "Deep in the Heart of Texas", "Dusk on the Painted Desert", and "Rainbow In the Night" performed by Edith Fellows.

References

Citations
  1. ↑ "Springtime in the Rockies". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Full cast and crew for Springtime in the Rockies". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Locations for Springtime in the Rockies". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Soundtracks for Springtime in the Rockies". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
Bibliography
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.