''Carolina Moon'' is a 1940 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by Frank McDonald and starring

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

Smiley Burnette Lester Alvin Burnett (March 18, 1911 – February 16, 1967), 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 ...

, and

June Storey Mary June Storey (April 20, 1918 – December 18, 1991) was a Canadian-born American film actress who appeared in 45 films during the 1930s and 1940s. She was leading lady to cowboy singer Gene Autry in 10 films. Early years Storey was bor ...

. Based on a story by Connie Lee, the film is about a singing cowboy who comes to the aid of plantation owners who are being robbed of their land by a scheming lumber company.Magers 2007, p. 168.

Plot

While riding the rodeo circuit, singing cowboy Gene Autry (

) and his sidekick Frog Millhouse (

) meet Southerners Caroline Stanhope (

) and her grandfather (Eddy Waller). The Stanhopes are hoping to win prize money in order to pay back taxes on their plantation. Their hopes are shattered when Caroline's horse Valdena is injured in an accident and unable to compete in the rodeo. With no hope of winning the prize money, Stanhope gets involved in a card game and loses $1,000 to some gamblers. With no money, he offers to give them Valdena, his only asset, but the gamblers refuse. After the rodeo, Gene gives the old man his winnings for Valdena so he can settle his debt with the gamblers. Caroline is suspicious of Gene's generosity and thinks he is trying to cheat her grandfather. Later, after her grandfather gets drunk, Caroline packs him and the horse into their car and drives back home. When Gene discovers that they've gone, he follows them, intending to protect his investment. When he arrives at the Stanhope plantation, he learns that the Stanhopes and their neighbors are in danger of losing their land for delinquent back taxes. The plantation owners are unaware that a new timber process has been developed that will turn their property into valuable timber land. Lumber company representative Barrett ( Robert Fiske) is scheming to cheat the plantation owners out of their land. He's elicited the help of Henry Wheeler (

Hardie Albright Hardie Hunter Albright (born Hardie Hunter Albrecht; December 16, 1903 – December 7, 1975) was an American actor. Early years Albright was born on December 16, 1903, in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, to traveling vaudeville performers. He made his ...

), the only prosperous plantation owner in the county. In an effort to help the plantation owners pay their back taxes, Gene enters Valdena in a steeplejack race. After Wheeler deliberately fouls the horse during the race, Gene becomes suspicious of his motives, eventually learning the truth. Gene convinces the plantation owners to harvest and sell the lumber themselves, but Wheeler and Barrett thwart their efforts by holding up the lumberjacks so they cannot meet the terms of their contracts. Undaunted, Gene sends for his cowboy friends, who arrive and do the lumberjacking themselves, saving the plantations.

Cast

as Gene Autry *

as Frog Millhouse *

as Caroline Stanhope * Mary Lee as Patsy Stanhope *

Eddy Waller Edward Carlingford Waller (June 14, 1889 – August 20, 1977) was an American stage, film and television actor. Early years Born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, he was a son of the Rev. Thomas M. Waller, a Presbyterian minister, and Anna Tay ...

as Grandfather Stanhope *

as Henry Wheeler * Frank Dae as Col. Jefferson * Terry Nibert as Evangeline Jefferson * Robert Fiske as Barrett *

Etta McDaniel Etta McDaniel (December 1, 1890January 13, 1946) was an American actress who appeared in over 60 films between 1933 and 1946. She was the sister of actor Sam McDaniel and actress and Academy Award winner Hattie McDaniel. Early life McDaniel ...

as Mammy * Paul White as Billy * Fred Ritter as Thompson * Ralph Sanford as Foreman Nelson * Texas Jim Lewis and His Lone Star Cowboys as Musicians * Chuck Baldra as Rodeo Rider (uncredited) * Don Brodie as Rodeo Gambler (uncredited) * Fred Burns as Rodeo Official (uncredited) * Bob Card as Rodeo Rider (uncredited) * Burr Caruth as Pool Player (uncredited) * Carol Hughes as Woman at the breakfast (uncredited) *

Fred 'Snowflake' Toones Fred "Snowflake" Toones (January 5, 1906 – February 13, 1962) was an American actor and comedian. He appeared in over 200 films in his career spanning 23 years. Career He appeared in over 200 films between 1928 and 1951. His standard cha ...

as Sam, First Wheeler Butler (uncredited) * Champion as Gene's Horse (uncredited)

Production

Filming and budget

''Carolina Moon'' was filmed May 20 to June 4, 1940. The film had an operating budget of $77,711 (equal to $ today), and a

negative cost Negative cost is the net expense to produce and shoot a film, excluding such expenditures as distribution and promotion. Low-budget movies, for example ''The Blair Witch Project ''The Blair Witch Project'' is a 1999 American supernatural h ...

of $77,991.55.

Stuntwork

* Joe Yrigoyen (Gene Autry's stunt double) * Jack Kirk (Smiley Burnette's stunt double) * Nellie Walker (June Storey's stunt double)

Filming locations

* Corriganville, Ray Corrigan Ranch, Simi Valley, California, USA * Big Bear Valley,

San Bernardino National Forest The San Bernardino National Forest is a United States National Forest in Southern California encompassing of which are federal. The forest is made up of two main divisions, the eastern portion of the San Gabriel Mountains and the San Bernard ...

, California, USA * Keen Camp, San Bernardino National Forest, Mountain Center, California, USA *

Riviera Country Club The Riviera Country Club is a private club with a championship golf course and tennis courts in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of the Westside of Los Angeles, California. The Riviera was designed by golf course architects George C. Thomas Jr ...

, Los Angeles, California, USA *

Elysian Park, Los Angeles Elysian Park is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California. It is a predominantly low-income community, and has a population of more than 2,600 people. A city park, Elysian Park, and Dodger Stadium are within the neighborhood, as are an al ...

, California, USA (race track and rodeo grounds) *

Encino, California Encino (Spanish language, Spanish for "oak") is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. History In 1769, the Spanish Portolá expedition, first Europeans to see inland areas of California, traveled north t ...

(home)

Soundtrack

* "Carolina Moon" (Joseph Burke, Benny Davis) by Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Mary Lee, and others * "Oh, Dem Golden Slippers!" (James Allen Bland) by Paul White on harmonica * "(I Wish I Was in) Dixie's Land" (Daniel Decatur Emmett) by Paul White on harmonica * "At the Rodeo" (Gene Autry, Johnny Marvin, Harry Tobias) by Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Texas Jim Lewis and His Lone Star Cowboys * "Me and My Echo" (Connie Lee) by Mary Lee and Smiley Burnette * "Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)" (Stephen Foster) by the negroes at the plantation * "Dreaming Dreams That Won't Come True" (Gene Autry, Johnny Marvin, Harry Tobias) by Gene Autry and June Storey * "Say Si Si" (Ernesto Lecuona, Francia Luban, Albert Stillman) by Gene Autry, June Storey, and Mary Lee * "Climbin' Up D'Mountain" (Traditional) by the negroes at the plantation

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * *

External links

* * * {{allmovie title, 86728, Carolina Moon 1940 films 1940 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films American black-and-white films Republic Pictures films Films scored by Raoul Kraushaar Films directed by Frank McDonald 1940s English-language films 1940s American films