''Gaucho Serenade'' 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, a ...

, 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 ...

. Written by

Betty Burbridge Elizabeth Burbridge (December 7, 1895 – September 19, 1987) was an American screenwriter and actress, best known for her Western screenplays. Biography Elizabeth Burbridge was born in San Diego, California on December 7, 1895, the grandd ...

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.

Plot

Down and out rodeo stars Gene Autry (

) and Frog Millhouse (

) leave New York City for California with their car and

horse trailer A horse trailer or horse van (also called a horse float in Australia and New Zealand or horsebox in the British Isles) is used to transport horses. There are many different designs, ranging in size from small units capable of holding two or thr ...

. Along the way they discover young Ronnie Willoughby (Clifford Severn), a school boy from London, has accidentally stowed away in their car. Having just arrived from London by steamship, Ronnie climbed into the car and fell asleep, believing they were Jenkins and Carter, sent by his father to take him to his father's "ranch" in California. Ronnie does not know that his father, Frederick Willoughby (

Lester Matthews Arthur Lester Matthews (6 June 1900 – 5 June 1975) was an English actor. In his career, the handsome Englishman made more than 180 appearances in film and on television. He was erroneously credited in later years as Les Matthews. Matthews pla ...

), is actually in

San Quentin State Prison San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County. Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is the ...

, framed for embezzlement by his employer, Edward Martin (

Joseph Crehan Joseph A. Creaghan (July 15, 1883 – April 15, 1966) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1916 and 1965, and notably played Ulysses S. Grant nine times between 1939 and 1958, most memorably in ''Union Paci ...

) of the Western Packing Company, to cover his own criminal activities. Willoughby agrees to appear as a witness on behalf of the small independent ranchers of California in a lawsuit against Martin, who has been driving them out of business to gain a monopoly. To prevent Willoughby from testifying, Martin schemed to kidnap Frederick's son Ronnie by sending the boy the cable that invited him to visit his father's large spread, "Rancho San Quentin." The plot was momentarily derailed when the boy mistook Gene and Frog for his escorts. Gene recognizes Willoughby's name and suspects that something is not right. He decides to retain custody of the boy until he can investigate. While driving along the road, they nearly collide with Joyce Halloway (

) and her little sister Patsy ( Mary Lee), whose car goes into a lake. Joyce is a socialite, a wealthy ranch owner, and a runaway bride who is wanted by the police for taking the jilted bridegroom's car. She and Patsy stow away in Gene's horse trailer, and after several spats, Gene agrees to drive them to their California ranch. Along the way, Jenkins and Carter, having picked up Ronnie's trail, try to kidnap the boy, but Gene and Frog foil the attempt. After Gene and his group arrive at Joyce's ranch, she offers Ronnie refuge, pretending it is Rancho San Quentin. Gene sends Willoughby a wire telling him that Ronnie is with him, but the convict mistakes it for a kidnapping note and breaks out of prison to rescue his son. Martin sends his henchmen to join the posse in pursuit of the fugitive, which has orders to "shoot to kill." When he arrives at Joyce's ranch, Willoughby learns that Ronnie is safe and surrenders to the sheriff. When Martin and his henchmen attempt to hijack the train carrying the Willoughby back to prison, Gene saves the day. Frederick is exonerated and returns to Joyce's ranch claim his son, while Gene agrees to stay at the ranch as Joyce's new foreman.

Cast

as Gene Autry *

as Frog Millhouse *

as Joyce Halloway *

Duncan Renaldo Renault Renaldo Duncan (April 23, 1904 – September 3, 1980), better known as Duncan Renaldo, was a Romanian-born American actor best remembered for his portrayal of The Cisco Kid in films and on the 1950–1956 American TV series ''The Cisco Ki ...

as Gaucho Don José * Mary Lee as Patsy Halloway *

Clifford Severn Clifford Severn (September 21, 1925 – June 4, 2014) was an American cricketer and child screen actor. Clifford Severn was the son of Dr. Clifford Brill Severn (1890-1981). His parents emigrated from South Africa to Los Angeles after he was born. ...

, Jr. as Ronnie Willoughby *

as Frederick Willoughby *

Smith Ballew Sykes "Smith" Ballew (January 21, 1902 – May 2, 1984) was an American actor, sophisticated singer, orchestra leader, and a western singing star. He also was billed as Buddy Blue, Charles Roberts, and Billy Smith. Early years The son of Wil ...

as Buck Benson *

as Edward Martin *

William Ruhl William Harris Ruhl (October 25, 1901 – March 12, 1956) was an American character actor of the 1930s, 1940s, and early 1950s. Early life Born on October 25, 1901, in Colfax, Washington, Ruhl entered films in the small role of a shopper i ...

as Henchman Carter *

Wade Boteler Wade Boteler (October 3, 1888 – May 7, 1943) was an American film actor and writer. He appeared in more than 430 films between 1919 and 1943. Biography He was born in Santa Ana, California, and died in Hollywood, California, from a heart ...

as Rancher * Ted Adams as E.J. Jenkins *

Wendell Niles Wendell Niles (December 29, 1904 – March 28, 1994) was an announcer during the American golden age of radio and later in television. Early years Niles was born in Livingston, Montana and grew up there. He attended New York University and ...

as Radio Announcer * The Velascos as Mexican Dancers * José Eslava's Orchestra as Cantina Musicians * Frankie Marvin as Gas Station Attendant #2 (uncredited) * Walter Miller as George Blake (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 ch ...

as New York City Pier Worker (uncredited) * Champion as Gene's Horse (uncredited)

Production

Casting

Walter Miller was one of the top paid leading men in the silent era before transitioning to villain roles in talkies.Magers 2007, pp. 165–166. He was born Walter Corwin Miller on March 9, 1892 in Dayton, Ohio, and grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. He was educated in Brooklyn, New York. Miller started his acting career doing stagework before being signed as a leading man by Reliance, a small independent film company. By 1912 he was working for D. W. Griffith, and later appeared in feature films for

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

and

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

. He made ten popular serials with Allene Ray before being signed to

Mascot Pictures Mascot Pictures Corporation was an American film company of the 1920s and 1930s best known for producing and distributing film serials and B-westerns. Mascot was formed in 1927 by film producer Nat Levine. In 1936 it merged with several other ...

Nat Levine Nat Levine (July 26, 1899 – August 6, 1989), was an American film producer. He produced 105 films between 1921 and 1946. He was personal secretary to Marcus Loew, formed Mascot Pictures in 1927, and merged Mascot with Herbert Yates's Re ...

, for whom he made six serials. Later he made ten serials for

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

, two for

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

, and two for Republic Pictures. During the filming of a fight scene in ''Gaucho Serenade'', Miller and a fellow actor agreed to do the fight for real. For the next two days he complained of back pain, and while doing some closeup shots on the Republic backlot, he suffered a heart attack and died a short time later. Although all of his scenes had been completed and remained in the film, Republic omitted his name from the credits.

was a prominent radio announcer, best known for his work on ''The Don Ameche Show'' and ''

Gene Autry's Melody Ranch ''Gene Autry's Melody Ranch'' is a Western variety radio show in the United States. A 15-minute pilot show aired on December 31, 1939. The program ran from January 7, 1940 to August 1, 1943, and from September 23, 1945 to May 16, 1956.French, Jack ...

''.Magers 2007, p. 165. In 1932, he began working in films, mainly in the role of a radio newscaster or police broadcaster. In his later career, he was known for his television work as announcer on ''Let's Make a Deal'' and ''Truth or Consequences''.

Filming and budget

''Gaucho Serenade'' was filmed March 21 to April 8, 1940. The film had an operating budget of $77,885 (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 $83,633.Magers 2007, p. 163.

Stuntwork

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

Filming locations

* Jack Garner Ranch, State Highway 74, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA *

Lake Hemet Lake Hemet is a water storage reservoir located in the San Jacinto Mountains in Mountain Center, Riverside County, California,"Lake Hemet". The California Parks Company. Retrieved October 15, 2017. http://lakehemetrecreation.com/ with a capacity ...

, Riverside County, California, USA

Soundtrack

* "The Gaucho Serenade" (James Cavanaugh, John Redmond, Nat Simon) by Gene Autry with José Eslava's Orchestra at the Cantina * "Headin' for the Wide Open Spaces" (Gene Autry, Johnny Marvin, Harry Tobias) by Gene Autry and Smiley Burnette with an offscreen orchestra * "Give Out with a Song" (Connie Lee) by Mary Lee with an offscreen orchestra * "A Song at Sunset" (Gene Autry, Johnny Marvin, Harry Tobias) by Gene Autry and Mary Lee with an offscreen orchestra * "Cielito Lindo" (Traditional) at the Cantina * "Junta Plata-Latin Dance Music" (Jose Eslava) danced by The Velascos with José Eslava's Orchestra at the Cantina * "Wooing of Kitty MacFuty" (Smiley Burnette) by Smiley Burnette with José Eslava's Orchestra at the Cantina * "The Singing Hills" (Mack Davis, Sammy Mysels, and Dick Sanford) by Gene Autry with an offscreen backup and orchestra * "Keep Rollin' Lazy Longhorns" (Gene Autry, Johnny Marvin) by Gene Autry, Mary Lee, Smiley Burnette, and chorus

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * *

External links

* * * {{allmovie title, 92728, Gaucho Serenade 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