''Springtime in the Rockies'' is a 1937 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

Joseph Kane Jasper Joseph Inman Kane (March 19, 1894, San Diego – August 25, 1975, Santa Monica, California) was an American film director, film producer, film editor and screenwriter. He is best known for his extensive directorship and focus on Western fi ...

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 Polly Rowles. Written by Gilbert Wright and

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 ...

, 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.

Plot

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 George Newell Chesebro (July 29, 1888 – May 28, 1959) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 400 films between 1915 and 1954. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and died in Los Angeles, California. Partial filmography * ''Mi ...

) 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 Alfred Morton Bridge (February 26, 1891 – December 27, 1957) was an American character actor who played mostly small roles in over 270 films between 1931 and 1954. Bridge's persona was an unpleasant, gravel-voiced man with an untidy mous ...

) 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 (

), 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 Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovid The Bovidae comprise the biological family of cloven-hoofed ...

. 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

as Gene Autry *

as Frog Millhouse * Polly Rowles as Sandra Knight * Ula Love as Sylvia Parker * Ruth Bacon as Peggy Snow * Jane Hunt as Jane Hilton *

as Thad Morgan *

as Briggs *

Tom London Tom London (born Leonard T. Clapman; August 24, 1889 – December 5, 1963) was an American actor who played frequently in B-Westerns. According to ''The Guinness Book of Movie Records'', London is credited with appearing in the most films in ...

as Tracy * Edward Hearn as Jed Thorpe * Frankie Marvin as Autry's Musical Cowhand * William Hole as Bub, the Messenger *

Edmund Cobb Edmund Fessenden Cobb (June 23, 1892 – August 15, 1974) was an American actor who appeared in more than 620 films between 1912 and 1966. Biography Cobb was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the son of William Henry Cobb and Eddie (Edmundi ...

as Sheriff * Fred Burns as Rancher Harris * Jimmy's Saddle Pals as Musical Ranch Hands *

Champion the Wonder Horse Champion the Wonder Horse was the on-screen companion of singing cowboy Gene Autry in 79 films between 1935 and 1952, and 91 television episodes of ''The Gene Autry Show'' between 1950 and 1955. In addition, Champion starred in 26 episodes of his ...

as Gene's Horse (uncredited)

Production

Filming locations

* Garner Valley, California, USA * Keen Camp, State Highway 74, Mountain Center, San Jacinto Mountains, California, USA *

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land a ...

, USA

Soundtrack

* "When It's Springtime in the Rockies" (

Mary Hale Woolsey Mary Hale Woolsey (March 21, 1899 – December 6, 1969) was an American songwriter and lyricist. She is most noted for the lyrics she wrote for "When It's Springtime in the Rockies". Early life Mary Elizabeth Hale Woolsey was born on March 21, 1 ...

/Robert Sauer) by Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Jimmy's Saddle Pals, and George Chesebro * "Give Me a Pony and an Open Prairie" (Gene Autry, Frank Harford) by Gene Autry with Jimmy's Saddle Pals * "Vitamin D" (Traditional) by Ula Love, Ruth Bacon, and Jane Hunt * "The Moon is Ridin'" (Leonid S. Leonardi, Winston Tharp) by Gene Autry, Ula Love, Ruth Bacon and Jane Hunt * "Sing Your Song, Cowboy" by Jimmy's Saddle Pals * "Way Down Low" (Smiley Burnette) by Smiley Burnette * "There'll Be a Hayridin' Wedding in June" (Gene Autry, Johnny Marvin) by Gene Autry, Polly Rowles, Ula Love, Ruth Bacon, Jane Hunt and Jimmy's Saddle Pals * "

Bridal Chorus The "Bridal Chorus" () from the 1850 opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a col ...

(Here Comes the Bride)" (

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

, from ''

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in Germany, German Arthurian literature. The son of Percival, Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which fi ...

'') * "Down in the Land of Zulu" (Gene Autry, Johnny Marvin) by Ula Love, Ruth Bacon, Jane Hunt, and Smiley Burnette * "Buffalo Gals (Won't You Come Out Tonight)" (William Cool White) by Jimmy's Saddle Pals * "

You're the Only Star in My Blue Heaven Starting as the B-side of Gene Autry's " Mexicali Rose", penned by Autry, 'You're the Only Star in My Blue Heaven' was also popular in Hillbilly jukeboxes and radios in the mid-late 1930s. After the Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. (CBS) purcha ...

" by Gene Autry * "The Wild and Woolly West" (

Sam H. Stept Samuel Howard Stept (aka Sammy Stept; 18 September 1897 – 1 December 1964) was an American songwriter who wrote for Broadway, Hollywood and the big bands. He became known simply as Sam Stept or Sam H. Stept – he rarely used his full middle n ...

Ted Koehler Ted L. Koehler (July 14, 1894 – January 17, 1973) was an American lyricist. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972. Life and career Koehler was born in 1894 in Washington, D.C. He started out as a photo-engraver, but w ...

)

Memorable quotes

* Gene Autry: You know you can't sing and be mean at the same time. * Frog Millhouse: Well, I'll be hung for a horse thief. Soil testin' equipment. Encyclopedias. VTC and chemicals and poison. Well, who in blazes sent all this junk out here? :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. * Sylvia Parker: Watch me break down their resistance. Well, pards, I reckon you hombres are figgerin' on a rip-snortin' bang-up shindig tonight. :Cowhand: What did she say? :Gene Autry: Hombres. A colloquialism indigenous to the southwest. Derived from the Latin, "Homo".

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * *

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Springtime In The Rockies 1937 films 1937 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films American black-and-white films Films about sheep Films shot in California Republic Pictures films Films produced by Sol C. Siegel Films directed by Joseph Kane 1930s English-language films 1930s American films