''Sunset in Wyoming'' is a 1941 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 William Morgan 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 ...

George Cleveland George Alan Cleveland (September 17, 1885 – July 15, 1957) was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1930 and 1954. Career Cleveland was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. His first appearance on the stag ...

, and

Maris Wrixon Mary Alice "Maris" Wrixon (December 28, 1916 – October 6, 1999) was an American film and television actress. She appeared in over 50 films between 1939 and 1951. Early years Wrixon was born in Billings, Montana, and raised in Great Falls, ...

. Based on a story by Joe Blair, the film is about a singing cowboy who goes up against a lumber company clearcutting the timber from a local mountain causing catastrophic flooding and endangering the lives of valley ranchers.Magers 2007, p. 190. The film features the songs "There's a Home in Wyomin'" and "Sing Me a Song of the Saddle".

Plot

The Wentworth Lumber Company has been

clearcutting Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry/ logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, it is used by foresters to create certain types of fore ...

trees on Mount Warner without considering the consequences. After one heavy rain, the ranchers in the valley suffer flood damage to their lands, the result of recent logging activities. The ranchers approach company manager Phipps (John Dilson) and camp foreman Bull Wilson (

Stanley Blystone William Stanley Blystone (August 1, 1894 – July 16, 1956) was an American film actor who made more than 500 films appearances between 1924 and 1956. He was sometimes billed as William Blystone or William Stanley. Early years Blystone was ...

), urging them to plant new trees to prevent the dangerous runoff. Phipps and Wilson ignore the requests, and when confrontations with the ranchers turn violent, singing cowboy and rancher Gene Autry offers to appeal directly to the lumber company's president, Asa Wentworth (

). Gene and his sidekick Frog Millhouse (

) meet with Asa, who tells them he recently turned control of the company over to his granddaughter Wilmetta "Billie" Wentworth (

) and general manager Larry Drew ( Robert Kent), and he is not happy with the way they've been running the business. Asa is also concerned about Billie's romantic interest in Larry, whom he does not trust. He asks Gene to meet with her at her country club and talk some sense into her. At the country club, Frog has a difficult time adapting to the fancy surroundings. After Gene accidentally pushes Billie into a swimming pool, they are thrown out of the club. They return to Asa's house where the old man decides to throw a party and introduce Gene to Billie's influential friends. Later he sends out the invitations under Billie's name. At the party, Asa tells Gene to impress animal lover Susannah Hawkins Peabody ( Sarah Edwards), whose husband Cornelius (

Dick Elliott Richard Damon Elliott (April 30, 1886 – December 22, 1961) was an American character actor who played in over 240 films from the 1930s until the time of his death. Early years Elliott was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Career Elliott p ...

) is the state lieutenant governor. Hoping to preserve Mount Warner by having it declared a state park, Gene tells Susannah that the mountain is a haven for wild animals. As Gene and Susannah make arrangements for her to inspect the area, two of Billie's other friends grow suspicious of her absence and telephone her at a nightclub. Thinking that Gene and Frog have arranged the party on their own, and unaware of her grandfather's involvement, Billie has them arrested. The next day, Asa arrives at the jail, bails them out, and returns with them to the valley to organize a campaign to create a state park at Mount Warner. Despite the violent opposition of Bull and his men, Gene is able to convince a state committee to inspect the area, which has now been stocked with wild animals by Frog. When Frog leads out a lion and a panther, however, Susannah realizes that she has been tricked, and she, Cornelius, Billie, and Larry prepare to leave in anger. As a huge rainstorm approaches, Gene warns them that the roads will be washed out, but they ignore him. While the desperate citizens of the valley are being flooded out of their homes, Gene and Frog chase after Asa's car, which they find stuck on a bridge. After getting everyone out of the car, Asa is swept into the river and saved by Gene. Back at Gene's house, Billie sees all of the displaced ranchers and realizes that Gene has been telling the truth about their hardship. She also realizes that Larry was only interested in exploiting the area. In an effort to correct her past mistakes, Billie fires Larry, asks Asa to take back control of the company, and supports the state park legislation. Sometime later, on the day the park is dedicated, Asa and Frog watch with satisfaction as Gene and Billie walk off together to a new life.

Cast

as Gene Autry *

as Frog Millhouse *

as Asa Wentworth *

as Wilmetta "Billie" Wentworth * Robert Kent as Larry Drew * Sarah Edwards as Susanna Hawkins Peabody *

Monte Blue Gerard Montgomery Blue (January 11, 1887 – February 18, 1963) was an American film actor who began his career as a romantic lead in the silent era; and for decades after the advent of sound, he continued to perform as a supporting player ...

as Jim Hayes *

as Lieutenant Governor Cornelius Peabody * John Dilson as Phipps *

as Bull Wilson * Champion as Gene's Horse (uncredited)

Production

Casting

''Sunset in Wyoming'' was

's only Gene Autry film. Born December 28, 1916, Wrixon appeared in over fifty films between 1939 and 1951. Between 1940 and 1942, she appeared in 29 films at Warner Brothers, mostly uncredited parts and supporting roles. In the 1950s and 1960s, she appeared on several television series. She is best remembered for her role in the horror film, ''The Ape'', starring Boris Karloff. In 1997, she remembered her experience working on ''Sunset in Wyoming'': Wrixon was married to film editor Rudi Fehr. She died in Santa Monica, California of heart failure in 1999.

Filming and budget

''Sunset in Wyoming'' was filmed May 27 to June 11, 1941. The film had an operating budget of $78,803 (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 $84,097.

Filming locations

Big Bear Lake Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is a snow and rain fed lake, having no other means of tributaries or mechanical replenishment. At a surface elevation of , it ...

, San Bernardino Mountains, California, USA * George Lewis Mansion, Beverly Hills, California, USA *

Placerita Canyon Placerita Canyon State Park is a California State Park located on the north slope of the western San Gabriel Mountains, in an unincorporated rural area of Los Angeles County, near the city of Santa Clarita. The park hosts a variety of historic and ...

, San Gabriel Mountains, California, USA

Stuntwork

* Yakima Canutt * Tommy Coats * Ken Cooper * Joe Garcia * Nellie Walker * Bob Woodward * Joe Yrigoyen (Gene Autry's stunt double)

Soundtrack

* "I Was Born in Ole Wyomin'" (Carson Robison) by Gene Autry and Smiley Burnette * "There's a Home in Wyomin'" (Billy Hill, Peter De Rose) by Gene Autry * "Twenty-One Years" (Bob Miller) by Gene Autry * "Casey Jones" (T. Lawrence Seibert, Eddie Newton) by Gene Autry and Smiley Burnette * "Sing Me a Song of the Saddle" (Frank Harford, Gene Autry) by Gene Autry

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * *

External links

* * * {{allmovie title, 112285, Sunset in Wyoming 1941 films 1941 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films American black-and-white films Republic Pictures films Films directed by William Morgan (director) Films set in forests Films scored by Raoul Kraushaar 1940s English-language films 1940s American films