Comin' 'Round the Mountain (1936) User Reviews

One for Smiley fans!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 29 January 2018]

"Comin' Round the Mountain" (1936) presents us with an action packed 55 minutes, although one suspects that supervising editor Joseph H. Lewis has raided the stock library for a long sequence in which Gene Autry actually drops out of the plot in order to accommodate a great amount of bronc-busting and mustang chasing.

As if this were not sufficient to send audiences away happily, there is also some thrilling stunt-work in the climactic race sequence.

Another stand-out scene shows Champion (playing the mustang, El Diablo) hotly pursued by a pack of coyotes. Autry himself doesn't come across a fraction as strongly.

And in this movie occasion, Gene is handed only two songs!

On the other hand, the movie bends over to accommodate Smiley Burnette, who is prominently featured in an amusing matador routine.

Mustang versus Thoroughbred.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 30 August 2020]

Señorita Delores (Ann Rutherford) is having problems paying her taxes, so she decided to sell off many of her livestock. But a baddie wants her ranch...so he arranges to shoot the Pony Express driver off his horse. The rider happens to be Gene Autry and now unconscious, the baddies' henchmen rob Gene and leave him for dead in the desert. Fortunately for Gene, a horse from Delores' ranch, a wild Mustang coined 'el Diablo' escapes and is cornered in a canyon near Gene. Gene, being a swell guy, saves the horse from a pack of wolves and soon he breaks the horse* and rides it back to the ranch.

With no money to pay for her taxes and an auction of the ranch in a few days, things look dire. But Gene has a plan to use the now tame el Diablo to lure more mustangs to the ranch....and they can then sell the horses to the Pony Express company** and pay off the taxes. At the same time, however, a seemingly nice guy is wooing Delores...though he really is the big bad boss who is trying to take away her land. Can Gene expose this baddie AND manage to get a contract to sell all these Mustangs? Well, it all boils down to a big race between Gene's Mustangs*** and the baddies Thoroughbreds.

This is a very good installment of the Gene Autry franchise. My only complaint is that the reused footage of a horse being broken bareback is exciting to watch...and obviously lifted from an older source, as the footage is very grainy. It really looked cheap and out of place. Otherwise, a very exciting and unique western...well worth your time.

*While Rutherford was a nice actress, she was all wrong to play a Mexican-American, as her accent sounded more Midwestern than Hispanic. Remember...this is only 11 years after California became a part of the USA and had been part of Mexico before this...so her accent couldn't have just disappeared like this.

**The Pony Express only operated for a year from 1860-1. Why? Because the telegraph system was much faster, safer and more reliable and would soon replace the Express.

***I researched and the film is correct...Mustangs are MUCH better than other breeds of horses for such long distance runs. They aren't as fast as Thoroughbreds on short courses but over longer distances, they are sturdier and faster...with greater stamina.

Misidentification of the stalwart Champion

[heathentart · 5/10 · 9 April 2010]

OK, so shoot me. I enjoy Gene Autry's movies, anachronisms (missing from this one) and all.

Gene is helping out a very pretty senorita (Ann Rutherford) from a dastardly man bent on acquiring her ranch for pennies. There's a race between Thoroughbreds and Mustangs to see who'd make better Pony Express ponies. As if there's any doubt!! Mustangs rule!! Smiley Burnette is his usual funny self, doing a wonderful number as a matador against a two-man bull. LOL!!! Classic. He also gets to be the pivotal man who unmasks the evildoers. What a talented man! I've submitted a correction to the cast list. "El Diablo" the black stallion mustang of the film is identified as Champion, Gene's famous horse. El Diablo is a black with a small white star on his forehead. Champion is the first of his line - a dark sorrel with a white blaze down his face, and white stockings (3, I think) that Gene rides throughout, except for the pivotal horse race.

Obviously two different horses. The sad thing for me is there is no documentation about "El Diablo," including breeding, training, etc. Just another hard-working animal that gets no recognition.

If you've enjoyed any of Gene's other movies, you'll like this one. If you prefer Clint Eastwood's kind, don't even bother watching.

One of Gene's Best

[krorie · 12 June 2005]

To my way of thinking both Gene Autry and Roy Rogers made their best movies in the early days before fame and fortune gave them grandiose ideas of Hollywood greatness. So Many of their later movies were not much difference from the gala Hollywood musicals of the day. Then their post-war films lacked the drive and stamina of their early works. Comin' 'Round the Mountain does have a few musical numbers in it, including the title song, but they blend in without too much slowing down taking place. The credits given for the movie by IMDb list the horse El Diablo as Champion, but it looks like a different champion than the one later ridden by Gene. In this movie El Diablo is one of the stars and does an excellent job in his roll to keep the mustangs under Gene's control. Smiley is around with his usual sophomoric humor. This time he does have a few funny moments, for example riding the wrong way in the horse race and coming in first at the starting post. Smiley Burnett was a very talented and gifted musician and songwriter but left a little to be desired in the humor department. I always thought he appealed more to the preschooler set. The lovely Ann Rutherford is around for the romantic interests of Gene and his arch rival Matt Ford. The movie is of interest also because it depicts the brief but colorful attempt to deliver the US mail by pony express. As with most of the B westerns there is also the added attraction of on-location shooting. The scenery of the West with the galloping mustangs is shot in beautiful black and white that should appeal to any naturalist or lover of the picturesque. I highly recommend this movie to any Gene Autry fan or any true lover of the old Saturday matinée cowboy movie.

"This race is in the bag, horsie!"

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 9 March 2014]

When Gene Autry is ambushed while riding the mail for the Pony Express, he's left for dead in the wilderness along with the horse he was riding. Coming to, he staggers into a wild chase by a wolf pack trailing a wild stallion who broke out of a corral with a rope trailing behind him. The rope catches in some rocks and the horse would have been dog food if Gene hadn't arrived to save the day. Needing a mount, Gene needs to break the stallion for riding, and in a curious sequence, some old stock footage is used showing a rider who obviously isn't Gene, bringing the horse under control.

The credits show that Wonder Horse Champion portrayed the wild stallion El Diablo - King of the Wild Horses. Like another reviewer here, I have my doubts about that. Champion was stockier in build, and Gene rode him in other scenes so a comparison can be made. El Diablo was slimmer, and possibly a hand taller. Of course he was a lot darker too, being black, but then they threw in that painted horse ruse later in the picture for the great race which tripped up bad guy Ford (LeRoy Mason).

Speaking of that race, right after it was over, Frog (Smiley Burnette) addresses Senorita Moreno (Ann Rutherford) as Mrs. Norton; it even came out that way in closed captioning! I wonder why no one caught that during editing. And alluding back to that earlier mention of stock footage, the same thing was done during the horse race with some obvious cut aways of not-Gene riding El Diablo to first place across the finish line. I should mention that was AFTER Smiley crossed the finish line going the wrong way!

For an early Autry flick, this one didn't have many songs in it. There was the title tune of course to open the story, and a nice rendition of 'When the Campfire is Low on the Prairie'. But there's a real head scratcher in the middle when Senor Don Juan Frog (that would be Smiley) sings 'King of the Matadors' and quite visible are more than a few men with beards wearing dresses! What picture were they supposed to be in?

Gene Autry wins the big race.

[michaelRokeefe · 5/10 · 29 September 2008]

Early Gene Autry film from Republic Pictures, barely an hour long, but just long enough to satisfy the Saturday matinée crowd. Gene will ride Champion(actually a horse listed as El Diablo)to the finish line in another big race. A typical Autry flick with action mixed with song. Smiley Burnette for comic relief thinks he has won the race, but actually crossed the starting line instead of the finishing line. The beautiful Ann Rutherford is Gene's romantic interest this time. Our hero will save stolen mortgage money and get to kiss the girl. Besides the title song there is "Chiquita" and "When The Campfire is Low On The Prairie".

Gene rides for the Pony Express

[corporalko · 8/10 · 24 July 2015]

Gene Autry is riding for the Pony Express when he's ambushed by thieves who want to keep a beautiful ranch owner from being able to keep her ranch, by stealing the cash that is being mailed to her.

His horse having been killed by the thieves, Gene has to hike across the desert on foot, but he encounters a beautiful, wild horse (played by Champion, naturally) which he breaks for riding, eventually arriving at the young rancher's spread. Clashes with a crooked businessman lead to a hell-for-leather, multiple-rider horse race in which Gene shows off his skills as a horseman (yes, he was a good rider, despite what some of the Autry haters try to tell us).

A careful study of the exciting horse race will show anyone who isn't totally prejudiced that yes, that is Gene (not "not-Gene") riding El Diablo to victory. And as to which horse is which, who cares? Do you think that's the first time (or the last) that a film studio was a little misleading about identifying an actor, human or otherwise?

A good, early Autry movie, with some very tuneful music, including a song-and-dance number by Smiley Burnette in his usual role as Gene's sidekick.

A Bucket Load of Lone Pine

[dougdoepke · 28 December 2010]

Good Autry oater, with lots of outdoor action, and a lively rendition of the title tune. The run- away stallion sequence is especially well done. Also, the Lone Pine locations are dramatic, as usual, but I really like the moody skylines. Naturally, no one watches these matinée specials for plot surprises. Here, Gene's having to win a horse race in order to save pretty girl Rutherford's ranch, and a heck-uv-a race it is since the bad guys, surprise, surprise, don't play fair.

I agree, these early Autry's are superior to the later ones, maybe because Republic's resources could outfit these early productions. Note the well-stocked horse race, plus the "wolf" pack which may look more like "who let the dogs out", but's still an unusual feature for any oater. Also, the comedic bullfight is rather charming and well staged. All in all, the movie's a treat for those who like outdoor action.

(In passing—this early black-coated version of Gene's horse "Champion" is definitely not his better-known later one that was a much lighter color.)