Don't Believe the Hype

Better Late Then Never

A Masterpiece!

A Disappointing Continuation

Songs: "Mexicali Rose" by Tenney and Stone; "El Rancho Grande" by Costello, Morales, and Uranga; "You're the Only Star in My Blue Heaven" by Autry; "My Orchestra's Driving Me Crazy" by Burnette. Grip: Nels Mathias. Production manager: Al Wilson. RCA Sound System. Executive producer: Herbert J. Yates. Copyright 27 March 1939 by Republic Pictures Corp. No recorded New York opening. U.S. release: 27 March 1939. U.K. release through British Lion. Australian release through British Empire Films: 28 October 1943 (sic, a mere four and half years plus one month and a day after its USA release). 6 reels. 58 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Autry tackles oil swindlers in Mexico.NOTES: Number 31 of Autry's 94 movies.COMMENT: Mexicali Rose is not exactly loaded with action despite a script that seems to promise much but actually delivers little. There are the usual anachronisms of modern automobiles this time versus Mexican bandits led by Noah Beery in a tongue-spitting, scene-chewing impersonation of a ruffianly Robin Hood. Another actor in Beery's league is also on hand in the person of William Farnum whose eye-rolling seems to have found favor with the director and editor who use numerous reaction shots of his facial mugging. Luana Walters' heroine is not a particularly attractive person either. Even Autry himself is unflattering photographed at times. There's no stuntwork to speak of in this one. Even the climactic shoot-out is brief. There's only a tiny bit of location shooting too. Production values are well below the usual standard for an Autry pic. The plot is naive and old-hat and there is little excitement. The slapstick is strained. The only items of which the film has a fair quota are Mr Autry's songs and even these are presented and delivered for the most part in a desultory fashion.

He's not only a singing cowboy on the radio but a hero whom the villains (including his boss!) must look out for as they scheme to get control of the land where an orphanage is surrounded by oil. It doesn't take long for the plot to get going and for the audience to find out who the bad guys are. It's obviously who the good guy is: Gene Autry, who is actually a bit clumsy, allowing himself to be taken hostage by the stereotypical Mexican bandits working for the owner of the radio station. Portly Smiley Burnette gets to be the hero, taking away that "sidekick" mentality and proving himself to be even more brave than the leading man. That adds an interesting twist to the cliché-ridden plot filled with stereotypical villains and cheery Mexican villagers who seemed to always just grin and shrug when confronted by their own people with evil intentions. Of course, there's the expected musical interludes which manage not to slow down the plot line and entertainingly pad out the film's length to just under an hour.

Well this is a little uncharacteristic for Gene Autry, he and Smiley team up with a band of Mexican bandits led by Noah Beery to expose the shady Alta Vista Oil Company and it's villainous owner Carruthers (William Royle). The bad guys have a phony oil rig set up to convince the locals to buy stock in their company. One of the investors, the Ochenta Mission for orphans, is about to go under when the crooks fail to pay dividends to the stockholders. Gene is tipped off to the scam by mission worker Anita Loredo (Luana Walters), and as is often the case, the first meeting between Gene and his leading lady gets off on the wrong foot.The basis for Gene's alliance with Valdez (Beery) and his banditos is explained away rather tenuously. Valdez hijacks Champion, and when Gene tries to make the save, he and Smiley are taken into custody by the gang. Don't ask me how Valdez got that record player to work in the middle of the desert (where did he plug it in?), but when a clumsy Mexican breaks the record playing the title song, Gene takes up the tune to prove he's Valdez's favorite crooner. Soon enough, Valdez is bringing food to the orphans and turning into an all around good guy. You would think he'd make it to the end of the picture.Now you really have to pay attention to follow how this story works itself out. Carruthers has to pull up stakes at the phony oil well to avoid disclosure, but Gene figures to divert their resources to a 'new' phony well. Except the 'new' phony well turns out to be real, as Carruthers' henchmen sell off the property to make their getaway. It's amazing to me how this stuff just sort of works itself out in a one hour film, but I guess that was the appeal for matinée fans of the era. By the time it's over Gene's serenading Miss Anita, as he saves the day one more time.

Gene gets to sing three of his best songs, including one he wrote, in the action-packed "Mexicali Rose." Gene had sung "Mexicali Rose," the title song, in an earlier picture, "Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm," even singing it in Spanish. The song was so popular that he and his producers decided to do a film around the title. This time the title actually fits the story which takes place in Mexico. Gene croons another fitting piece, "El Rancho Grande." He also sings one of the best songs he ever wrote, "You're The Only Star In My Blue Heaven." When he appeared on the Nashville Channel back in the 1980's, he told the TV audience that one of his lady fans had written him a letter expressing her fondness for his movies. She ended the letter by telling Gene, "You're the only star in my blue heaven." That expression stuck in his mind leading to the song he wrote with the same title. Frog, one of the best musicians around, gets to sing one song. He was sort of like the later rock performer, Clarence "Frogman" Henry, in that he could sing like a girl and he could sing like a frog. Smiley does both in "Mexicali Rose." The story involves a fake oil company using Gene and Frog as radio entertainers promoting the sell of stock in the enterprise. Gene and Frog devoted their talents thinking the money raised was going to help orphans in a mission run by Padre Dominic (William Farnum) and a pretty senorita, Anita Loredo (Luana Walters), the Mexicali Rose of the title. When Anita convinces Gene that the oil company is a sham to steal money from the orphans, Gene and Frog leave the radio station to investigate the allegations. A third party gets involved when Gene and Frog are confronted by Mexican bandits headed by an hombre named Valdez (Noah Beery), not unlike Pancho Villa, a good outlaw or Robin Hood as Valdez comes to visualize himself. Valdez is after Gene's horse, Champion. Gene and Champion are saved when Valdez discovers that Gene is the singing cowboy he has come to idolize. All join forces against the crooks led by a swindler named Carruthers (William Royle). Gene and his pals concoct a plan to make Carruthers and his gang think that there is really oil on the mission land. The plan almost backfires when real oil is discovered."Mexicali Rose" starts with a bang. Gene and Frog are hellbent for leather. Skilled camera work shows Gene and Frog galloping full speed down the trail heading for the radio station to get there on time. The film continues fast-paced to the end.An added bonus for the viewer is the appearance of Roy Barcroft as McElroy, one of the scam artists. Barcroft was just beginning his long movie career as the super bad guy of the B western. He usually dressed in a suit and held a position of respectability but turned out to be the orneriest snake in the show. He is not the boss heavy in "Mexicali Rose," but does have a few good scenes.