Mountain Rhythm (1939)
Director:
B. Reeves Eason (as B. Reaves Eason)Writers:
Gerald Geraghty (screen play), Connie Lee (original story)Stars:
Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, June StoreyThe action content of Republic's Gene Autry musical westerns was considerably enhanced by veteran director B. Reeves "Breezy" Eason, as demonstrated by the mile-a-minute Mountain Rhythm. True, there's a plot, with Autry coming to the rescue of elderly Maude Eburne, who is in danger of losing her ranch to the crooked owner (Walter Fenner) of a resort hotel. And, yes, there's comedy relief aplenty, not only from standard Autry sidekick Smiley Burnette but also from hoboes Ferris Taylor and Jack Pennick. And, sure, Autry sings a number of songs to leading lady June Storey. But the main selling card of Mountain Rhythm is action with a capital "A"-especially during a climactic chase which conjures up pleasant memories of Breezy Eason's chariot-race sequence in 1926's Ben-Hur.
