Search - In Old Monterey on DVD

Which Monterey Was That?

Icepick | Castroville, CA USA | 12/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Has nothing to do with Monterey, except the title of the movie is a song that Gene sings. It is, however, a fun movie with goofy co-stars Gabby Hayes and Smiley Burnett. The theme is about war readiness, with ranchers pitted against the mitary's need to practice bombing from the air. The DVD is fantastic. The menus are some of the coolest ever; the many extras are great; and the restored film is a very sharp b&w. Definitely prepared with respect and affection for GA."

"Gene Autry B-Western Series ... In Old Monterey (1939) ...

J. Lovins | Missouri-USA | 07/28/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Republic Pictures present "IN OLD MONTEREY" (August 14, 1939) (73 mins/B&W) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) --- relive those thrilling days when the "First Singing Cowboy" Gene Autry took us down the dusty trails with hard riding and straight shooting hitting the bull's eye with excitement every time ... the Gene Autry series of B-Westerns were a staple of Saturday matinees in the 1930s and 1940s --- The Following Segments are from the "Melody Ranch Theater", which originally aired on the Nashville Network in 1987 --- Hosted by Gene and longtime sidekick Pat Buttram the program showcased many of Gene's classic motion pictures and featured personal anecdotes about how the films were made --- Information on costars and significant happenings in Gene's personal life and career. --- don't miss any of the Singing Cowboy's features loaded with action and songs that will leave you wanting more of Gene Autry's B-Western Adventures --- The sale of this DVD will further the educational and cultural mission of the renowned "Autry National Center in Los Angeles".

Under Joseph Kane (Director), Armand Schaefer (Producer), Gerald Geraghty (Screenwriter), Dorrell McGowan (Screenwriter), Stuart E. McGowan (Screenwriter), George Sherman (Screen Story), Ernest W. Miller (Cinematographer), Gene Autry (Composer (Music Score), Walter Donaldson (Songwriter), Gus Kahn (Songwriter ),Raoul Kraushaar (Musical Direction/Supervision), Frank Marvin (Songwriter), Bob Nolan (Songwriter), Billy Rose (Songwriter), Fred Rose (Songwriter), Mabel Wayne (Songwriter), Edward Mann (Editor), Armand Shaeffer (Associate Producer), Al Wilson (Production Manager) - - - - our storyline Gene is sent on a special mission by the army to convince a town to give up its land so the army can run drills there --- a theme on war preparedness in which the ego-centered ethic of the West is turned on its head by Gene convincing Gabby Hayes and the other townsfolk to abandon their homes and livelihoods for the greater good --- The sixth of seven oaters made by Gene Autry in 1939, B-Western film with cars, airplanes and military tanks --- as Sgt.Gene Autry of the Army attache has his work cut out for him - - - - some wonderful tunes "IT HAPPENED IN MONTEREY" (Gene Autry), "BORN IN THE SADDLE" (Gene Autry), "MY BUDDY" (Gene Autry and The Hoosier Hot Shots), "IT LOOKS LIKE RAIN" (Smiley Burnette and The Hoosier Hot Shots), "TUMBLING TUMBLEWEEDS", (Gene Autry and The Ranch Boys), "LITTLE PARDNER" (Gene Autry), "VIRGINIA BLUES The Hoosier Hot Shots), "COLUMBIA THE GEM OF THE OCEAN" (Gene Autry, George Hayes and Extras), "VACANT CHAIR" (Gene Autry and June Storey), "IT HAPPENED IN MONTEREY" (Gene Autry) - - - - some fun facts, In the late 1930s, Gene turned down an offer of $3,000 to endorse a brand of cigarette.

the cast includes
Gene Autry ... Sergeant Gene Autry
Smiley Burnette ... Frog Millhouse
June Storey ... Jill Whittaker
George 'Gabby' Hayes ... Gabby Whittaker
Sarie and Sallie ... Themselves
The Ranch Boys ... Singers/Cowhands
Stuart Hamblen ... Bugler
Billy Lee ... Jimmy Whittaker
Jonathan Hale ... Stevenson (owner, Atlas borax mine)
Robert Warwick ... Major Clifford B. Forbes
William Hall ... Gilman (mine foreman)
Ralph Bucko ... Townsman
Roy Bucko ... Townsman
Fred Burns ... Rancher Fred
Frank Ellis ... Townsman
Frank Kettering ... Hoosier Hotshot Frank
Jack Kirk ... Cowhand
Rex Lease ... Soldier
George Montgomery ... Soldier
Jack O'Shea ... Miner
Hal Price ... Wagon driver
Tom Steele ... Henchman
Forrest Taylor ... Army colonel
The Hoosier Hotshots ... Musicians/Soldiers
Ken Trietsch ... Hoosier Hotshot Kenny
Paul Trietsch ... Hoosier Hotshot Hezzie
Charles Ward ... Hoosier Hotshot Gabe
Robert J. Wilke ... Man on wagon

BIOS:
1. Gene Autry
Date of Birth: 29 September 1907 - Near Tioga, Texas
Date of Death: 2 October 1998 - Studio City, Los Angeles, California

Special footnote, Orvon Gene Autry was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television --- Discovered by film producer Nat Levine in 1934, he and Burnette made their film debut for Mascot Pictures Corp. "In Old Santa Fe" as part of a singing cowboy quartet; he was then given the starring role by Levine in 1935 in the 12-part serial "The Phantom Empire" --- Shortly thereafter, Mascot was absorbed by the formation of Republic Pictures Corp. and Autry went along to make a further 44 films up to 1940, all B westerns in which he played under his own name, rode his horse Champion, had Burnette as his regular sidekick and had many opportunities to sing in each film --- Autry became the top Western star at the box-office by 1937, reaching his national peak of popularity from 1940 to 1942. His Gene Autry Flying "A" Ranch Rodeo show debuted in 1940 --- Gene Autry is the only celebrity to have five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one in each of the five categories maintained by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce --- Radio, Films, Recordings, Television and Live Theater.

2. Smiley Burnette
Date of Birth: 18 March 1911 - Summum, Illinois
Date of Death: 16 February 1967 - Encino, California

Second special footnote, Lester Alvin (Smiley) Burnette an American singer-songwriter who could play as many as 100 different musical instruments, was a successful comedy actor in Western films over three decades --- The popularity of Burnette's Frog Millhouse character, with his trademark floppy black hat, was such that when Autry left for World War II service he did sidekicks duties with Eddie Dew, Sunset Carson and Bob Livingston, plus nine other films with Roy Rogers. After leaving Republic Pictures in 1944, Burnette became the sidekick to Charles Starrett at Columbia Pictures in the long Durango Kid series. Starrett starred in the series from 1944 until 1952, and that pairing resulted in more than 50 films. After the Starrett series was over, Burnette joined Autry for his final six films, all released by Columbia Pictures in 1953.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
1. Reminiscing with Gene Autry and Pat Buttram at the "Melody Ranch Theater"
2. "Don't Touch That Dial", Gene Autry is on the air - excerpts from the Original "Melody Ranch Radio Show"
3. Production and Publicity Stills
4. Horseplay
5. Poster and lobby Card Art
6. Trivia and Movie Facts
7. Original Press Kit Material

Check out a new book from Empire Publishing - "GENE AUTRY WESTERNS" (Hardcover) - by author Boyd Magers, like no other book on Gene Autry --- all of Gene's Mascot, Republic and Columbia westerns included, as well as his half-hour TV Episodes --- each segment contains the release date on each film ... major production credits ... complete cast (including character played) ... all songs included, songwriter and who performed them in the film ... running time of each film ... dates of the filming ... bios on the cast and major players (Smiley, Pat Buttram, Cass County Boys, Herbert J. Yates, directors, leading ladies, songwriters and various heavies, etc.) ... locations that were used ... budgets and negative cost ... stunt people involved ... analysis and synopsis on each film ... notes and comments (including film and cast background info, salaries paid, working titles, etc) ... comments from Gene and many other cast members on each film ... theater exhibitors comments at the time of the films release ...this tribute was written from the heart and it shows.

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc), Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") and Trevor Scott (Down Under DVD Com) as they have rekindled my interest once again for Film Noir, B-Westerns and Serials --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and B-Westerns ... order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on DVD --- stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out Image Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 73 min on DVD ~ Image Video #2212 ~ (8/30/2005)"