Gene Autry Double Feature: Oh, Susanna! (1936) and Rootin Tootin Rhythm (1937)

Date / Time: Saturday, June 27, 2015, Noon–2:30 p.m.

Location: The Autry in Griffith Park: Wells Fargo Theater

Admission: Included With Museum Admission / Free for Autry Members

RSVP/Reservations: No Reservations Necessary

Every other month, two Gene Autry films are screened in the Imagination Gallery’s Western Legacy Theater.

June’s Gene Autry Double Feature theme is “Mistaken Identity”

A popular plot point in Gene Autry’s musical Westerns from the 1930s is Gene’s mistaken identity. In Oh, Susanna! an escaped convict knocks out radio star Gene Autry and swaps clothes with him, making the authorities believe that Gene is the criminal. Then in Rootin Tootin Rhythm Gene and his pal Frog Millhouse are after cattle rustlers and become mixed up in a comedy of errors when they don the clothes of two dead outlaws, only to learn that the outlaws are really dead sheriffs, dressed in outlaws’ clothes!

Oh, Susanna! (1936)
Republic Pictures (59 minutes)

Killer Wolf Benson escapes from a sheriff’s posse by getting on a passenger train as it enters a tunnel. Realizing that the train will be searched at the next stop, he enters the stateroom of radio star Gene Autry, knocks him unconscious, changes clothes with him, and then hurls Gene’s limp form out the window. Benson escapes with Gene’s luggage while Gene is picked up by roving troubadour actors Frog Millhouse and Professor Daniels. When Gene, in the garb of Benson, tries to explain to authorities, he is jailed and ordered to be hanged the next day. Frog and the Professor obtain his release through trickery with a Gene Autry recording. Meanwhile, Benson, guided by a telegram he found in Gene’s belongings, arrives at Jefferson Lee’s dude ranch passing as Gene, an old friend. When Lee sees through the ruse, he is promptly killed and robbed of several thousand dollars. The family, including Lee’s daughter Mary Ann, in charge of ranch entertainment, offer a “Dead or Alive” reward for Gene Autry. The real Gene finally arrives at the ranch and, with Frog, the Professor, and the Light Crust Doughboys, entertains guests. At the same time he does a bit of sleuthing, tracking down Benson, and clearing his own name.

For more details about the cast and songs in the film, visit the Official Gene Autry website page for Oh, Susanna! (1936)

Rootin Tootin Rhythm (1937)
Republic Pictures (60 minutes)

Gene Autry is co-owner of a ranch where, during a party one evening, rustlers strike, taking a large herd of cattle to the Mexican Border. Gene and his pal Frog Millhouse take off after the rustlers and become mixed up in a comedy of errors when they don the clothes of two dead outlaws, only to learn that the outlaws are really dead sheriffs, dressed in outlaw’s clothes. The real outlaws, Jim and the Apache Kid, are very much alive and roaming the countryside at large under the protection of the Sheriffs’ clothes. The cattlemen mistake Gene and Frog for bandits, and mistake the bandits, of course, for sheriffs. One of the head cattlemen, Stafford, is in league with the bandits, and helps Gene and Frog “escape,” thereby establishing himself as the guilty party in the cattle thefts that have been taking place throughout the region. Stafford directs them to his own home, where his niece and stepdaughter mistake Gene and Frog for the outlaws and attempt to deliver them to the Sheriff. Stafford orders Frog and Gene to take the stolen cattle over the border. A storm breaks out and Gene, Frog, and the girls are forced to take refuge in a shack. While Frog and Gene sleep, the girls disarm, bind and gag them. Meanwhile, the real villains appear, complicating matters. Gene and Frog make a clever escape, round up the rustlers, recover the stolen cattle and bring the culprits to justice. Stafford is killed by his own henchmen, who later are apprehended by Gene and Frog.

For more details about the cast and songs in the film, visit the Official Gene Autry website page for Rootin Tootin Rhythm