Sub-par 60-minutes for Gene's premier Republic period. The story's pretty good even if familiar—ranchers being cheated out of their land. But putting their land up for auction does make for an exciting climax as Gene races against time. One reason I like these early Autry entries is that Frog gets to be more than comic relief. Here he does acrobatic fisticuffs with the best of them. He was really a very talented guy. Too bad the production doesn't leave the non-scenic San Fernando Valley for maybe scenic Lone Pine and the Sierras. After all, the title is Mountain Rhythm, not Valley Rhythm. Anyway, catch how the guys start that cattle stampede—it's funny as heck. The songs, unfortunately, are pretty undistinguished, except for a couple familiar ones. All in all, Gene's done better.

"Signal 42 Men", that's the battle cry as leader Judge Worthington (Ferris Taylor) rallies his men together via the hobo grapevine and come to the rescue of local ranchers trying to win back their grazing land at government auction. It seems that financier Cavanaugh (Walter Fenner) has his sights on Pueblo Springs as a major tourist destination and health center, and makes every effort to thwart the locals in their quest. You won't believe the cattle roundup that the hobos inspire, using every form of locomotion available in the early 1900's - auto, tractor, motorbikes, scooters and bicycles, not to mention a bunch on foot to bring the cattle to market. It's probably the highlight of the film.What any of this has to do with the title isn't very clear, but then again, a lot of B Westerns from the Thirties and Forties didn't. Gene Autry hooks up with sidekick Smiley Burnette once again, and for you trivia fans, I believe this is the only time I've ever heard Smiley's character Frog Millhouse referred to by a real first name - that would be Lester. I wonder if they made that up on the spot.The action is fast paced and punctuated by a variety of Autry tunes, with a neat medley of popular songs during a mid-flick hayride, which includes Old MacDonald, The Old Gray Mare and Put On Your Old Gray Bonnet. The lighthearted touch undercuts some of the shenanigans by the bad guys, but that's par for the course in a lot of Gene's pictures. Gene looks awkward in all of his fight scenes and Smiley looks awkward most of the time, but if you're a fan, most of it won't matter as the good guys come through in the end with enough cash on hand to win the land auction from the baddies.

A standard b western - highly enjoyable in other words. Although this one packs it into 58 minutes there's still room for Gene to sing 4 songs (3 of them before the action had really got started), a hayride medley, and still leaving time for one from the hoboes.Land that ranchers have been using is put up for auction by the Government; they pool their resources to try to buy it back but are faced with the machinations of baddies who want to turn the whole place into a bustling tourist destination. Gene and Smiley help the ranchers collect the money but have it stolen … the chase is on to stop the baddies and win that auction. Do they make it? Be prepared for surprises! Plenty of stirring horse and gun action over the beautiful Republic countryside, gentle atmosphere, young June Storey sadly underused as usual but never looking lovelier, and some nice songs – especially Highways Are Happy Ways and It Makes No Difference Now – what more could a fan want? Except maybe a 2 hour Directors Cut.I can watch these Autry films till the cows come home, stampeded or otherwise.

Cavanaugh and McCauley plan to buy at auction all the nearby ranches so that they can extend their resort and turn it into a city and thereby larger tourist attraction. Gene and the other neighboring ranchers plan to save their ranch by pooling their money together. Gene is robbed of the money, but plans to have the ranchers round up their cattle for market in order to raise the cash. However Cavanaugh has plans to stop this as well. Its up to Gene, Frog, Ma Hutchins, and a band of hobos to save the day. Fun Autry movie from his early Republic period, with a bit more action and fight scenes than you would expect from one of Gene's movies, however there is a bit more music (5 songs, plus one medley sung during a hayride) but it doesn't slow down the pacing of the film (good direction by Eason) that much. At times the film seems to have reached what it could, but lo and behold, there's more. Smiley is not annoying (thank heavens) as he sometimes can be, as the comic relief (scant, if any) is provided by Ferris Taylor and Jack Pennick as two hobos. Rating, based on B westerns, 7.