Down Mexico Way
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Joseph Santley
Gene Autry
Smiley Burnette
Fay Mckenzie
Harold Huber
Sidney Blackmer
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Cowboy Gene Autry hosts a barbecue for the townspeople of Sage City in order to celebrate the production of a motion picture in their community. The film's producers, Homer Gerard and Ellery Gibson, tell the people that John Wayne is to star in the picture and that their investment in it will be amply repaid. Gene and his pal Frog soon learn, however, that the pair are confidence men who have swindled Sage City citizens out of $35,000. The two men, who are actually named Flood and Allen, go to San Ramon, Mexico, where their employers, the real Gibson and Gerard, are preparing to pull a similar swindle on the townspeople there. Their main target is the rich Don Carlos Alvarado, whose daughter Maria Elena is to star in the picture. Following a clue to San Ramon, Gene and Frog meet Maria Elena on the way and tell her about Sage City's troubles. When Gene and Frog meet the real Gibson and Gerard, however, they do not recognize them and are forced to apologize. Frog does recognize their car, which Flood and Allen were driving, and Gene realizes that the men they met must be involved somehow. The next night, Gene escorts Maria Elena to a fiesta, after which he, Frog and their friend, Pancho Grande, are shot at by henchmen of Gibson and Gerard, who wish to put a stop to Gene's curiosity. Determined to expose the fake producers' scheme, Gene abducts Maria Elena the next morning during the first day of filming and persuades her to get her father to ask Gibson and Gerard to invest some of their own money in the film as a sign of good faith. The crooked pair agree to Don Carlos' request, even though they have no money in the bank. They then plan on robbing the bank car that will be bringing Don Carlos' share of the investment the next day and framing Gene for the robbery. Gene, Frog and Pancho learn about the intended theft, however, and Gene and Frog pursue Gibson and Gerard's thugs while Pancho, a reformed bandit, rounds up his old gang to help. After a long chase, Gene succeeds in foiling the ringleaders, and is soon given back Sage City's money by police Captain Rodriguez. Pancho surprises his friends by revealing that he has become a policeman, and Gene plans to return in a month to take Maria Elena to another fiesta.
Director
Joseph Santley
Cast
Gene Autry
Smiley Burnette
Fay Mckenzie
Harold Huber
Sidney Blackmer
Joe Sawyer
Andrew Tombes
Murray Alper
Arthur Loft
Duncan Renaldo
Paul Fix
Julian Rivero
Ruth Robinson
Thornton Edwards
The Herrera Sisters
Helen Mackellar
Champion
Esther Estrella
Rico De Montez
Charles Rivero
Eddie Dean
Elias Gamboa
Sam Appel
Jose Manero
Carmela Cansino
Paquita Del Rey
Crew
Lorenzo Barcelata
George Blair
Lew Brown
Michael Carr
Eddie Cherkose
Olive Cooper
Albert Duffy
Juan José Espinosa
Harry Grey
Pepe Guízar
Rafael Hernández
Jimmy Kennedy
Raoul Kraushaar
Francia Luban
Jack Marta
Dorrell Mcgowan
Stuart Mcgowan
Nilo Menéndez
Sol Meyer
Lionel Newman
Howard O'neill
Ralph Oberg
Arthur Quenzer
S. K. Russell
Jule Styne
Wladimir A. Timm
Abe Tuvim
Jaromir Vejvoda
Al Wilson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
According to Hollywood Reporter news items, "background and atmospheric shots" for this picture, which was to have a budget of $500,000, were filmed in Mexico City. Some scenes were also shot in Lone Pine, CA. Hollywood Reporter also noted that George Carleton Brown was signed by Republic to write a treatment, but his contribution to the completed picture has not been confirmed. Republic contract player Mary Lee was scheduled to appear in the film, but she was removed from the cast when the studio decided to feature her more prominently in "solo pictures." Although the Variety review stated that Fay McKenzie was making "her first screen assignment" in Down Mexico Way, she had appeared in numerous films in the 1930s. Modern sources include the following actors in the cast: Reed Howes, Hank Bell, Fred Burns, Al Haskell, Jack O'Shea and Frankie Marvin.
