JohnHowardReid Copyright 8 February 1937 by Republic Pictures Corp. No recorded New York opening. U.S. release: 28 February 1937 and 22 April 1937. U.K. release through British Lion. No Australian theatrical release. 7 reels. 63 minutes. (Also listed at 58 minutes).SYNOPSIS: Texas? See review below.NOTES: Autry's 16th of his 94 movies.COMMENT: Round-Up Time in Texas refers to the song sung by Autry and his saddle-pals immediately the film opens. After this initial burst of melody, the scene abruptly shifts to Dunbar (sic), South Africa where it remains for the rest of the film. Despite the novelty of the setting (which is used to introduce a few ancient wild animal clips including one in which an obviously process screen lion makes for the camera) and the fact that Gene has a brother, Tex Autry, (actually he doesn't figure overmuch in the story) this is a rather tame and dreary affair. You can trust Gene to sing a song at the drop of a hat and you can rely on Smiley to perpetrate a lot of foolery - in this case, escaping from the clutches of a music-loving native chief. There's also a what's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this heroine (this thought is never expressed but it is obvious nonetheless) played in an extremely colorless fashion by Maxine Doyle. The villain, alas, is also none too interestingly played (LeRoy Mason) and though Earl Hodgins contributes a characteristically breezy study (complete with phoney Cockney accent), acting generally is unengaging. Autry's eyes have been circled with black rings, probably to give him a more rugged appearance, which is unsuccessful in view of the fact there is virtually no action in the film at all - for a time it looks as though Autry's double isn't even going to do his customary stunt of riding after a runaway wagon - but would you believe this familiar little act forms the larger part of the action climax! Kane's direction seems quite ordinary and uninterestingly pedestrian, the photography is flat. Other credits are likewise undistinguished and production values rate no more than average by "B" western standards.

MartinHafer Despite the title, almost none of the film is set in Texas! Now here is where the film gets REALLY weird--it's supposed to take place in South Africa! Yes, Gene Autry, his horse Champion and his faithful sidekick Smiley Burnett in South Africa! And, the overall product looks a lot like a B-western merged with a Tarzan flick! Talk about strange! The film begins back in the States. Gene receives a letter from his brother* saying that they really need livestock in South Africa and they can get top dollar for them. So, he and Smiley head across the ocean. However, when they arrive they can't find the brother--he has disappeared after some evil claim-jumpers killed his partner and did goodness knows with him. So, in the process of investigating the disappearance, the baddies try to stop him--leading, naturally, to the somewhat exciting conclusion.Seeing Gene on his horse chasing baddies and then a moment later rushing about a thick jungle set is surreal to say the least. And, seeing Smiley doing fire-eating tricks as well as leading musical group supposedly made up of the Chief's kids really gave this movie a strangeness that made my brain hurt. Still, it was fun and kept my attention and is worth seeing if you like Gene Autry films. Others, however, might not be very impressed or be a bit offended by the stereotypical behaviors of the 'natives' or the use of the 'K-word' (I don't think IMDb would let me use this derogatory word for African Blacks--but to many it's about as offensive as the 'ol 'N-word' in the USA. And, I have been to South Africa and this sure looked NOTHING like the real McCoy--more like extras and props from a Tarzan picture!FYI--The guy playing Gene's brother was NOT his actual real-life brother--just some actor.

classicsoncall What!?!? - Gene Autry has a brother!?!? - and the story takes place in Africa!!!! Wow, if there's a dumber Autry flick I've yet to see it, and I've reviewed sixty two of them here on the IMDb so far. Don't get me wrong, I'm as solid an Autry fan as the next guy, but this one didn't make sense on so many levels that you're probably going to love it.The first thing that blew me away was the mere idea that Gene gets a letter from his brother Tex (Ken Cooper) in South Afrioa asking him to bring over fifty horses to work his diamond mine, and Gene just gets up and does it - like he's got nothing better to do! Then, once Gene and partner Smiley Burnette hit the town of Dunbar, it looks just like any other Western movie town of the late 1800's, complete with a Western saloon and cowboys in full gear. At least director Joseph Kane had the good sense to hang a pair of antelope horns on the wall instead of a steer.From there the story just zig-zags it's way through a number of zany predicaments that involve Gene and Smiley attacked by a lion, getting arrested for engaging in illicit diamond trade, and escaping on horseback using the old rope across the trail trick. Hey if it works in Texas, why not here? You know, as soon as that big ape showed up I just knew it was Ray 'Crash' Corrigan up to his old monkey-shines again. If you needed a guy with a gorilla suit back in the Thirties and Forties, Corrigan was the guy you called. Don't believe me? Check any mystery or horror flick of the era involving gorillas and you'll find his name attached to the project.Well I don't know that this story made any sense or not, so don't watch watch it through the same lens you'd use on your average B Western. Sure, bad guy Cardigan (LeRoy Mason) gets nailed for setting up Gene's brother for murder, but that's about the only genre standard that this one follows. The stereotypes used to portray the jungle natives are typical for the era, which is to say they'd never pass the PC police today. Even the musical selections stray from the norm, with pretty Maxine Doyle offering up a lively drinking song and a chorus of black youngsters, The Cabin Kids, sounding rather good on a revival song with Smiley in the lead. As for the picture's title, it has no bearing on the story at all, but who'd go see a film called 'Round-Up Time in South Africa'?

Steve Haynie Round-Up Time In Texas does not really fit in with the whole cowboy movie genre. Why did Gene and Frog have to have an adventure in South Africa? I'll bet it was because a set was built for a jungle picture and it was cheap for the studio to use it as often as possible before tearing it down. Stock footage of a lion shows up in the movie along with a guy in a gorilla suit. Plenty of black African extras are in this movie. Funny how those South African streets look like a Texas town, isn't it?The movie is fun to watch, but it is not a western. It is about as much of a western as The Phantom Empire. You get a cowboy, some horses, and some western songs, but that's about it. Even though the cast is moving through the jungle to find a lost diamond mine, I kept trying to think of the movie in a Gene Autry western movie context. It just didn't work.Smiley Burnette is good as usual. Earle Hodgins tried to have a bit of an accent in his character, but LeRoy Mason and most of the others in the cast speak just like they would in any other movie.Round-Up Time In Texas is worth watching if you are a fan of Gene Autry movies, but should not be high on a priority list unless you want to watch truly weird movies.