While I enjoy Smiley Burnette as a sidekick, in "Mexicali Rose", he's beyond useless. He screws up again and again and I was half expecting Gene to just shoot him....he was THAT awful. Again and again, he makes a mess of things and can't seem to do anything to actually help Gene until the very end. Sure, he sings...what else would he do? But I did find him a bit annoying here and wish he had been a bit more helpful.
When the film begins, Gene is a successful radio show crooner. But he soon hears that the oil company sponsoring the show might be crooked....and when Gene investigates, it's pretty obvious the folks in charge are swindlers. At the same time, Gene is introduced to a 'nice' Mexican bandit, Pedro Valdez (Noah Beer....Wallace's brother). How does Pedro play into all this and how can Gene get the goods on the crooks?
While I usually hate seeing white actors playing various ethnic groups back in the 1930s-50s when this was so common, in the case of Noah Beery, this actor actually did a nice job playing the Mexican bandito. With his Bluto-like voice and bearing, he was most welcome as Gene's friend and anti-hero.
The film also has some very nice music..among the best in any Autry film. This combined with a good story and Beery make it quite enjoyable...even if Frog is a knucklehead in this one!
By the way, pay attention to Gene Singing around the campfire. Just where DOES that accompanying music come from.....especially that marimba?!?!
