dougdoepke Gene delivers horses to a diamond mine in, where else, but darkest Africa.The only thing I can figure is that some careless studio secretary got the pages of an Autry western mixed up with a Tarzan script. How else to explain the lunacy of our cowboy heroes meeting up with an "ooga-booga" tribe of witch-doctors in darkest Africa. Somehow, it's weirdly entertaining since you don't know what sort of craziness comes next—gorillas, lions, or flame- throwers. There're a number of good bits even if the premise is wacko— some tuneful songs, the charming Cabin Kids, plus Burnette and Hodgins doing their amusing bits, including a crash-bang finale. I'm just wondering how many ticket-buyers in 1936 left the theater wondering if their maps had gotten Texas all wrong. Oh well, like the movie or not, it sure isn't your typical matinée fare.

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'?

John W Chance This is Gene Autry's most gloriously outrageous juxtaposition of non sequiters since 'The Phantom Empire' (1935)! Even the title is completely out of place! After the first five minutes, horse wranglers Gene and Frog (Smiley Burnette, nicely under control here) are off to Dunbar, South Africa with 50 horses for his brother Tex's diamond mine in "The Valley of Superstition." Then we cut to Gene's brother being ambushed going down a river in 'Africa' by the evil saloon owner's henchmen.Dunbar looks like a typical Western town, and the saloon is filled with nothing but cowboys! The only difference is that the saloon singer, Gwen (Maxine Doyle) warbles an English drinking song. Only Earle Hodgins doing his patented shell game act affects a cockney London accent. (Later, a henchman sings a song about Poland.) Note: we can see more of the cute Maxine in the Bela Lugosi serial 'S.O.S. Coast Guard' (1937) as Ralph Byrd's girlfriend.The saloon owner, Cardigan (Le Roy Mason) plots to kill Gene and Frog as well, since as we find out, he has also stolen the 'diamond mine,' which is actually a river, from which chained slaves carry up buckets of diamonds.After Gene and Frog escape from jail and meet up with Cardigan and Gwen at their jungle camp, they are all captured by wild savages who want to sacrifice them to their Thunder God. Frog saves the day and has them all released when he leads the Chief's children, played by the singing group The Cabin Kids, in a jive and scat rendition of the syncopated song 'Revival Day.' This is the kind of stuff we watch old junk movies for!It's well directed. Gene's and Smiley Burnette's banter is well done; the film's tightly edited and really zips along, even though I've only seen the 54 minute cut version. It speeds by like the feature version of 'The Phantom Empire' (1935), including many different scene changes and fast action. Needless to say, it's well written -- it's a crazy quilt of juxtaposed elements that raise it way above the level of tedious, dreary, formulaic, slow going 1930s Westerns. A bizarre story. Good comic relief this time from Smiley Burnette and a gorilla. Typical 30s musical racial stereotypes. A covered wagon going through the jungle. The obligatory exciting horseback final chase sequence. Great music.The great songs include 'Dinah (Is There Anyone Finer),' and 'Revival Day,' sung by the Cabin Kids; 'Round Up Time in Texas,' sung at the beginning by Gene, Frog, and all the wranglers, and at the end by Gene, Frog, and the Cabin Kids, with Chief Busoto on harmonica; and a short reprise of 'Uncle Noah's Ark' by Gene and Frog, which they perform full length in 'The Phantom Empire.' Is this a Jungle movie? A Western? Who cares!! It's one of the real treats of junk cinema! I give it a 7.

rbzm45 contrary to another comment that they must have used a set built for a jungle film---it was actually the Republic Studios back lot western set that was used for this film. as well as the back lot jungle area already there at the time. The western set was used as a number of other locations over the year also. The Spanish arches seen in the film were at the Mexican village part of the set and used over the years as a fort, a North African village, etc; all they do is shoot from different camera angles and place the appropriate foliage and decorations here and there, and voilà!!! They can be anywhere. the western street was strange in the movie as South Africa, it having been used numerous times in movies and TV westerns. The republic studios back lot was part of the CBS Studio Center beginning in the mid 60's or so and even Gunsmoke used that set a number of times.