Down Mexico Way

Down Mexico Way is a 1941 American Western film directed by Joseph Santley and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Fay McKenzie. Based on a story by Dorrell and Stuart E. McGowan, the film is about a singing cowboy who comes to the aid of the townspeople of Sage City who are victims of a nefarious scam. Plot The townspeople of Sage City are celebrating the upcoming production of a motion picture in their community. The film's producers, Homer Gerard (Arthur Loft) and Ellery Gibson (Sidney Blackmer), assure the townspeople that if they invest financially in the production, that John Wayne himself will star in the movie, and the world premier will be held in Sage City, putting their community on the map. Singing cowboy Gene Autry (Gene Autry) and his sidekick Frog Millhouse (Smiley Burnette) are caught up in the excitement and host a barbecue for the town and its good fortune. Soon after, Gene discovers that the producers are in fact con artists who have swindled Sage City citizens out of $35,000. Gerard and Gibson, whose real names are Flood and Allen, travel to San Ramon, Mexico, where their bosses, the real Gerard and Gibson, are preparing to pull a similar swindle on the townspeople of San Ramon. Their primary target is the wealthy Don Carlos Alvarado (Julian Rivero), whose daughter Maria Elena (Fay McKenzie) has been promised a starring role in the film in return for his financial support. Following the con artists' trail, Gene and Frog travel to San Ramon and meet beautiful Maria Elena on the way. They tell her about how the citizens of Sage City were swindled. Gene and Frog meet the real Gibson and Gerard, but do not recognize them, but Frog does recognize their car—the same one Flood and Allen drove in Sage City. Gene realizes that these men must be involved in some way. The following night, Gene accompanies Maria Elena to a fiesta. Afterwards, some of Gerard and Gibson's henchmen take shots at Gene, Frog, and their friend, reformed bandit Pancho Grande (Harold Huber), looking to put an end to Gene's investigation.