Roy Rogers Movies

As with his previous music Western vehicle, Moon over Montana (1946), former radio crooner Jimmy Wakely composed the title song for this film. With Wesley Tuttle and His Texas Stars as his backup group, Wakely also warbled Paul Westmoreland's Detour, De Camptown Ladies, by Stephen Foster, and I Miss You Since You've Been Gone by Arthur Smith. The girl Wakely "missed" was Jean Carlin, whose prospector grandfather (Budd Buster) is being harrassed by an unknown force. Wakely and his usual sidekick Lee "Lasses" White investigate and soon determine that the mystery villain is actually a villainess, Flora Carter (Iris Clive), a ruthless lady rancher who holds the mortgage to grandpa Buster's property. In between crooning the aforementioned tunes and winning the big race on his wild mustang, Wakely manages to discover enough evidence to convict the unscrupulous Ms. Carter. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this engagingly silly musical fantasy from the waning days of WW2, Fred MacMurray stars as Bill, who wants to serve his country but has been classified 4-F. While working at a local USO, Bill falls in love with the fickle Lucilla (June Haver, soon to be Mrs. Fred MacMurray), never realizing that he himself is worshipped from afar by the sensible Sally (Joan Leslie). Stumbling across an old lamp donated to a scrap drive, Bill impulsively rubs the lamp--and out pops Ali (Gene Sheldon), a bibulous, bumbling genie. Hoping to become a hero in Lucilla's eyes, Bill asks Ali to put him in the US Army. The genie complies, but gets his wires crossed, and Bill ends up in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. In short order, Bill meets two lookalikes of the girls in his life at "Ye U.S.O.", shows up at Valley Forge and trades quips with General Washington (Alan Mowbray)--who, in anticipation of MacArthur and Eisenhower, bombastically insists that he has no political aspirations--unsuccessfully tries to alert Washington of the duplicity of Benedict Arnold (John Davidson), and ultimately finds himself behind enemy lines with a troop of Hessians, whom he tries to hoodwink by delivering a Nuremberg-style speech, replete with "Sieg Heils." Arrested and sentenced to a Hessian firing squad, Bill again summons Ali, who whisks him off to the year 1492. In an elaborate "opera bouffe", Bill musically dissuades the sailors serving under Christopher Columbus (Fortunio Bonanova) from staging a mutiny, convincing them to continue seeking out the New World (as represented by a group of Cuban natives in a conga line). Once on dry land, Bill is entranced by a comely Indian maiden who looks a lot like Lucilla, only to be entrapped in an old-fashioned "badger game" cooked up by the girl's wily Native American boyfriend (Anthony Quinn). Buying his way out of an embarrassing situation by agreeing to purchase Manhattan Island for $24, Bill is then transported to "New Amsterdam" in the mid-1600s. In his efforts to persuade the local Dutch elders that he is the rightful owner of Manhattan, Bill succeeds only in getting arrested again. This time, however, the drunken Ali manages to zap our hero back to the 20th Century--with the 17th-century equivalent of Sally in tow. The songs, by Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin, are appropriately bright and satirical, but none are standouts. Still, Where Do We Go From Here? is one of those frothy 1940s concoctions that is absolutely impossible to dislike. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Man From Oklahoma is set during a 20th century renactment of the 19th century Oklahoma land rush, but if patrons wanted to assume that the film had something to do with the Broadway musical hit Oklahoma!, that was certainly their privilege. Roy Rogers is on hand to help Peggy Lane (Dale Evans) stake her rightful land claim, despite the machinations of the villains. This time, Roy's comical sidekick Gabby Whittaker (Gabby Hayes) gets to have a romantic entanglement of his own, in the ample form of Peggy's self-style duenna Grandma Lane (Maude Eburne). The musical portion of the program includes several juke-box hits along with the usual quota of cowboy ballads and hillbilly novelty songs. As was customary in the Roy Rogers vehicles of the era, action takes a back seat to music in Man From Oklahoma. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this western, a dreamy young woman, tired of her boring life and job travels to an abandoned town where her grandmother had been a notorious dancehall queen. There she imagines scenes from her illustrious grandma's life. The dream takes up most of the picture and during it, the gal meets many fascinating characters. One of those characters is a clean-cut, handsome cowboy. Romance ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Brazil is perhaps the best of the handful of American films made by Brazilian singing sensation Tito Guizar. In typical screwball-comedy fashion, the plot is set in motion by authoress Nicky Henderson (Virginia Bruce), who has hit the best-seller charts with her latest tome, Why Marry a Latin? While researching her next book in Rio De Janeiro, she finds out "why" when she meets handsome songwriter Miguel Soares (Guizar). Upon learning about Nicky's book, Miguel decides to teach her a few lessons in affairs of the heart. Edward Everett Horton is also on hand, twittering his way through the role of a well-meaning buttinsky. Thanks to the "Good Neighbor" policy of the 1940s, South American musicals were a glut on the market, but Brazil was good enough on its own merits to pay its way at the box office. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Yet another tuneful Roy Rogers Western named after a song, The Cowboy and the Senorita features Roy and sidekick Teddy Bear (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams) as a couple of would-be prospectors fired from a small town café when the latter gets in trouble with an irate customer (rotund Ferdinand Munier). At the nearby town of Bonanza, the two friends find themselves falsely accused of kidnapping young Chip Williams (Mary Lee), who is actually a runaway. Having befriended both her girl and her half-sister Isabel Martinez (Dale Evans), Roy and Teddy Bear manage to solve the riddle of a treasure hidden in a supposedly worthless mine despite the sabotaging efforts of smooth tycoon Craig Allen (John Hubbard). In between the Western shenanigans, Rogers joins Lee, Evans, the Sons of the Pioneers, and such guest artists as the dance team of Jane Beebe and Ben Rochelle in no less than five musical numbers, including the title tune and a delightful rendition of Ned Washington and Phil Ohman's "What'll I Use for Money." Spanky McFarland, of Our Gang fame, has a funny silent bit in the opening scene. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans still weren't man and wife when they costarred in Republic's San Fernando Valley. As always, Rogers is cast as a cowboy who happens to be named Roy Rogers; Evans, on the other hand, plays feisty femme ranchowner Dale Kenyon. At the behest of Dale's grandfather (Andrew Tombes), Roy does the "Taming of the Shrew" bit, taking a job as ranch cook so he can woo and win the volatile Miss Kenyon. He also takes time out to capture a couple of bank robbers who'd earlier relieved him of his life savings. Many of the film's best scenes belong to hoydenish Jean Porter, cast as Dale's bratty kid sister: Ms. Porter would later retire from films to marry director Edward Dmytryk. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The West Coast's answer to Broadway's Stage Door Canteen, the Hollywood Canteen was created as a GI morale-booster by film stars Bette Davis and John Garfield. The Canteen was established so that Our Boys on leave in Tinseltown could have a good time with good food and good dancing -- and, as a bonus, rub shoulders with their favorite movie personalities, who functioned as waiters, chefs, busboys and dancing partners. Since the 1944 all-star flick Hollywood Canteen was produced by Warner Bros., it was only to be expected that the celebrities seen herein would consist mostly of Warner Bros. contract players. The frail plot concerns a soldier on medical leave (played by Robert Hutton) who falls in love with lovely leading lady Joan Leslie (played by Joan Leslie) while visiting the Canteen. Bette Davis and John Garfield are on hand to emcee the Canteen's variety acts, and to act as cupids for the Hutton/Leslie romance. The "supporting cast" includes the likes of The Andrews Sisters, Jack Benny, Joe E. Brown, Eddie Cantor, Sidney Greenstreet, Paul Henreid, Peter Lorre, Ida Lupino, Dennis Morgan, Roy Rogers, S.Z. Sakall, Barbara Stanwyck, and the Jimmy Dorsey and Carmen Cavallaro musical aggregations. Virtually everyone involved donated their salaries to the Canteen fund--even Jack Benny. As with most of these patriotic wartime star rallies, the results are a mixed bag: the best sequences include Benny's violin "duel" with Joseph Szigeti and Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers introducing Cole Porter's Don't Fence Me In. Hollywood Canteen won three Oscar nominations, more for its good intentions than its inherent excellence. Still, don't pass up the opportunity when this "movie star salad" shows up on cable TV. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This Roy Rogers musical western gets off to a grim start when rancher Jerry Johnson (Jerome Cowan) is murdered by resort-hotel operator Lucky Miller (John Carradine). It's all part of Lucky's scheme to take financial advantage of a railroad right-of-way construction project. Conspiring with the villain is Johnson's mail-order bride Mary Hardigan (Phyllis Brooks)-or is she? No matter: the main plot complication concerns the efforts by Miller to frame Roy Rogers, Johnson's ranch foreman, for the murder. Somehow, Roy, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers find time for several songs, while ace stuntman Yakima Canutt gets to perform one of his more famous feats. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

At 70 minutes, the Roy Rogers musical western Idaho was packaged and promoted as a "special", rather than just another B-flick. The story concerns the efforts by kindly judge Grey (Harry Shannon) to establish a "Boy's Town"-style establishment for wayward youngsters. The judge is opposed by gambling-house proprietress Belle Bonner (Ona Munson), who is a prositute in everything but name. Belle hopes to discredit Grey by revealing the judge's criminal record, but state ranger Roy Rogers comes to the rescue. The climax finds Rogers, heroine Terry Grey (Virginia Grey) and the ex-delinquent kids (played by members of the Robert Mitchell Boy Choir) capturing Belle's bandit gang. Gabby Hayes, Roy Rogers' former sidekick, is conspicuous by his absence in Idaho; Hayes was replaced on this occasion by the ubiquitous Smiley Burnette, as always cast as "Froggy Millhouse." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Roy Rogers heads the cast of Song of Texas as a rodeo star named Roy Rogers. Quitting the rodeo operated by larcenous Jim Calvert (Barton MacLane), Roy goes into the ranching business. As a favor to his old pal, washed-up bronco buster Sam Bennett (Harry Shannon), Roy convinces Bennett's daughter Sue (Sheila Ryan) that Sam is in fact the owner of Roy's ranch. This harmless subterfuge is thwarted by the evil machinations of Calvert, but Rogers and his confreres eventually save the day. No fewer than eight songs are heard in Song of Texas, including such favorites as "Mexicali Rose" and "Moonlight and Roses". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this western, brave Roy Rogers and his pals take on high-tech big city gangsters who fight their battles with airplanes and tommy guns. The trouble begins as Rogers is taking three important investors to see some land. At the same time, a crime lord endeavors to kidnap the investors and leave poor Rogers to take the fall. Guns blaze and somewhere in the midst of it all, old Rogers sets himself down and sings some songs. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Roy Rogers saves the day for the ranchers of Cherokee City in this fast-paced comedy-Western directed and produced by Joseph Kane. Roy and no less than three sidekicks -- Smiley Burnette, George "Gabby" Hayes and Bob Nolan of the music group The Sons of the Pioneers -- attempt to persuade eccentric river-boat owner Col. Silas Popen (Walter Catlett) to service Cherokee City. The surrounding ranchers would otherwise be forced to ship their cattle with crooked trucking company operator Ross Lambert (Edmund MacDonald). Aware of the colonel's phobia of anything Western, Lambert and his henchmen (William Haade and Hal Taliaferro) stage typical Wild West brawls, helped inadvertently by Roy's well-meaning sidekicks. Burnette, whom Rogers inherited from draftee Gene Autry, and Hayes perform their usual routines but the comedic highlights are provided by flibbertigibbet Catlett and blustery Paul Harvey, the latter playing B-Western history's perhaps most incompetent Cattlemen's Association president. Ruth Terry makes a spirited heroine as the colonel's daughter but the great African-American actor Leigh Whipper is sadly wasted in a stereotypical "comic" servant role. A proposed action scene in which Lambert and his men start a fire using gasoline was rewritten in order to avoid reminding theater-goers of the war-time rationing. In most prints seen today, Rogers' musical numbers have been cut, making Heart of the West a fast-paced hour or so of nearly non-stop action and comedy. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide