Rex Allen Movies

Directed by James T. Flocker, The Legend of Cougar Canyon follows two young boys throughout their travels within the mysterious Cougar Canyon, a sacred Navajo terrain. Though their intentions are good -- they are only there to rescue a lost goat -- the legends and inherent dangers of the canyon are not entirely sympathetic. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

This animated musical, based on E.B. White's children's book classic, is about a courageous spider who helps save the life of an ill-fated pig. Wilbur is a young pig (voice of Henry Gibson) who's owned by New England farmer Homer Zuckerman (voice of Robert Holt). One day he is sold to a neighbor, where he meets a sheep who warns him that his fate lies in the confines of the slaughterhouse. Wilbur is terrified of this news until he meets Charlotte, a charming spider (voice of Debbie Reynolds), who is determined to save Wilbur from this dire destiny. By weaving words into her web, she convinces the farmer that Wilbur is some sort of prodigious animal too important to kill. The music for Charlotte's Web was written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, who wrote the scores for countless Disney movies, including Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

This vintage documentary from 1966 follows young Casey Tibbs and a group of real bronco riders on a ride through South Dakota, where they round up a heard of 400 rare, wild horses, and lead them to a broncobusters rodeo competition in Fort Pierre. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

Filmed in Canada as a joint project involving Walt Disney studios and Calgary Ltd., The Incredible Journey stars a cat named Tao and two dogs named Bodger and Luath. When their family goes on vacation, the animals are left in charge of family friend Emile Genest. Genest goes off to hunt for a couple of days, but fails to inform the animals of this; as a result, Tao, Bodger and Luath embark upon a 250 mile journey to be reunited with their owners. Superbly photographed and cleverly assembled, Incredible Journey strikes a happy medium between its fictional plotline and Disney's "True Life Adventure" approach to the animal scenes. The film would be remade in 1993 as Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A young Native American boy saves the day in this competent children's western by director George Sherman. Little twelve-year-old Michael (Danny Bravo) is an orphan whose best friends are young Father Phelan (Richard Basehart) and the curmudgeonly Father Walsh (Arthur Shields). The good fathers would like to raise money for a new shrine but the project seems hopeless -- until Michael steps into the picture. He devotes himself to the care and training of a white quarterhorse with his eye on the big, local race coming up soon. If the horse can win the race, it would be enough to cover the cost of the shrine. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This heartwarming tale chronicles the friendship between a young Texas girl and her pet calf, which she won at the county fair. When the girl is stricken with polio it is caring for the animal that keeps her strong. Later she enters her beloved pet in the Chicago International Exposition. The heifer wins and the girl is elated until she learns that her cow will be auctioned off and prepared for the slaughterhouse. Fortunately a kindly meat packer intervenes, and girl and bovine are happily reunited. Songs include: "Get Ready with the Ribbon, Judge," "Who Says Animals Don't Cry?" ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The first half of this live-action Disneyland episode is an entertaining promo for the upcoming Disney theatrical feature Old Yeller. Narrated by Dorothy McGuire, one of the film's stars, this segment features behind-the-scenes footage pertaining to the training of the dogs used in the film, as well as random vignettes of Man's Best Friend eagerly performing a variety of tasks (Swiss rescue dogs, seeing-eye dogs, bloodhounds, etc.). The episode concludes with a telecast of Arizona Sheepdog, a 1955 entry in the Disney theatrical short-subject series "People and Places." When "The Best Doggoned Dog in the World was rebroadcast in February of 1961, the Old Yeller segment was replaced with a newly filmed promo for Disney's animated feature 101 Dalmations. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rails into Laramie is one of the more obscure Universal-International western programmers of the 1950s, but this is no reflection on its entertainment value. John Payne stars as "town tamer" Jefferson Harder, who intends to clean up the wide-open community of Laramie. Everyone knows that the outlaw gang headed by Jim Shanessy (Dan Duryea) is responsible for preventing the railroad from building a line into Laramie, but Shanessy always manages to intimidate the all-male juries into releasing him. He and saloon-hall gal Lou Carter (Mari Blanchard) want to keep the rails out of Laramie so that both can pursue their criminal activities unabated. But when Lou switches sides and aligns herself with Harder, it's the beginning of the end for the scurrilous Shanessy. The film's resolution is "borrowed" from the 1941 western The Lady From Cheyenne and works just as well here as it did in the earlier picture. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Postal inspector Rex Allen rides hell bent for leather in order to save an innocent man from hanging in this enjoyable Western from Republic Pictures. When Allen suggests shipping the mail from San Francisco to San Diego via stagecoach instead of clipper ship, Roger McCall (Grant Withers), the crooked owner of the shipping line, does his utmost to prevent stage line operator Sam Sawyer (Forrest Taylor) from winning the contract, including having him falsely accused of murdering a longtime rival (George H. Lloyd). Rex, however, suspects that First Mate Orrin (Roy Barcroft) is the real culprit, but will he be too late to see justice done? ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

"Arizona Cowboy" Rex Allen heads the cast of Republic's Old Overland Trail. Rex plays an operative for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, assigned to pacify a disgruntled Apache tribe. Villain John Anchor (Roy Barcroft), a railroad contractor, has been stirring up trouble with the Indians as part of a complex scheme to build a spur line at slave-labor wages. Making things difficult for Rex is the fact that his wayward brother Jim (Gil Herman) has joined Anchor's gang. Of interest to audiences of the 1990s is the presence of Leonard Nimoy, here cast as Apache chief Black Hawk. Despite the surfeit of action in Old Overland Trail, Rex Allen finds time to sing three tunes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Singing cowboy Rex Allen joins the circus in Down Laredo Way. It all begins when Allen and his sidekick Slim Pickens come to the aid of little Taffy (Judy Nugent), whose acrobat father is killed in an accident. Or was it an accident? After all, the dead man's partner, Valerie (Marjorie Lord), has been keeping company with suspicious-looking Cooper (Roy Barcroft). It turns out that a diamond-smuggling racket is at the bottom of things. Livening up the proceedings in Down Laredo Way is peppery Dona Drake as a warm-hearted, hot-blooded gypsy gal. Like most of Republic's Rex Allen vehicles, the film benefits from better-than-usual production values. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rather than the usual cattlemen vs. sheep men conflict, this above-average Rex Allen western contrasts ranchers of all kinds with the Hurley Lumber Mill company, whose destructive business methods cause flashfloods that threatens to destroy all the grazing land in Pine Valley. Assuming to be the sole heirs to the Zeke Reynolds estate, a ranch with plenty of possibilities for timber interests, Carrie Hurley (June Vincent) and her brother Dan (Fred Graham) are dismayed to learn that the dear departed also saw fit to include Slim Pickens and distant relative Jacqueline Reynolds (Mary Ellen Kay) in his bequest. Having already murdered an inquisitive forest ranger (Russ Conway), the Hurleys are not about to share the lucrative Reynolds property but the homicidal brother-and-sister team bargains without Slim's boss, Rex Allen. When not battling the glacial Carrie Hurley and her henchmen, Allen and The Republic Rhythm Riders (who received introductory billing) perform "I'm Leaving on the Pine Valley Stage" "Under Colorado Stars" and the traditional "Down By the Riverside". ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi