Sons of the Pioneers

I found "Sons of the Pioneers" on YouTube and was surprised it came with a short interview/introduction by Roy Rogers, Dale Evans and Ruth Terry. Oddly, Terry wasn't in this film! It appears to have been recorded in the early to mid- 1980s.

The story finds a town being terrorized by cattle rustlers. Because of this, the locals are angry at Sheriff Gabby...who decides the best thing to do is bring in Roy Rogers. Now in this story, Roy is NOT a westerner but a back eastern research scientist. Gabby assumes Roy will be just like his father and grandfather...a great lawman...but Roy's never done this. But he is willing and soon arrives out west...and everyone assumes by his manners that he's a naive and incompetent boob. Roy does his best to cultivate this image....and hopes he can use it to his advantage. The only trouble is that Gabby turns out to be an idiot and he spills the beans about this...to members of the gang! What's next? See the film and find out for yourself.

The story is a bit unusual and I appreciate that. Overall, it's an enjoyable and novel movie...one that won't bore fans of the western star.

Roy Rogers is summoned by Sheriff "Gabby" Hayes to save a modern day town from a gang of cattle-poisoning arsonists. Gabby believes Mr. Rogers, if elected Sheriff, will follow in the footsteps of his Roy Rogers namesakes (including his father and grandfather). However, Rogers seems meek and mild; though a popular man, townspeople wonder if he is up to the job.

This is an interesting Rogers vehicle in that the character is presented as a hero perhaps not up to the task at hand; no points for guessing how he does, finally! There is the expected "shootout" to end the film, but it really peaks earlier as Rogers' car is stolen; he gets the car back in fine form. Rogers sings with Gabby, with Bob Nolan and the "Sons of the Pioneers", and with some unfortunately intrusive dialog.

**** Sons of the Pioneers (1942) Joseph Kane ~ Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Maris Wrixon

With a little bit borrowed from Destry Rides Again, Roy Rogers gets the job as sheriff in his hometown of Rogers City where there's been a lot of rustling and even epidemics of hoof and mouth disease that are driving the local ranchers to get out. Gabby Hayes and Pat Brady go east to bring Roy back to the place where both his father and grandfather were sheriffs before and which place is also named after them.

Needless to say that they're a bit disappointed that Roy is happy and content as a research chemist. But as it turns out those skills are exactly what's needed to get the evidence and then get the villains. Not that Roy eschews riding and shooting by any means.

Maris Wrixson who usually plays sophisticated women or gangsters molls was an unusual choice for a leading lady for Roy. Still she acquits herself well.

But I might have rated this one a bit higher if wasn't for one of the most colossal pieces of stupidity ever shone on screen. While the bad guys have Roy, Gabby, and Pat at bay, what does Gabby do but start practicing his juggling act with bottles of nitroglycerin. Damn near blows them all up. In fact Gabby also at one point tips Roy's hand to the bad guys with his big stupid mouth. Gabby is usually amusing, but never downright stupid as he is in Sons Of The Pioneers.

And speaking of them Bob Nolan and the group are here lending support to their former member. Though the group really has nothing to do with the title of the film and the title gives you no information as to the story, the film is still a good Roy Rogers film even Gabby's idiocy.

There was a tremendous growth of interest in Native American art and culture in the 1920s, but by mid-century, Hollywood movies and television had thoroughly pitched cowboy heroes above Indians to the American public. Roy Rogers was probably the most popular of them all, with the possible exception of Gene Autry, who was really the first "singing cowboy." The influence these cowboys had on the baby boom generation cannot be underestimated. The point of these westerns was that evil must triumph over good, and evil often was not always "Injuns," it was other cowboys. "Sons of the Pioneers" was also the name of a singing group that often backed Rogers on film. Although the plots and characters of Rogers's movies could be called clichés, they are also a lesson in ambition and courage. As a kid, I admired Roy Rogers and wondered how anyone could be that much larger than life. It was not until reading about him that I learned his real name was Leonard Slye and he grew up in Ohio. --from Musicals on the Silver Screen, American Library Association, 2013

Plenty of amusement in this Roy Rogers movie as the folks borrow the plot of DESTRY RIDES AGAIN. Roy's father and grandfather were both old-fashioned, famous western sheriffs. Gabby Hayes fetches him out to deal with cattle rustlers.... but the FGI after his name is not the Federal Gureau of Investigation, but Fellow of the Geographical Institute.

As usual in these movies, a lot of care is taken for some lovely cinematography, although there are some obvious day-for-night shot given away by the shadows. The Sons of the Pioneers, as you might expect, show up to sing a few songs, and this high-class B Western is sure to please fans of the genre.