Susanna Pass

An escaped convict and an evil newspaper owner attempt to take over another man's property to mine the oil they know lies beneath a lake. They stop short of nothing to do this including murder. Lots of action, gunplay, and good western songs.

The later Roy Rogers movies tended to have a conservation and education message. In the case of Susanna Pass the plot is built around a feud between two brothers with differing ideas on how a piece of land should be used. One brother wants to use the land for a fish hatchery while the other wants to drain the lake and drill for oil. Roy's movies were strong in their message to carefully manage wildlife for hunting and fishing, and some of what is said in Susanna Pass would easily fit into a short film on raising fish for recreational and commercial fishing.

Russell Masters (Lucien Littlefield) who seeks to make life better for everyone with a fish hatchery. He is joined by Doc Parker (Dale Evans) in his venture. Dale Evans was always feisty toward any villain and usually kept Roy in check whenever he became mischievous. This time around she pulls no punches, literally speaking, because she plays the part of a marine! As far fetched as it may sound for tiny Dale, she is dead serious and no-nonsense in her role.

Newspaperman Martin Masters (Robert Emmett Keane) has to find a way to ruin the fish hatchery and eliminate his brother so that he may take the oil from underneath the lake. He and his hired thugs nearly succeed, but when facing Roy Rogers and a marine the task becomes difficult.

Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage were doing their own western adventures on their radio program, so they certainly were no strangers to acting. While they do get to partake of the action in Susanna Pass, they just do not have the flair of the Sons of the Pioneers. Perhaps it is because they were not as comfortable on screen, or it may be a nostalgia for seeing Roy with his original group.

There is a different feel to the polished production of Roy's last years of B westerns. In some ways it takes away from the "shoot 'em up" aspect that was so much fun, but it establishes a strong sense of right and wrong. Roy was no longer the cowboy who did good deeds; he had a purpose that was made clear to everyone.

I do have to wonder whether in these days of terrorism and the fluctuating oil market, a film like Susanna Pass could be made today and just who the villain is.

Roy Rogers is a fish and game warden for the state of California and he weighs in with his good offices in a fight between two brothers, Robert Emmett Keane and Lucien Littlefield, one bad and one good.

Bad brother is newspaper editor Keane who's a rich guy looking to get richer. And that would be at the expense of good brother Lucien Littlefield who's got a piece of land on which he's created an artificial lake and uses it as a fish hatchery. He's assisted in this worthy endeavor by Dale Evans who is an ichthyologist.

But there's oil under that lake, black gold, Texas tea as that old TV theme used to say. Keane is in cahoots with escaped convict Douglas Fowley to get that land by fair means or foul, mostly foul.

Later on a different view of the oil situation and drilling underwater would be voiced in the Anthony Mann/James Stewart film, Thunder Bay.

I'm willing to bet that former president Herbert Hoover who was a serious fresh water fisherman would have endorsed this film. I'll bet he saw it when out and loved it. Especially with that valedictory that Roy gives about the youth of America getting out in the fresh air and enjoying fishing as our forefathers did. Hoover was also a founder and spokesperson for the Boys Clubs of America as well.

Hopefully that oil is still under that lake in Susanna Pass so we can get it out when needed in a pinch.

The version of "Susanna Pass" was, fortunately, the complete film. Many of Roy Rogers' films were hacked to pieces to make them fit television time slots...and fortunately this one is intact. It also is in TruColor...a color process that is NOT true color. Instead of the more expensive Three-Color Technicolor, TruColor and Cinecolor were much cheaper alternatives. So why didn't most films use TruColor or CInecolor since they cost about as much as black & white film? Well, both are two-color processes....made up of blends of orange-red and green-blue....and create a limited color palate. Additionally, both systems tended to fade or become very orangy or muddy over time....and so the copy of "Susanna Pass" is, not surprisingly, very faded and offers a print that looks more brown or sepia.

The story begins with a couple prisoners who have escaped from prison. The meaner one decides to go it alone....and he takes out his 'friend'. Obviously, this guy is seriously kindness-impaired! And soon, he goes into business with a local newspaper man...a man who is also seriously kindness-impaired as well!

This is a very unusual Roy Rogers film. Of course there's the escaped prisoner, but the film also features Roy as a game warden and is all about a reservoir filled with fish from a local fish hatchery! Additionally, instead of the usual sidekicks like Gabby Hayes or Andy Devine, this one features two Mexican-Americans as comic relief (they are NOT particularly welcome). And, Dale plays an ichthyologist...a woman with a doctorate in fish! All in all, a rather strange collection of plot points...and a film less like a western and more like a crime film. In fact, aside from the cowboy hats, there really isn't much western about this one. This isn't a complaint....just an observation about the usual story.

So is it any good? Yes. While it's far from great, I do appreciate the change of pace and much about the story is original. Well worth seeing.

I can't say that I'm especially familiar with the films of Roy Rogers, but this strikes me as an especially briskly paced, busy movie. There's a lot of plot here, and many little details rounding out scenes and characters, and it's thrown at us unexpectedly fast. Bad guys! Fishing! Dynamite! Murder! Etcetera! Hand in hand with the abundance of content and speed, it seems to me like there's more emphasis on action thrills here than is true of other westerns, not least from a star known for singing in his pictures. Such sequences and stunts likewise swiftly fly in our face, fostering a sense of vigor that's bolstered by the boisterous score. For all this, 'Susanna Pass' readily impresses a little for how soundly crafted it is, and entertaining, despite the tenor that in many other instances has served to reduce such value.

Stuffed to its one-hour gills with plot, excitement, and dashes of humor, this is unquestionably light on its feet. Maybe too much so for its own good, in fact, as there are times when the connective threads between scenes are story beats are a little lacking; this is a western built for minor thrills, not storytelling judiciousness. That spirit also extends to the ending that's dreadfully ham-handed, and weirdly out of sorts with the tone the feature has otherwise maintained. While 'Susanna Pass' does a fine job already with maintaining a vigorous spirit and keeping viewers engaged, it may have benefited from slightly more mindful writing, direction, and editing, and more specifically from being more drawn out so as to let each moment manifest, breathe, and resolve more naturally.

Such matters don't severely detract from the viewing experience, however, and far more so than not this is a good bit of fun. In addition to the stunts and action scenes, any effects are done well, and the sets and costume design are solid as per contemporary westerns. If marginally troubled as it presents, the plot is written well such as it is, if kind of generic. (Excise the western details and the story and characters could be adapted to basically any TV show ever made.) When all is said and done this is pretty well made, if imperfect, and enjoyable. Anyone who doesn't already appreciate westerns won't find anything here to change their minds, but for a quick, no-frills slice of cinema, 'Susanna Pass' is a good way to occupy one's time.