Southward Ho!

Southward Ho begins with Roy Rogers and Gabby Hayes of the Confederate Army in the last days of the Civil War robbing a Union Army Colonel played by Wade Boteler of a roast chicken and his pants for good measure. Hayes took a particular delight in lifting the latter. But then news of Appomattox comes and they have to go back to Texas and Gabby's ranch of which Roy is asked to be foreman.

But when they arrive back in Texas who do they find has bought a half interest in the ranch. You guessed it, none other than Boteler who has arrived with his pretty daughter Lynne Roberts.

Boteler is appointed military governor of the district and troops arrive to back up his rule. But Arthur Loft and his men aren't really troops, they're all cashiered from the army and just looking to grab before the real carpetbag rule gets going. Roy and Lynne counsel moderation, but neither the ranchers or Boteler are in a listening mood.

The version of Southward Ho I saw was an edited one and some crucial elements of the story were left out. Still this is not a bad Roy Rogers western. Hopefully though I doubt it we'll get a director's cut on this one.

Solid oater, with more serious theme than usual. A renegade Union cavalry detachment is trying to cheat poor Texas Confederate farmers out of tax money right after the Civil War. This, of course, is not helping the country come back together after four years of strife. Fortunately, Roy and Gabby are ex-Confederates who detect the scam and try to end it. But the renegades are clever.

The oater's really a showcase for the feisty, toothless Hayes who shows both guts and humor, while Roy is at his youthful prime. I can see why the two then teamed up since the flick amounts to an audition for that teaming. Anyway, there's plenty of hard riding (thanks Trigger), fast shooting, flying fists, and, of course, a big-skirted cutie. So matinee lovers stay tuned.

Like so many Roy Rogers films, this one is abbreviated to fit the TV time slot. Originally it ran 58 minutes but someone lopped 5 minutes off the print. Considering that his films usually had quite a few songs, I assume one or two of them were removed to make the running time only 53 minutes.

"Southward Ho" is a monumental film in that it paired Roy Rogers and Gabby Hayes for the first time--something Republic Studio would end up doing many, many more times. Fortunately, it's also a pretty good film.

When the film begins, Roy and Gabby are in the Confederate Army and trying to steal food. However, Gabby is able to not only get the food but capture the Union Colonel--though, inexplicably, he just lets the guy go free. He just wanted the food. Yes, this made no sense whatsoever--he SHOULD have shot the man or taken him prisoner.

Time passes. The war is now complete and Gabby has just been willed half interest in a ranch in Texas. And, guess who his new partner will be--the Colonel! However, this isn't the least of the problems, as the Colonel has been placed in charge of the Reconstruction in Texas but he doesn't realize the troops who have come to assist him are all deserters and cut-throats. His goal is to be a reasonable trustee of the country--theirs is to bleed everyone dry of everything they own! How does all this work out--see the film yourself! While often Rogers films promoted the 'Reconstruction myth' that the Yankees were all evil and the Southerners all victims, this one takes a novel new approach. This in addition to some dandy action and plot make this a decent film--one even non-fans can enjoy. Not among Rogers' best but certainly a decent outing for the cowboy.

Confederate officer Roy Rogers and disorderly orderly Gabby Hayes count coup on Union Colonel Wade Boteler by stealing his roast chicken and his pants. Peace is declared, so Gabby invites Roy to be the top hand on the ranch in Texas he has inherited a half interest in. When they arrive, they discover Boteler owns he other half, and he and daughter Lynne Roberts are already in occupancy. They start to wrangle, but Boteler is appointed military commander of the district. He means to be fair, but the troops sent under the command of Arthur Loft are there to graft. Boteler doesn't notice, being too distracted by his feud with Gabby.

It was a truism of the era that the South was invariably gallant, innocent, and unbearably oppressed by carpetbaggers and scalawags, and so long as nothing bad was said about Lincoln, it was fine. This holds pretty much true to that, making sure it could get into the Whites-Only Theaters down south, where they could hear Rogers and the Southern Army singing "Carry Me Back To Old Virginny", which was written in 1878 by a Black man. Ignore those .... let's call them "incongruities", shall we? .... and you have a typically decent script, well directed by Joseph Kane, shot by Jack Marta, with some spectacular stunts.

Too bad I couldn't.

I am watching Southward Ho on Grit TV right now. Roy and Gabby are Confederate soldiers who bushwhack Union Colonel Denby and steal his chicken dinner, and his pants. They make their getaway before Denby's troopers cac catch them. Then the war ends and Gabby and Roy return to Texas, where Gabby has inherited half interest in a ranch. There they find that the other half owner is none other than Colonel Denby, accompanied by his beautiful daughter Ellen. Denby is appointed military governor of the area, but the soldiers assigned to him are a bunch of ruthless crooks. They use taxes as a way to steal from the townspeople and ranchers. They also use the animosity between Gabby and Denby to keep things stirred up. It's going to be up to Roy, Gabby, and Ellen to open the Colonel's eyes as to what's going on and to stop these no good varmints!

This was the first pairing of Roy and Gabby. Wade Boteler is Colonel Denby. Lynne Roberts, billed as Mary Hart, is Ellen. Lynne's fourth and last husband was professional wrestler and sometimes actor Don Sebastian. They were separated in 1978 when Lynne suffered a serious head injury and died after falling in her bathroom.

Southward Ho is good early Roy Rogers western. Definitely worth watching.