Bells of San Angelo

The usual, routine, singing cowboy stuff from Roy Rogers as he is sent to investigate some shenanigans at a ranch on the US/Mexican border. The film really belongs to Andy Devine as "Sheriff Cookie"; the enthusiastic, if not desperately competent local sheriff who alongside trashy-journalist "Lee Madison" (Dale Evans) has to help Rogers get to the bottom of it all. Fritz Lieber adds a wee bit of weight to the proceedings, and if you like songs with your westerns then this is no better or worse than the norm. The story is far, far too thin for 80 minutes though, an hour would have easily sufficed.

I've never been a fan of Roy's, even while I watched his 1950s TV

show as a kid. I wanted to buy one RR movie, just to see if I had

changed my mind about his films. I picked this one because a

couple of sources had stated that this was his best film, & was

"tougher" than most of his films. I don't like songs with my

westerns, so of course there was far too much music for my taste

here (I lost count at seven). The comedy, supplied by Andy Devine,

was pretty good (& actually quite funny near the end of the film), a

big improvement over Smiley Burnett, but nowhere near as good

as Gabby Hayes. Dale was OK as the heroine, & better than I

thought she would be, a better actor than her husband. Indeed,

there were a couple of very gritty fight scenes where RR took a

beating (& surprisingly, this was acknowledged in later scenes

where he was seen with bruises). But overall, not an exciting

experience for me. The plot was weak & the music disconnected

what little action there was. For the sake of comparison, I'm going

to try a very small dose of Gene Autry before going back to the

greatest of all cowboy stars, William Boyd!

Did I see the movie correctly, or did Roy shoot Dale twice with a loaded gun! At least her white blouse showed no blood. After seeing that, I'm really glad that the famous cowboy couple got permanently hitched at the end of '47. In fact, there're a number of unexpected touches in this well-produced Rogers oater, including a baddie who actually grieves over his dead pet bird - how's that for humanizing a bad guy. Then too, looks like Republic popped a hefty budget for this Rogers programmer. The scenic Nevada buttes are a dramatic and eye-catching plus. And get a load of that strung-out silver mine clinging to the mountainside like a giant caterpillar.

So, can Roy, Devine, and Dale stop the smugglers from tunneling silver ore from the Mexico side of the border to the US side where it brings in a lot more dough. Those underground scenes in the cross-border tunnel are grimly well-staged. Meanwhile a really paunchy Sheriff Devine gets to throw his weight around in more than just comedic style -- so watch out bad guys. Meanwhile, the lovely Dale has a more meaningful plot role than usual, as a writer, no less. Then too, there's plenty of hard riding and fast shooting, along with flying fists that may surprise you (it did me). On the brief downside is a loose narrative, and maybe too few songs from the delightful Sons of the Pioneers.

All in all, its a nifty Rogers oater with a number of unusual touches. Also, it looks like Republic was maybe looking for a series uplft. So Front-Row guys and geezers, don't pass it up.

The movie contains action Western ,songs, adventures, shoot-outs, fighting and is quite entertaining . Swinging From His Toes And Shooting From His Hips...Roy Battles His Foes With A Song On His Lips! . Roy Rogers and Evans team up again in the habitual thin story , but filled with riding stunts and noisy action . It deals with a Border Patrolman (Roy Rogers)who is sent to the Mexican frontier in southwest Texas to investigate strange events in Rancho San Angelo. There, with the help of local sheriff named Cookie Bullfincher (Andy Devine) and a Western pulp magazine novelist named Lee Madison (played by his spouse Dale Evans) looking for plot material , Roy aware that the Rancho is actually a nest for smuggling silver along the Mexico frontier into USA . He sends Lee Madison for help only to have her kidnapped by Gridley (John McGuire) . Gridley is mining silver from a worthless mine and bringing it into the United States thru a hidden passage . Trigger brings help that takes care of Gridley's hoodlums and now Roy has to save Lee . After rescuing Madison from the nasty band led by "Red" Grindley , there is a surprise awaiting Sheriff Cookie when a Lord comes from England looking for a man named Lancaster . As Roy foils thieves' attempts to steal and smuggle the precious silver . Meanwhile happen songs alongside with pursuits and struggles against the silver sluggers.

This B movie displays sensational adventures , intrigue, marvelous scenarios , lots of fun and is pretty enjoyable . This average-budget Western blends action , hokey fun ,suspense and emotional happenings . Our heroes incarnated by a throughly believable casting of the usual characters undergo numerous adventures and suffering innumerable perils . Surprise-filled entertainment and plenty of action on middle scale . The exterior scenes , gun-play , fights , brawls, explosions , all of them are spectacular and the film is another ordinary Hollywood product but of B-series. Memorable and great cast as Roy Rogers stars the famous singer cowboy , he played in various musical groups ,in 1934 he formed a group called ¨Sons of Pioneers¨ , they appeared in numerous Westerns (Rhythm on the range, Son of the pioneers , On the Spanish trail , among others). Roy was married three times . Arlene Wilkins , his second wife, died a few day after giving birth to their son ,¨Roy Rogers Jr or Dusty¨ and Dale Evans his third spouse , became his four children's mom . Inducted along with his wife Evans into the Hall of great Western performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and also as member of the Sons of Pioneers . Their nicknames were ,Roy as ¨King of cowboys¨ , Dale Evans ¨Queen of the West¨ and Trigger ¨ Smartest horse in the movies¨ . Roy got his horse ¨Trigger¨in 1938 and rode him in every one of his film and TV shows after that. He had appeared in one early movie , being ridden by Olivia De Havilland in ¨¨ The adventures of Robin Hood¨. Trigged died in 1965,aged 33 years.

¨Bells of San Angelo¨ includes several songs titled "Hot Lead," and "I Like to Get Up Early in the Morning¨ and many others , played by ¨Son of Pioneers¨ and the actors as Rogers , Evans and Devine . Colorful cinematography in Trucolor , though photography is washed-out , reflecting wonderfully landscapes from Valley of Fire State Park , Overton, Nevada, USA . This ancient movie is professionally directed by William Witney , a craftsman who directed 140 titles from the 30s . The film is produced by Republic picture, usual in serials of low budget . The director , William Witney ,was a prolific director of short budget and TV episodes ( Daniel Boone , Bonanza ,Virginian ) , his best film was ¨The master of world¨ with Vincent Price . The motion picture will appeal to Western buffs and it's a marvelous popcorn story .

This is one of the last good Roy Rogers films, before they started recycling stories and churning them out a mile a minute. The plot is interesting and keeps you interested. The film isn't too long (about 1h20) and doesn't drag at all. The songs aren't too bad, and the absolutely *adorable* Dale Evans has lots of screen time;) Andy Devine was amusing as the sheriff, much more amusing than many of the later comic relief sidekicks, and Roy Rogers was at his best, in voice and in character.

Overall: One of the few colour Rogers films worth seeing; not the best of them, but most certainly nowhere near the worst (though I'm not much of a fan of the genre;). Entertaining, and worth seeing at least once. And, of course, Andy might be Devine , but Dale Evans is *divine*!!;) 7/10.