Eyes of Texas

There're some novel features in this Rogers oater—a "wolf" pack, an old lady mastermind, Devine as a veterinarian, and a home for orphaned boys. Seems an old lady (Bryant) plots to steal inheritance from the boys home, and only US Marshal Rogers stands in her way. In the process, she enlists much of the town, including Devine, to discredit Roy who doesn't help himself by slugging the popular vet. Yes, good guy Roy slugs good guy Devine. Good thing our hero has Trigger and Lobo to help, and, oh yes, a fetching Lynne Roberts who would keep any guy going.

There's some okay flying fists, and fast shooting near the end, while hard riding features the predatory wolf pack. The locations are familiar ones just north of LA, so not much b&w scenery. Nonetheless, the story's an engaging one, along with its novel aspects. I should say in reply to fellow reviewers and as a Front Row geezer that I don't watch these matinees for their logic. They weren't intended as tight story lines. Now if I were watching a polished murder mystery, a very different standard would apply. Anyway, this is a highly entertaining Rogers entry and shouldn't be missed.

I cannot believe that (Dick 47 and Snow Leopard) put their comments on this site blasting this movie. The film " Eyes of Texas " made way back in 1948 is one of the best of the Roy Rogers flicks. There were a few good ones. Several done with Penny Edwards were passable also. This film features Nana Bryant...and she is at her best as the crooked lawyer Hattie Waters. If you watch it again notice how well she attacks her lines. She had some experience on the Broadway stage and it shows here. Nana Bryant is a real serious actress and she is light-years ahead of the rest of the cast. Andy Devine is good as always . The plot was a bit shallow but it was written for a young audience. I think that the film can be appreciated by film historians as one of the best Roy Rogers movies.........John in Louisiana.....

Francis Ford thought he had lost his nephew during the War, and had turned his fortune towards a camp for the children of fallen soldiers. Now his lawyer, Nana Bryant, tells him the youngster has turned up, so he tells her to rewrite his will, leaving half to the young man, and half to the camp. He signs a blank form and then heads into town. On the way, he is attacked by angry dogs, which everyone thinks are wolves. Ford is killed, but when his will is red, he has left everything to his nephew. Marshall Roy Rogers is in town to investigate. He comes across one of the dogs, hit by a bullet -- it's Bullet in his first role. Roy and doctor Andy Devine fail to calm the animal, but Trigger does so immediately.

There's a lot going on in this Roy Rogers vehicle, so much so that it often becomes confusing, even when it's been establish that Miss Bryant, despite her vapors, is actually the lead bad guy in the show. Lynne Roberts is present as Devine's nurse and Roy's implied love interest, and the Sons of the Pioneer sing or accompany Roy in three songs. It's not one of Roy's best, but it's still lively and fun.

When the owner of a ranch for orphan boys is murdered by trained dogs and his will fraudulently changed to benefit a nephew no one has met, Marshal Roy Rogers attempts to the bottom of the mysterious death, ending up at odds with not just the killers, but the whole community as well.

This is a fairly interesting murder mystery, though the murderers are revealed to the audience immediately. It's kind of rare to see a Saturday matinée western where the main heavy is an old woman! The real question is who the mysterious heir is and why he wants his uncle dead (an easy guess).

There's also a surprising amount of sadistic violence this time around, with Roy getting beaten, dragged behind a horse, and bull-whipped. Meanwhile, the dogs are mauling people and Roy even punches out Cookie Bullfincher!

The Eyes Of Texas has Roy Rogers as a US Marshal who uncovers a truly intricate plan involving a scheme to kill and rob Francis Ford of his ranch. Ford has made his ranch a boy's camp specifically for kids whose fathers were killed in World War II. But his sister Nana Bryant who is a lawyer has some other ideas about the property and the woman is quite ruthless in her methods.

Which include training a pack of dogs who've been killing cattle in and around the area for months before she springs them on Ford. Of course Roy does not believe the rumor that killer wolves have been raiding the local cattle.

Her chief henchman Roy Barcroft and Roy have a truly brutal fight scene where Andy Devine who's a doctor in this film rescues him. One of Roy's fancy western shirts was sacrificed for art. This fight scene was right on the edge and is comparable to the one that Humphrey Bogart and Tim Holt have with Barton MacLane in The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre which also came out in 1948. How it got through the censors is beyond me as Roy's films were marketed for the Saturday matinée kiddie trade.

Bryant who had a long career on screen mostly as good women, even playing nuns maybe has her career role in The Eyes Of Texas. I'd check this better than average Roy Rogers feature out just for her alone.