Bells of San Angelo

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!

Bells Of San Angelo finds Roy Rogers working as a border 'investigator' on the USA/Mexico border. Assisting him is sheriff Andy Devine of the county. There have been some murders of some Mexican nationals on the American side in and around a mine that John McGuire and David Sharpe run.

This is far from the Mexican border today where we are preoccupied with illegal immigration. At this time in the Hollywood modern west, people just seem to be coming back and forth across the border at will with no one really asking questions. Roy's very good friends with Catholic Padre on the other side, Fritz Lieber. In fact it is Lieber who comes to Roy asking him and Devine to look into the murders.

We've got two more complicating factors in the plot. A western writer is coming to town with the highly androgynous name of Lee Madison and Roy and the Sons of the Pioneers think its some tenderfoot who just wants to stick his nose in for material. They don't need no tenderfeet tagging along on a serious investigation and resolve to do something about it.

Of course Lee Madison is the pen name for Helen Clifford who is played by Dale Evans and she keeps her identity a secret to play along with the gags Roy and the boys are cooking up. I said in another review of one of their films that Roy and Dale play like a pair of red state Tracy and Hepburn. The dialog ain't classic, but all in all it's not too bad either. It was part of their appeal on the screen.

The other complication is Olaf Hytten arriving from Great Britain looking to locate some missing person who turns out to be Andy Devine. Not knowing exactly what he wants, Devine is scared about revealing himself, but Roy guesses right away something's afoot.

All this plot is packaged rather nicely into a 78 minute running time for Bells Of San Angelo. Of course Roy finds out exactly what the story is and the culprits are brought to justice. But as for what the racket was and what happens with Dale and Andy you have to see Bells Of San Angelo.

You'll love the fox hunt the gang arranges for Hytten.

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.

To all of my learned comrades that posted comments insulting the late, great Roy Rogers & Dale Evans, I say from the bottom of my pea-picking, reminiscing-good old days heart, PPPPPPTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL! I honestly do realize that the color quality isn't exactly top shelf, most of the acting is sub-par & the plots are tissue paper transparent, but who gives a horses saddle bag? I love each and every dusty one of them. And this includes the 50s TV show with sidekick Pat Brady and Nellie Belle the jeep. Yes, Gaby Hayes is the best sidekick ever! I grew up watching R.R. He brought to the youth of my time, "truth, justice & the American way"! I stole that quote, by the way. It brings me back to my childhood, which I guess was worse than these movies were. Maybe that is why I enjoyed them so much. PapaLarry H

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 .