Don't Fence Me In

In the George Eells biography of Cole Porter it comes out that Porter while writing the music, did in fact purchase the lyric 'from an antediluvian character' while out west. Probably not unlike Gabby Hayes and the character he plays in the film Don't Fence Me In. The song isn't like any of the sophisticated numbers we normally associate with Porter.

Roy Rogers introduced the film in Warner Brothers Hollywood Canteen where no doubt Jack Warner paid Herbert J. Yates at Republic some real big bucks for his cameo. So it may have evened out that Yates got the rights to Don't Fence Me In for a title song for one of Roy's films at his home studio.

It turned out that this was one of Roy Rogers best westerns with Republic and in it he plays the proprietor of a dude ranch where he keeps the secret of Gabby Hayes, a harmless old codger who spins a lot of tall tales in the Gabby Hayes fashion. But Gabby is really a notorious outlaw from the old west, one Wildcat Kelly who has been presumed dead for almost 40 years. There's a grave for him in the local cemetery.

But the fact that news of his death was greatly exaggerated and that brings Lois Lane type reporter Dale Evans out west for the story. Dale gets that and more including Roy.

Again Roy and Dale really have spark as a screen team, not as sophisticated as Bill Powell and Myrna Loy, but definitely their dialog is pretty good. And the situations are hilarious like Dale hitching a ride in the stagecoach boot with Roy throwing in some Limburger cheese for company and her tossing him in the swimming pool in response.

But besides Roy and Dale's chemistry, Don't Fence Me In has one of the best musical scores of any Rogers film. Besides the title song, Jack Warner apparently threw in My Little Buckaroo which Dick Foran introduced in one of his westerns at Warner Brothers. Roy also sings Along The Navajo Trail which he sang in a previous film of the same title. All three of these songs were big hits by the way for Bing Crosby.

The mystery of Wildcat Kelly is quite an interesting one. I highly recommend Don't Fence Me In as one of the Rogers/Evans best screen team efforts.

Move over Betty Grable and Joan Blondell because Dale Evans really gets to show her musical and acting chops in this oater. It's a Dale you don't ordinarily see once she settled into Roy's loyal sidekick. Here she shows the kind of spark that would have gotten her a succession of '30's B-musicals ten years earlier. I sure don't blame Roy for grabbing her for a life-time. But please, Roy, don't lock her again in the jouncing boot of a stagecoach with only Limburger cheese to grab onto. It's not a good way to court a girl.

All in all, the 70-minutes amounts to a really good matinée entry. The plot's more convoluted than usual, with Dale as a reporter investigating who's really buried in Wildcat Kelly's grave where Roy owns a dude ranch. Notably, her role requires an aggressive side we don't ordinarily see. Then too, the plot offers up several twists unlike the usual oater. And mustn't overlook the great Gabby Hayes in a more complex role than usual, but showing his usual ornery brand of entertaining humor. Then too, catch those two refugees from urban gangster flicks—Marc Lawrence and Douglas Fowley. Good thing they didn't have to 'mount up'.

There may be less action or good scenery than usual, but the pluses more than compensate. Anyhow, add the Sons of the Pioneers and an outstanding array of western tunes to the mix, and how can even non-front row kids lose.

An "8" on the Matinée Scale.

This is clearly one of the most entertaining "B" westerns I've ever seen. Unfortunately, the edition I viewed on DVD, Part of the "Happy Trails Theater" series from "Good Times Video" is apparently a version that was sold to television in the 50s and cut to fill one hour of airtime. Note that I said cut, not edited. Chunks of story line are missing. Continuity is non-existent. Plot problems are suddenly resolved without explanation. Even the final production number ("Don't Fence Me In") is cut-off before the song is completed. If the listed runtime is correct (71 mins), this edition is missing 17 minutes of footage.

With so many recent restorations of "B" westerns back to their original short lengths, I think that the "Roy Rogers" estate or "Republic Pictures" should make an effort to restore this film for DVD. It was probably Roy's best work.

Before I get to the review, I noticed that one review was for the severely truncated version of "Don't Fence Me In". That's because during the early days of television, many of Roy Rogers' films were hacked to pieces to make them fit TV time slots. In some cases, it's not that obvious--as they removed mostly the songs. In others, it appears as if the film was edited by Freddy Kruger--just hacked to pieces. Fortunately, the on demand version now on Netflix is the full film and my review is based on this.

Roy's real-life wife, Dale Evans, appeared in something like about 1/4 of his movies. Usually, she's not bad at all and sings a song or two. However, in "Don't Fence Me In", her appearance is far from welcome--mostly because her part is terribly written. She plays a Lois Lane sort of pushy reporter--and she is just plain annoying. It's a shame, as it's an otherwise decent little B-movie.

Long ago, a famous robber, 'Wildcat Kelly' died and his exploits were legendary. However, in a weird twist, it turns out that Gabby Hayes WAS this notorious outlaw but faked his death so that he could live an honest life. Pushy Dale learns this and instead of respecting Gabby's right to remain anonymous, she publishes the story--even after Roy gets her to agree not to. This turns out worse than expected, as someone is now bent on killing Gabby and plugs him. He isn't killed by they pretend he is dead in order to flush out the guy who shot him--by staging a funeral! This is only about halfway through the film and where this takes the audience is just something you'll need to see for yourself. However, be forewarned, Dale is annoying and when there is a big fight sequence, she acts REALLY stupid and sets back women's rights about 6000 years! Uggh, she is awful but the rest of the film is jim-dandy. Overall, I'd give this one a 5--and without Dale, it would earn at least a 7!

By the way, Roy and the Sons of the Pioneers sing "Don't Fence Me In" in this film--which, considering the title, isn't at all surprising!

In looking over Helen Talbot's list of film appearances on the IMB, I noticed that she supposedly appearance in Don't Fence Me In, as a dancer. There is an opening dance number in the beginning of the film where Dale masquerades as a dancer trying to get an "uncover" story on a politician who professes to be a "Law and Order" man with family values, but is really a dirty old man who likes pinching show girls. Dale is dressed up in a cute little outfit that shows off her legs. She was really a good looking gal and it is ironic that she would even play a part considering her late years as a "Christian" role model mother. But that's another issue. Helen, although she was an actual glamor model and had been a Goldwyn Girl briefly before coming to Republic, does not appear on camera. I have run that sequence through my video machine at slow speed and cannot find any evidence that she was indeed in that film. The same thing in SONG OF NEVADA, another Rogers musical, where she was supposedly cast as an airline stewardess. I stand ready for correction, gentlemen.