Nevada City

It's northern California, and if you want transportation, you could use George Cleveland's stage line, or Joseph Crehan's railroad. Pierre Watkins wants both, so he hires Fred Kohler Jr. And his gang to raid both. Cleveland and Crehan blame each other, and Cleveland doesn't take kindly to Roy Rogers; position that Crehan wouldn't do that, so he gets himself fired. He and Gabby Hayes start working on the railroad while events play out.

It's one of eight movies Rogers starred in for Republic in 1941, and director Joseph Kane keeps things easy on him by keeping the others in most of the scenes. Rogers sings three songs, Sally Payne provides the love interest, and Billy Lee is her brother to stand in for Roy's audience. It's another solid little B Oater, the first script credited to James Webb, with not a cent wasted in the production: lots of fun for fans.

Unlike his friendly rivals Hoppy and Gene whose movies usually dealt with Hollywood cowboy fantasy, Roy Rogers films sometimes mixed fact with fiction. Two of his best early movies were "Billy the Kid Returns," where Roy played the Kid, and "Days of Jesse James," where Don "Red" Barry played Jesse. In "Nevada City," the real stagecoach bandit Black Bart is featured, played by Fred Kohler Jr. The outlaw Black Bart was noted for his poetry, a sample of which he would leave when he robbed a stage. He would sign his poem "the Po8." In "Nevada City," an example of Black Bart's poetry is read aloud by Roy. He robbed coaches laden with gold from the area around Sacramento, California, during the Gold Rush. The movie story takes place in California which is true to the facts surrounding the infamous outlaw. Besides this, the rest in the movie is Hollywood.

The comedy in the film is supplied by Gabby Hayes, who has come to personify the movie cowboy sidekick. Gabby has some funny lines in this oater. The jail scene is hilarious. Roy and Gabby have been locked up for allegedly aiding and abetting Black Bart. A supposed drunk is placed in the cell with them. The drunk does a typical inebriated routine. He takes out a rope and asks Gabby if he knows any tricks. Gabby has a clever comeback, "How do you think we got in here to start with?" Using the rope, Gabby tries to lasso the jail door keys hanging on the wall. He makes several unsuccessful attempts then makes the rye comment, "This is like trying to rope a mo-skeeter on a dark night." The fun continues.

This Roy Rogers outing is all action. Not long after this film, Roy turned more and more to his singing (he had helped start the legendary Sons of the Pioneers) until many of his films became musical extravaganzas, not unlike Broadway shows of the day. So enjoy this fast-paced Roy Rogers oater to see why he came to be called "The King of The Cowboys."

Get ready to duck because that opening sequence is a blaze of gunfire and hard riding. I suspect that's to compensate for a plot-heavy main part with little of those two cowboy staples. Then too, Roy and Gabby don't get much featured time. Instead, it's the scheming rivals of the plot-line who dominate by drifting in and out.

Nonetheless, the rivalry between stage-lines and railroads in the Old West remains a compelling storyline and something I'd never considered. After all, which is going to supply the westward movement. Will it be the flexibility of stage-lines that can deliver locally, or rail-lines that can deliver in bulk. Here the two rivals scheme around Nevada City to undo one another, while the criminal Black Bart schemes to take over both. So how will the many conflicts be settled.

Some good touches from budget-minded Republic, like the background passersby in period costume on town boardwalks, a nice realistic touch. Then too, Roy gets to show real stunt work (not a double) atop a moving train, while Gabby shows his usual grouchy humor. And shouldn't overlook the delightful Sally Payne as the cowgirl cutie; her unfortunately short career specialized in these oaters.

Anyhow, it's a good hour to catch up with, especially for its raising of a neglected phase in development of the old West. So let's all ride again with those cowboy heroes of yesteryear.

Another western feud is at the core of the plot of Nevada City. This time it's the stagecoach line of George Cleveland versus the railroad of Joseph Crehan. But Roy Rogers who drives a stagecoach for Cleveland and his partners brother and sister Sally Payne and Billy Lee isn't convinced that the railroad is behind the troubles the stage line has recently been having. In fact on further investigation he discovers that the infamous Black Bart has been terrorizing the railroad as well.

Nevada City has a minimum of songs by Roy, the emphasis is definitely on action and discovering who Black Bart is and who's behind him. The poetry writing bandit who liked to leave whimsical verse wherever he did a crime is played here by Fred Kohler, Jr. and of course this is not the real story of Black Bart. But that was a common trend with B westerns back in the day including Roy Rogers films, to take some real western figure and create a wholly fictional story around them.

In fact for a while there I was wondering if Trigger would make an appearance. With Roy first driving a stagecoach and then learning how to operate a steam locomotive, Trigger does not make an appearance until halfway through the film. Which must have left his fans in a state of panic back in 1941.

Gabby Hayes is in this film as well and it has just about everything that a good Roy Rogers B western should have. Except Dale Evans, that was in the future.

Direct and briskly paced, this fits right in with most genre fare (any genre) of the 30s and 40s, especially those of such an abbreviated runtime. The movie has a story to tell, and it has no intention of wasting time to do so, even if it threatens to become overbearing in the process. It also wants to entertain, in a time when entertainment was simpler, and it has no notion of distinguishing earnestness from ham-handedness. George Hayes and Billy Lee's characters are especially grating in the latter regard, and while imbalanced sound design doesn't help, I dare say young Lee's acting and delivery is most abrasive of all. And yes, this also Between the pacing generally and Joseph Kane's direction specifically, some of the acting feels rather forced, even including star Roy Rogers. Setting aside such inelegance, however, there's much to appreciate here. James R. Webb's screenplay may not be particularly sophisticated, and the plot fits neatly within the standards of The Western, yet even such as is the story and scene writing can claim a fair bit of cleverness, and commendable themes. Of course the crew put in fine work, common for the genre, in terms of production design, art direction, costumes, and stunts and cinematography. 'Nevada City' may not be perfect, nor as polished as some of its brethren, but there are certainly far worse ways to spend one hour.

Gauche as Rogers' type of western often is, and perhaps less broadly appealing to modern audiences, there's still a surprising amount of variety therein. Some of his movies distinctly emphasize song, for example, while others are more focused on action. In this instance it seems to me that the picture cares most about its narrative, which isn't to say that other aspects are weaker by comparison, only perhaps less prevalent. This isn't to say that the story, receiving the most attention, is perfect; the protagonist's idea that comes early in the second half is so hare-brained as to defy any good sense, and for my part I just don't know what the point was. There's also so much zip to the proceedings that beats aren't allowed to manifest, breathe, and resolve of their own accord, and the feature stands at risk of blowing past any measure of suspense as much as fostering it. Nevertheless, this is a title that only wants its audience to have a good time, and it succeeds much more than not. It's more well made than not, and more well written; it may not be utterly gripping, absorbing, or essential, but it's enjoyable, and that's more than can be said of some of the most hyped-up films of the twenty-first century. 'Nevada City' may not be flawless, and even among its kin and contemporaries there are maybe other films that should be a higher priority, but if you have the chance to watch, this is a decent bit of fun. And that's good enough for me.