Colorado Sundown

This particular effort is not up to some of Rex Allen's best and showed some cost cutting measures. The plot is slow to get going, acting is not up to par for some of the supporting cast in particular Mary Ellen Kay. Slim Pickens is OK but not as good as some former Republic side kicks.that worked with Roy Rogers, Andy Devine and Gordon Jones spring to mind. Some good riding and fight scenes and of course some singing. Location has been used before in some Roy Rogers films such as "North Of The Great Divide" Roy of course by this time had moved to TV. Also the b western films were coming to their end and very shortly Rex would bow out with his last b western before he too turned to TV. Sad to see them go as my generation enjoyed them so much in their heyday. Rex definitely had better entries than this one.

J O'Mahony Ireland

Siblings Carrie and Daniel Hurley are trying to start up their timber mill by trying to have all the trees in the valley chopped despite the fact the forest rangers saying it will hurt the ranchers by exposing the land to erosion and flash floods. They also inherit a ranch with timber that can be cut down, but find themselves coheirs with Jacqueline Reynolds, arriving from the east, and Slim Pickens, coming from Texas with his ranch foreman Rex Allen. The Hurleys try to buy out Jacqueline and Slim's portions of the ranch claiming that the trees are infected with a blight and must be cut down, which will ruin the property, but Rex and Mattie, Jacqueline's maid, go stop them from signing the document. The Hurley's next plan is to have their younger brother, Dusty (a black sheep even for this family) impersonate a forestry official (using the documents of an official poisoned by the Hurleys) to order the trees cut down. Rex writes the forestry department for advice on the matter, and his letter is stolen by Dusty, who takes it back to Carrie, who poisons him to prevent him from telling Rex of their scheme. The Hurleys accuse Rex of Dusty's murder, but he is called to prevent rains from flooding the valley. Excellent entry in the Rex Allen series with plenty of action and great direction from director Witney. The script could have used some work in the beginning since the Hurley's motives at the beginning (before they inherit the ranch) aren't clearly explained. The film has a bunch of great fights including Rex vs. Graham (Daniel Hurley) started by Rex throwing a punch while riding past him on Koko. Pickens and Beavers (Mattie) both give good comic relief performances here. An all around winner. Rating, based on B westerns, 10.

Rex Allen is the classic movie cowboy: stoic, tough, and principled, as he plays a ranch foreman with the same name. He comes along to help his friend Slim Pickens (with the cowboy-turned-actor also playing a character with the same name), who's one of those who have inherited a ranch. Unfortunately, two of the other heirs, Carrie and Dan (June Vincent and Fred Graham) are unscrupulous types who want to protect their timber interests at all costs. Rest assured that Rex will do whatever it takes to expose their plot and punish the guilty.

Directed capably by Western veteran William Witney, "Colorado Sundown" gets right to the point, packing a fair bit of entertainment value into its trim 67 minute run time. We get multiple donnybrooks, chase sequences, and action scenes, as well as the atmospheric sight of characters working hard to prevent a flood. (A large part of the plot has to do with ranchers resenting the timber barons for cutting down all the trees and leaving the land vulnerable.) We also get a couple of songs, and an appreciable healthy amount of humour. (One major running joke has people getting head-butted in the posterior by an ornery goat.) There's also a comedy relief maid named Mattie (Louise Beavers), and an endearing pooch named Manhattan. While this little movie does get serious at times, it never gets too unpleasant.

The cast is thoroughly engaging, with Slim at his upbeat best. (He also plays a secondary role in drag, leading to the biggest guffaw in the entire picture, right near the end.). Mary Ellen Kay is a pretty leading lady as fellow heir Jackie Reynolds. Vincent and Graham are appropriately odious villains, especially him; John Daheim adds to the villainy as their unsavoury relative.

Overall, this is a decent enough way to kill some time if one is a real Western aficionado.

Six out of 10.

A 67 minute shortie from republic. Slim pickens plays himself... and his mother! With studio regulars louise beavers and chester clute. Lots of comedy in the script. Mary ellen kay and her maid show up just as slim thinks he's inheriting a ranch. He hires on rex allen and his guys to work the ranch. But it turns out three different families have inherited the ranch, and some of them are out to cheat the others. Poor louise beavers keeps getting knocked over. First for comedy, then for drama. It's a story. All tied up in a bow. Directed by william witney. Story by eric taylor. Died young at 55. Musical numbers by the republic rhythm players, since it was made by republic pictures. A typical western. Not bad!

One of director William Witney's later works, the film features much of the above average action scenes Witney is noted for. Rex Allen and Slim Pickens provide their usual journeymen performances. Stuntman/heavy Fred Graham is featured in this film - giving him probably more lines than in any other film he appeared in. Rear screen special effects are used throughout - and they reflect the low budget that was given to action, westerns during the early 50s. Additionally, the script is one of the weaker ones of the Rex Allen films. The story turns on the results of what would be a "very sophisticated medical autopsy" in this day and time "performed by a country doctor in his office" in a matter of hours.