It's only appropriate that the King of the Cowboys would appear in a movie of the same name. Roy Rogers was always my favorite Western hero, and he appears here as an undercover agent for Texas Governor Shuville (Russell Hicks), investigating sabotage in the territory. The story itself however, turns out to be rather ordinary, as Roy and his crew of Pioneers bring the bad guys to justice.
Roy's sidekick here is Smiley Burnette, in one of his few outings where he doesn't go by his own name. His character is Frog Millhouse in deference to the particular guttural sound he can produce at will; fortunately it's not overdone. We're still a few pictures away from Dale Evans' first appearance with Roy (1944, Cowboy and the Senorita), so the female lead falls to Peggy Moran, a performer with the Merry Makers Carnival and Tent Show. "Following Merry" is the only clue Roy has, so when he hooks up with the traveling show as a singer, he hopes to uncover the plot.
As with most of Roy's films, there are a host of songs performed by the cowboy crooner, including the opener - "Ride 'Em Cowboy". They're followed up by "I'm An Old Cowhand", "A Gay Ranchero" and "Roll Along Prairie Moon". All of them conjure up memories of a youth spent viewing hours of Western thrills following Roy, Gene, Hoppy and plenty of other stars getting the drop on the bad guys. So when you hear Bruce Willis mutter Yippie Ki Yay in "Die Hard", it just doesn't ring the same.
I always get a kick out of the perspective offered in these old films. How excited is the café cook when he sees the prospect of two paying customers at thirty five cents each! I know I haven't seen it in a movie before, but what's with the giant mirror in the road trick?
Of course in the end, Roy races to the rescue aboard Trigger to save the day, defusing a bomb and saving a railroad train from destruction. The Sons of the Pioneers round up the baddies, and the Governor proclaims Roy "King of the Cowboys" for his heroic assistance. It should be so easy in real life, but this was a simpler time when the guys in white hats always won. Yippee I-O-Ki-Yay!
Roy's sidekick here is Smiley Burnette, in one of his few outings where he doesn't go by his own name. His character is Frog Millhouse in deference to the particular guttural sound he can produce at will; fortunately it's not overdone. We're still a few pictures away from Dale Evans' first appearance with Roy (1944, Cowboy and the Senorita), so the female lead falls to Peggy Moran, a performer with the Merry Makers Carnival and Tent Show. "Following Merry" is the only clue Roy has, so when he hooks up with the traveling show as a singer, he hopes to uncover the plot.
As with most of Roy's films, there are a host of songs performed by the cowboy crooner, including the opener - "Ride 'Em Cowboy". They're followed up by "I'm An Old Cowhand", "A Gay Ranchero" and "Roll Along Prairie Moon". All of them conjure up memories of a youth spent viewing hours of Western thrills following Roy, Gene, Hoppy and plenty of other stars getting the drop on the bad guys. So when you hear Bruce Willis mutter Yippie Ki Yay in "Die Hard", it just doesn't ring the same.
I always get a kick out of the perspective offered in these old films. How excited is the café cook when he sees the prospect of two paying customers at thirty five cents each! I know I haven't seen it in a movie before, but what's with the giant mirror in the road trick?
Of course in the end, Roy races to the rescue aboard Trigger to save the day, defusing a bomb and saving a railroad train from destruction. The Sons of the Pioneers round up the baddies, and the Governor proclaims Roy "King of the Cowboys" for his heroic assistance. It should be so easy in real life, but this was a simpler time when the guys in white hats always won. Yippee I-O-Ki-Yay!