Reviewed by Jason LockardRoy Rogers was the first American Cowboy. For kids of the 1950s Roy Rogers was a hero. They all wanted to be him. Having adventures with his faith horse Trigger. Even through the years fans still seem to revel in the innocence and the fun of the adventures of Roy Roger and Dale Evans.
In 1976, Rogers was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma. Than inducted again in 1995 as a founding member of the Sons of the Pioneers. Now the good folks at Mill Creek Entertainment are bringing us a collection of 20 Roy Roger western adventures on DVD. Let's saddle up and see what is included in this collection.
Our Rating System:
**** = Don’t Miss it!
*** = Worth a look.
** = An Ok way to spend an evening.
* = You haven’t missed anything.
Sons of the Pioneers (1942) Color - The bug-studying son of a famous lawman is coerced into routeing a group of outlaws from a peaceful frontier town. ***
Trigger, Jr. (1950) Color - Grant Withers lets a killer horse loose to ruin valuable horses on nearby ranches. Than later hold up the ranchers for his "protection". It;s up to Roy to save the day. ***
Pals of the Golden West (1951) B&W - A singing border patrolman (Roy Rogers) stops the smuggling of diseased cattle from Mexico. ***
Young Bill Hickok (1940) B&W - Bill Hickok (Rogers), assisted by Calamity Jane, is after a foreign agent and his guerrilla band who are trying to take over some western territory just as the Civil War is coming to a close. ***
Don't Fence Me In (1945) B&W - Wildcat Kelly has been dead and buried for years. Or has he? Dale is a reporter for an Eastern magazine who comes West to find out the true story of Kelly, of whom Gabby seems to have mysterious knowledge. ***
Down Dakota Way (1949) Color - A crooked businessman is trying to sell cattle infected with deadly hoof-and-mouth disease. He has the local veterinarian murdered to cover up his plans.***
The Golden Stallion (1949) Color - Diamonds are being smuggled across the border from Mexico in a specially made shoe of a palomino mare. It's up to Roy, to capture the smugglers. ***
Man From Oklahoma (1945) B&W - Jim Gardner, hoping to acquire the Pine Valley section, for the oil rights, instigates and renews an old-time feud between the Lanes and the Whittakers as each family owns half the valley. Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers take up the fight against Gardner. ***
Rainbow Over Texas (1946) B&W - Roy visits his home town while on a personal appearance tour. While there he enters a pony express race. To keep him from winning, bad guys try to sabotage Roy's entry. They fail, or course. ***
Trail of Robin Hood (1950) Color - A greedy competitor tries to stop a retired movie actor from selling Christmas trees to the poor at cost. ***
Sunset in El Dorado (1945) B&W - A bored woman visits El Dorado where her grandmother had once been a famous dancer. There she has a dream that flashes back to all her grandmothers adventures. ***
North of the Great Divide (1950) B&W - A singing Indian agent (Roy Rogers) helps a Canadian tribe cheated by a salmon cannery. ***
Bells of Coronado (1950) Color - An insurance agent investigating a mine owner's death is pitted against foreign agents and uranium smugglers. ***
South of Caliente (1951) B&W - A singing cowboy (Roy Rogers) trailers a horsewoman's (Dale Evans) prize mare through danger. ***
In Old Amarillo (1951) B&W - A villainous cannery owner tries to foil efforts to get water to cattle ranchers during a severe drought. ***
Along the Navajo Trail (1945) B&W - U.S. Deputy Marshal Roy investigates the disappearance of a government agent who has come to Dale's father's Ladder A Ranch. ***
Twilight in the Sierras (1950) Color - Roy is a United States Marshal tracking down a counterfeiting ring and hunting down a mountain lion. ***
Susanna Pass (1949) Color - The bad guys dynamite a fish hatchery. They're trying to put the hatchery out of business so they can get possession of oil underneath the lake. Roy is a game warden investigating the dynamiting. ***
Spoilers of the Plains (1951) B&W - This is an odd one for Roy. There are foreign spies, desert sites for rocket-launching and artificial satellites. The climax is a one-on-one fight on top of an oil derrick. ***
Cowboy and the Senorita (1944) B&W - Bad guy Craig Allen, gambler and town boss, tries to take a gold mine inherited by innocent Chip Williams on her seventeenth birthday. Roy and his pal 'Teddy' Bear ride to help the girl and her cousin. ***
The films in this collection are presented from Happy Trails Theater a series where Dale Evans and Roy Rogers have special guests, such as, Iron Eyes Cody, Gene Autry, Pat Brady, Ruth Terry, Pat Butram, Roy "Dusty" Rogers Jr. and many more. Before showing the feature they talk about some of these great films and stories behind them. This is a really feature.
Now if all these films wasn't enough we also get bonus video features, a biography of Roy Rogers, Sidekicks feat. Gabby Hayes, Pat Brady, Pinkie Lee & more, and Roy Rogers Museum Tour Hosted by Roy "Dusty" Rogers Jr.
All of these films are presented in their original aspect ratio. They have been digitally remastered and I have to say these films look and sound better than any copies I've seen.
All four discs are presented in the stacked DVD case. Some people don't like these cases. I myself have so many of them and have never had an issue with any of the DVDs so it doesn't bother me.
So if you love classic westerns or Roy Rogers this is one awesome little set. Head over to MillCreekEnt.com and pick up your copy today.
Moral Rating: Mild violence
Audience: Families
Genre: Western
Length: Over 23 Hours
Released: 2019
Our Rating: A
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