King of the Cowboys

Roy Rogers is a cowboy working for a rodeo who is asked by the Governor of Texas to help him track down a band of saboteurs operating in the United States during World War 2. In order to do that he has to quit his job and go undercover as a singing cowboy at a carnival. What he doesn't know is that these saboteurs have an elaborate system and a spy in a very high capacity who quickly become suspicious of anybody who ventures too close to their operation. Anyway, rather than reveal any more of the film and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it, I will just say that while I don't especially care for "singing cowboy" movies this one wasn't too bad. Although it's filmed in black and white and lasts only 67 minutes, it still has some decent action which keeps the film moving along. Not only that, but the songs aren't too bad either. In any case, I rate this movie as about average and recommend it to those who enjoy movies of this type and produced during this era.

Roy apparently earns his title as King of the Cowboys by helping out Governor Russell Hicks of Texas track down a nest of Nazi saboteurs who are wreaking havoc across the Lone Star State. Did Congressman Lyndon B. Johnson know about this?

Herbert J. Yates put the best creative minds at Republic Pictures to work on this and they came up with a script that's a combination of The Thirty Nine Steps and This Is My Affair. Like the Robert Taylor MGM classic where he's a secret agent working directly and reporting to President McKinley because McKinley like Governor Hicks can't seem to trust anyone in his official capacity. And like The Thirty Nine Steps the key is Gerald Mohr with a carnival memory act. If you're going to borrow at least Yates felt you should borrow from the best. You can't do too much better than Alfred Hitchcock.

Roy gets a nice group of songs and I particularly liked the fact that he gets to sing I'm An Old Cowhand which in fact he had a hand in introducing seven years earlier. When Roy was just one of the Sons of the Pioneers who also appear in King of the Cowboys he backed Bing Crosby when he introduced the Johnny Mercer classic in Rhythm on the Range. Now Roy's a star and does a nice solo turn accompanying himself on the guitar.

While Republic's other big singing cowboy Gene Autry was off to war, Roy inherited for a while, Smiley Burnette who does his usual comedy bit.

Sadly though the film that gives Roy the title he was forever known by is a badly dated war propaganda flick that simply doesn't wear well or age well. The King had been better served by his subjects at Republic before and after this film. They'd also done worse by him as well.

Certainly not a western in the usual sense. In fact, horses aren't seen til the end, while there're many more suits than Stetsons. The programmer does manage a good flying fists sequence, but fast-shooting and hard-riding are at a bare minimum. There's little scenery, except for some familiar LA area locations. And likely, wartime restrictions discouraged shooting in Technicolor so we get b&w instead.

It's 1943, and I guess Republic wanted something contemporary having to do with the scheming Axis powers. But reviewer Plankton is right. The script is very poorly done, so it's hard to know who exactly who is up to what and why. There are some good moments such as action on the train trestle and some snappy audience lines during Mohr's psychic act. And that's along with a pretty good selection of western tunes, like Red River Valley. Of course, Mohr makes a first-rate baddie, and it's unusual to see short, stubby Corrigan in a serious part, a departure from his usual addle-pated comedic parts.

In my little book, it's a lesser Rogers entry, apparently before he met up with the sparkling Dale Evans or the golden stallion Trigger. But it should do for Rogers fans if you're not too insistent about your traditional westerns.

Roy Rogers (as Roy), Smiley Burnette (as Frog), and the "Sons of the Pioneers" go undercover to help Texas Governor Russell Hicks stop World War II Axis sympathizers from blowing up U.S. warehouses. Not a war story, but a Roy Rogers western: this one a "Variety Show" of stunts, songs, and Smiley bits … plus, a sign proclaiming: "Freedom of Speech Doesn't Mean Careless Talk".

"King of the Cowboys" songs include: "I'm an Old Cow Hand", "The Gay Ranchero", "Prairie Moon", and others. Stunts include setting up a giant mirror on a road to simulate a head-on car crash; and, following another car crash, Rogers being tied up and left in a warehouse rigged to blow. The story is inconsequential. Following the stunted end, Rogers is introduced as "King of the Cowboys" and sings "Ride Ranger Ride". Formulaic to the hilt!

** King of the Cowboys (1943) Joseph Kane ~ Roy Rogers, Smiley Burnette, Peggy Moran

King of the Cowboys (1943)

*** (out of 4)

Once America entered WWII Hollywood starting throwing everything into a variety of war pictures. The biggest stars were cast in war movies and even fictional characters like Boston Blackie and Sherlock Holmes were placed into war pictures. Roy Rogers had the same fate and this thriller turned out to be one of his best pictures. Rogers is hired by the government to go undercover and try to locate some saboteurs who are blowing up warehouses throughout America. He finally tracks down the bad guy and must get involved in his fair to try and put a stop to him. The title pretty much tells you where Rogers was at during this portion of his career and seeing a cowboy in a WWII film might make you think it wouldn't work but the end result is very effective. Yes, the film still has that low-budget feel but for the most part the film contained a nice story, some fine performances and some great action. In regards to the action I'd say this probably contains more than any other film I've seen from the legend. We get a really exciting fight sequence where Rogers is in the back of a car when two men jump him. There's also an excellent sequence towards the end that I won't ruin but the gunfight is a lot of fun. There's also some fine laughs with a fake clairvoyant. As you'd expect, Rogers has no problem playing the good guy and the American, flag-waving is something is does with ease. The supporting cast includes Smiley Burnette adding great comic relief and Peggy Moran is good as the love interest. KING OF THE COWBOYS is a film that I think even those who hate "B" Westerns would enjoy. There's certainly a lot going on and yes there's some nice songs too.