Springtime in the Sierras

Good, cute little story where it is question of fight for the well being of animals against human predators. Destined to all kinds of audiences. William Witney had a carrer in three parts. First, his most notorious, concerned the serials, the best ever in the movie industry. William Witney was the master of serials, all companies confounded, better than any one else. This period began in the late thirties till the late forties. Then he began a sesond part in B westerns, one hour length, like this one, most of them with Roy Rogers, the singing cowboy or some Allan Rocky Lane, who was not a singing cowboy.... Those B westerns were all alike, more or less, but agreeable for fans of this kind of stuff. The third part of Bill Witney's career involved longer movies and rather good ones: STRANGER AT MY DOOR, BONNIE PARKER STORY, the rest being action flicks where Witney showed his skills that he used decades earlier for his majestic serials.

According to IMDB trivia, the heavily abbreviated (in essence, hacked to pieces to fit a TV time slot) version is not the only version available and the full original version was played on TCM a few years ago*. Well, unfortunately for me, the only copy I found was the abbreviated 54 minute version...meaning about 20 minutes of the story was missing!! Keep this in mind, as the original longer version might be an entirely different viewing experience than the one I had.

The plot to "Springtime in the Sierras" is a timeless one. A group of hunters are wiping out the wild game because they couldn't care less about hunting out of season, taking too many critters or breaking 1001 other laws. After one of the local game wardens is killed by these jerks, Roy goes to the Loring Ranch to investigate the crimes. But the woman in charge there is a brutal murderer....and adding Roy's death to her crimes wouldn't bother her in the least!

The plots of about 95% of all B-westerns are very, very familiar. In fact, most use one of only about a half dozen basic story ideas. But "Springtime in the Sierras" manages to be very original...except for the title which has nothing to do with the plot...a familiar thing with B-westerns!

Despite being hacked to pieces, I liked this change of pace story. I particularly was amazed at the scene where Roy shoots at the baddies who are following him....you have to see it to appreciate the brilliant stuntwork. I also loved the scene where Andy Devine squashes one of the baddies!! Perhaps I'll look some more for the original length version....as I am sure my viewing experience couldn't help but be different.

*Heavily editing was done on many B-westerns in the 1950s in order to fit the films into television time slots. In many cases, the original prints are gone. The only TV cowboy I know of who kept original prints was William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy) and a few years ago his original and fully restored prints were uploaded to YouTube. I would love to see Roy Rogers and Gene Autry's prints restored like this...as would the fans.

Roy Rogers returns to an old boyhood hometown in the Sierras, where he discovers poachers killing off the area deer. Mr. Rogers finds an abandoned fawn, and brings it to "The Sanitarium" - an animal refuge run by old friend Harry Cheshire (as Cap. Foster); there, he finds Mr. Cheshire treating the fawn's mother for a bullet wound. When the animal-loving Cheshire stumbles upon the gang of poachers, he is murdered. Rogers must find those responsible. Sheriff Andy Devine (as "Cookie") lends an occasional hand.

The characterizations are very good; especially, the introduction, and disposal, of the character played by Harry Cheshire ("Cap Foster"). The characters played by Stephanie Bachelor ("Miss Loring") and Hal Landon ("Bert") are also nicely drawn. Memorably, Rogers is dramatically beaten and left for dead in a meat freezer. Of course, Rogers escapes frozen death - and the ensuing shootout is quite exciting. During the obligatory shootout, note that the shots fired actually mean something; there is no pointless shooting, so a sense of real danger prevails. "Good Girl" Jane Frazee and "Bad Girl" Loring have a cool fistfight, too.

Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers demonstrate some excellent harmony and backing vocals on "A Cowboy Has To Sing". On the other hand, "Oh, What a Picture" is dreadful - not only for Mr. Devine's "comedy" vocal, but also for ruining the dramatic pace of the film. A redundant comedy interlude follows almost immediately ("What are You Going to Do Then?"); only one, if any, is really needed. The title song "Springtime in the Sierras" has a strained film tie-in.

***** Springtime in the Sierras (1947) William Witney ~ Roy Rogers, Jane Frazee, Andy Devine

First-rate matinée fare with Roy in fine early form. Republic popped for more than usual with a load of extras and TruColor. Then too, the storyline's almost contemporary with Roy and guys trying to save wildlife from greedy poachers. Of course, this means flying fists, fast guns, and hard riding. Plus a gang headed by a pretty girl (Bachelor), instead of the usual mustachioed slickster. Wow! And most challenging of all, Roy's got to survive being trapped in a frozen meat locker, of all things. Good thing hefty Andy Devine's along providing more than comedy relief. I guess Dale was busy elsewhere, so nifty little Jane Frazee gets to supply the romance, while the Sons of the Pioneers get to croon a few tunes along with our hero. I guess my only minus is the locations. Too bad Republic didn't pop for more scenic surroundings than scrubby greater LA. But that's okay since there's more than enough to keep this Front Row geezer happy, and hopefully you too.

* This review is based on the shortened 54 minute version * A group of poachers are violating all of the hunting regulations so they can provide the venison and other meats for market. Roy Rogers and Captain Foster, who provide a sanatorium for the wildlife go searching for the criminals, who happen to be neighboring rancher Jean Loring. When Foster discovers Jean's gang at work, she shoots him, which unnerves Bert Baker, a young member of the gang, whose sister runs the ranch Roy works for. Jean and her main henchman Matt Wilkes, find out that it is not safe with Roy on their trail, since he already suspects the two of poaching. Roy sets himself as a member of the Loring ranch, but when he finds the proof he needs, Jean and Wilkes make sure that he never reaches the marshal. Enjoyable routing Rogers picture with a nice amount of songs, action, and mushy sentiment often seen in his films. The fight between Roy and Barcroft in the freezer is very well handled by Witney mainly because of free camera movement even in the cramped quarters. Rating based on B westerns- 6.