On the Old Spanish Trail

Roy Rogers movies tend to be pretty lightweight, at least the ones I've been able to see within memory.

But Roy Rogers himself is endearing.

I think it was while watching "Dark Command," the John Wayne movie (though Claire Trevor gets first billing, for some reason), that I first realized Roy Rogers was really an excellent actor.

It is likely that he rose to such prominence mostly because of his winning personality and good looks, rather than the movie plots, but in studying Western movie history, I learned that when he was given his chance to be the star of his own series, he set out to be good at his job. For example, he took riding lessons, and in my opinion was one of the best riders, certainly among those who hadn't been riders since childhood (such as John Wayne and Gary Cooper).

And even late in life, he was still a good singer, having been a great one earlier.

This movie gave us Rogers in really good form: He got to do just about everything he was good at, singing, riding, and acting.

I was rather bored in the beginning, but by golly this movie takes off and becomes downright exciting.

Of course, there is a great cast, with the Sons of the Pioneers getting to stand out, and stunts and action by the great Fred Graham.

Each cast member is memorable, and I highly recommend this to everyone. Those who enjoy Hollywood history especially should watch and pay attention to the individuals performing. You'll find it fun and educational.

Sad to say that I saw a truncated version of On the Old Spanish Trail, one that must have been edited for television as a previous reviewer mentioned. And it was black and white.

What little I saw convinced me it was a good film with both lots of music and a good plot if you could fill in the blanks.

There was a sequence missing, but alluded to in the film I saw about Andy Devine believing he dreamed he saw the villains trying to break Tito Guizar out of jail. If so it must have been a very funny sequence as only the befuddled Mr. Devine could make it.

Because we had not only Roy Rogers, but Tito Guizar and pinch hitting for Dale, Jane Frazee there was a lot more singing in this than normal. Great for those who like singing cowboys.

I believe Dale might have been on family leave from Republic. She and Roy had only one natural child from their marriage, they adopted two others, and she and Roy both had kids from their previous marriages. (Yes they were married to others, Roy's wife died and Dale was divorced from her first husband). Jane Frazee though is a fine musical performer and fills Dale's cowgirl outfits out just fine. Roy and Dale's child would have been born around the time this and a succeeding film came out.

Best song of the picture is the title tune. Both Rogers and Gene Autry recorded extensively from their films, though Gene had far better success as a recording artist than Roy did.

If you get to see On the Old Spanish Trail, try to see a full length version.

I must have seen the longer version, because I had no trouble following the plot. I liked the music and the comedy. After seeing Tito Guizar here and in "The Gay Ranchero", I will be looking for him in other films! Charming!

I believe this film was my very first RR film, followed by The Far Frontier, which convinced me that the only cowboy hero to emulate for me was Roy Rogers. Why else would they call him "King of the Cowboys." I do recall having the 78 rpm record of the title song and memorizing the words. On the flip side was "I've Got A Feelin' (that somebody's stealing my darling). While I have only seen the truncated b&w version, I know that there is a fight scene missing from where Tito Guizar is recovering from a gunshot wound and the heavies want to take him back to town for the reward. Roy intercedes and there is a fight resulting in a fall into a nearby lake. This scene is included in the original trailer which is available along with other B westerns on video. I particularly like the song "Here is my helping hand" done by the Sons of the Pioneers which expressed their willingness to help out Roy in a crisis. Hopefully they will release the complete edition on DVD so that younger generations can appreciate a typical Saturday afternoon RR western.

In order to keep The Sons Of The Pioneers' equipment from being repossessed, Roy Rogers, Bob Nolan and the boys attempt to pull off a lucrative joint appearance and claim a reward on a not-very-dangerous outlaw known as The Spanish Gypsy.

A featherweight adventure, there isn't much to recommend this time around. Songs are less than memorable, even Roy's featured song, a duet of "My Adobe Hacienda". Action, suspense and (real) romance are almost non-existent until the finale.

With Dale Evans missing in action, sidekick Andy Devine not given much to do and Trigger spending most of his time grazing, this is recommended only for the most die-hard Rogers fan.