Springtime In The Sierras

Springtime in the Sierras (1947)

Runtime: 75 minutes

Directed by: William Witney

Starring: Roy Rogers (w/ his horse Trigger), Jane Frazee, Andy Devine, Stephanie Bachelor, Harold Landon

From: Republic

This is my first movie starring Roy Rogers. Talk about someone who was a big star in the United States from the late 30's through the 1950's. This isn't a must-see motion picture but it was still interesting to watch. I write about it below via my Letterboxd review: 

Late last afternoon on Turner Classic Movies I watched this movie with a parent. The big reason is that (to give a general clue to everyone as to how old my parents are... which they may not want known) both mom and dad watched Westerns as kids in the 1950's and 1960's, both on the big screen and on television. That includes The Roy Rogers Show. I figured it would be appropriate to finally see a motion picture with him.

It is a typical Republic Pictures B Western film, meaning it's about average. It was formulaic stuff, mainly to produce something to show on the big screen, and high art or thought-provoking scripts wasn't a priority. That is OK as Heaven knows people-like Rogers-became very popular from appearing in such things. This particular story is about animal poachers and how a young man Roy knows got wrapped up in that gang... which in a twist is led by a woman. There are several songs sung and the unmistakable Andy Devine (w/ the incredible name of COOKIE BULLFINCHER) does comedy, only some of which is successful. The movie is about as subtle with its fat jokes concerning Devine's girth and mass as it is with its pro-animal message; there's even a pet squirrel named Snoopy.

This movie is rather black and white; I don't mean literally (it's in color). What I mean is that this is the sort of picture where you can spot a bad guy after looking at them for only a few seconds. At least I can say that this was watchable. I have no means of comparison as this is my first Roy, but I can say that this at least has some decent action scenes (including stuff done with Roy's famous horse Trigger) and more than one long brawl between Rogers and someone else. It's not hard to see why Rogers was wildly popular back then, as he was good-looking, was fit to be a cowboy hero, could sing and do action scenes.

I imagine I'll stumble upon some other movies w/ the “King of the Cowboys” to watch in the future. At least this was not something I regretted seeing.