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6 Degrees Entertainment

'The Roy Rogers Happy Trails Collection'
(Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Trigger, et al / 4-DVD + Digital / NR / 2019 / Mill Creek Entertainment)

Overview: Roy Rogers and Dale Evans take you on a trip down memory lane, as they host King of the Cowboys, an exclusive collection of the best Roy Roger's movies, authorized by the Roy Rogers Estate.

DVD Verdict: Each movie is introduced by Roy and Dale in a special feature, Happy Trails Theater, and are joined by a host of your favorite western stars, including: Gene Autry, Iron Eyes Cody, Pat Brady, Ruth Terry, Roy "Dusty" Rogers Jr., Pat Butram and more!

So saddle up with Roy, Dale, Trigger, Bullet and the rest of the gang for hours of wholesome, western family entertainment!

Now, I obviously cannot ramble on here and review/comment on all 20 of the feature films (all of which have been Digitally Remastered for the best in Audio and Digital quality; and all compiled with the assistance of Roy "Dusty" Rogers Jr. and Jeffrey Kramer) included in this wondrous new package from Mill Creek Entertainment, but I will highlight a few of my own persona favorites from the set.

First up is 'Sons of the Pioneers' (1942). Night raiders are burning down the ranchers' barns and poisoning their cattle. Sheriff Gabby, unable to cope, goes east to get help from Roy, descendant of two famous sheriffs.

Roy is a young entomologist who would rather study bugs than strap on guns. He finally gives in to Gabby's wishes and ends the terror.

As usual in these movies, a lot of care is taken for some lovely cinematography, although there are some obvious day-for-night shot given away by the shadows.

Also, the Sons of the Pioneers, as you might expect, show up to sing a few songs, and this high-class B-Western is sure to please fans of the genre.

Next up is 'Don't Fence Me In' (1945). 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.

Move over Betty Grable and Joan Blondell because Dale Evans really gets to show her musical and acting chops in this oater. It's a Dale you don't ordinarily see once she settled into Roy's loyal sidekick.

Here she shows the kind of spark that would have gotten her a succession of '30's B-musicals ten years earlier.

Another is 'Trail of Robin Hood' (1950). Retired actor Jack Holt is raising Christmas trees for sale at a cost which permits every family to have one.

A commercial tree company tries to drive Holt out of business. Roy saves the day, of course.

Like so many Roy Rogers films, this one's title has absolutely nothing to do with the title. So, if you are looking for any sort of Robin Hood angle, you'll be disappointed!

It's Roy Rogers' Christmas movie for 1950 and it's a bit of an extravaganza! William Witney directs with his usual facile hand, John MacBurnie lights the interiors like a series of Rockwell paintings, but sadly, Dale Evans is strangely absent.

Next would be 'Bells of Coronado' (1950). Roy is an insurance investigator looking into the theft of uranium ore. He must prevent the thieves from taking off in a plane with the stolen ore.

The Cold War and the quest for uranium ore comes into the plot of this Roy Rogers western, The Bells Of Coronado. Roy plays an insurance investigator who is assigned by John Hamilton to investigate the theft of unrefined uranium ore and incidentally the death of the owner of a mine from where it was stolen.

Dale Evans co-stars and it would surprise many to learn that Dale was only the leading lady in about a quarter of Roy's films. The films that she did co-star with Roy are elevated an extra notch because of the obvious chemistry between the two.

Lastly, my go-to suggestion would be 'Susanna Pass' (1949). 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.

Roy Rogers is a fish and game warden for the state of California and he weighs in with his good offices in a fight between two brothers, Robert Emmett Keane and Lucien Littlefield, one bad and one good.

Bad brother is newspaper editor Keane who's a rich guy looking to get richer. And that would be at the expense of good brother Lucien Littlefield who's got a piece of land on which he's created an artificial lake and uses it as a fish hatchery.

He's assisted in this worthy endeavor by Dale Evans who is, and get this for a word, an ichthyologist!

Which leads neatly to the fact that the filmmakers' seriousness about such issues is shown by the extended sequence in which Doc explains the hatchery's operations to Roy.

This portrays her, not as some kind of oddity, but as an informed, highly educated woman in an instructive, not subordinate, relationship with Roy. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Bonus Features of:

A special look at Roy's "Sidekicks"
Roy Rogers Biography
A Tour of the Roy Rogers Museum hosted by Roy "Dusty" Rogers Jr.

www.MillCreekEnt.com





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