Considering all the Roy Rogers films I've seen, this is the first time I've had the chance to view him in his first starring role. In his very prior appearance he was still being billed as Dick Weston in a minor singing role for the Gene Autry flick, "The Old Barn Dance". Roy became a big hit with this picture, so I was a little surprised to see the role he was given here, that of a politician who's not above using some unethical behavior to get legislation passed for his Congressional district back home.
Roy gets support here from Smiley Burnette who sidekicked for the 'King of the Cowboys' in a host of films. The leading lady duties are handled by Carol Hughes, who also appeared with Gene Autry in a number of his pictures, then teamed with Roy again in 1940's "The Border Legion". But perhaps the best piece of trivia regarding Roy's career has to do with his famous horse. Following a salary dispute with Republic Pictures, Roy replaced Autry for this picture, and a stable that provided horses for the movie industry brought some of their best animals to the set for Roy to try out. One of them was Golden Cloud, a beautiful palomino that Smiley thought was pretty quick on the trigger. Trigger/Golden Cloud had one prior movie appearance - Olivia DeHaviland rode him as Maid Marian in 1938's "The Adventures of Robin Hood"! Now that's pretty cool.
As far as the story goes, and aside from Roy's casting as a newly elected Congressman, it's pretty standard and formulaic for the era. The Great Western Water and Power Company has built a dam to the detriment of local ranchers, charging exorbitant rates for the use of the only available water supply. Seeking the aid of a committee chairman in Washington, Roy presents a film highlighting the drought conditions of his home district in Sage Valley. Trouble is, it was filmed in a different state, and Roy's actions are seen as unethical. On a trip back home, it looks like Roy further undermines his position by having the Congressional contingent hijacked in the middle of the desert with no water, just to show them what the locals have to deal with every day. Apparently Congressman Marlowe (Tom Chatterton) thought this was a pretty good ploy for a neophyte politician, and decided to back a water appropriation once he got back to D.C.
In addition to his acting duties, Roy does a real nice job here with an assortment of musical numbers, including some yodeling in a couple of tunes. He's backed up a few times by a group called The Maple City Four. It all sounded pretty good to my tin ear, and I can see how Roy got to be such a hit right out of the box in his first major picture. On another trivia note, in 1948 Roy made a picture called "Under California Stars", and in an opening sequence, tribute is paid to his Tenth Anniversary in the movies.
Roy gets support here from Smiley Burnette who sidekicked for the 'King of the Cowboys' in a host of films. The leading lady duties are handled by Carol Hughes, who also appeared with Gene Autry in a number of his pictures, then teamed with Roy again in 1940's "The Border Legion". But perhaps the best piece of trivia regarding Roy's career has to do with his famous horse. Following a salary dispute with Republic Pictures, Roy replaced Autry for this picture, and a stable that provided horses for the movie industry brought some of their best animals to the set for Roy to try out. One of them was Golden Cloud, a beautiful palomino that Smiley thought was pretty quick on the trigger. Trigger/Golden Cloud had one prior movie appearance - Olivia DeHaviland rode him as Maid Marian in 1938's "The Adventures of Robin Hood"! Now that's pretty cool.
As far as the story goes, and aside from Roy's casting as a newly elected Congressman, it's pretty standard and formulaic for the era. The Great Western Water and Power Company has built a dam to the detriment of local ranchers, charging exorbitant rates for the use of the only available water supply. Seeking the aid of a committee chairman in Washington, Roy presents a film highlighting the drought conditions of his home district in Sage Valley. Trouble is, it was filmed in a different state, and Roy's actions are seen as unethical. On a trip back home, it looks like Roy further undermines his position by having the Congressional contingent hijacked in the middle of the desert with no water, just to show them what the locals have to deal with every day. Apparently Congressman Marlowe (Tom Chatterton) thought this was a pretty good ploy for a neophyte politician, and decided to back a water appropriation once he got back to D.C.
In addition to his acting duties, Roy does a real nice job here with an assortment of musical numbers, including some yodeling in a couple of tunes. He's backed up a few times by a group called The Maple City Four. It all sounded pretty good to my tin ear, and I can see how Roy got to be such a hit right out of the box in his first major picture. On another trivia note, in 1948 Roy made a picture called "Under California Stars", and in an opening sequence, tribute is paid to his Tenth Anniversary in the movies.