Susanna Pass (1949)

Director:

William Witney

Writers:

Sloan Nibley (written by) and
John K. Butler (written by)

Release Date:

29 April 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

The King and Queen of Westerns TOGETHER AGAIN... in TRUCOLOR!

Plot:

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...

Plot Keywords:

Oil | Game Warden | Fawn | Fish Hatchery | Will

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Roy Rogers	...	Roy Rogers
Trigger	...	Trigger, Roy's Horse
Dale Evans	...	Kay 'Doc' Parker
Estelita Rodriguez	...	Rita
Martin Garralaga	...	Carlos
Robert Emmett Keane	...	Martin Masters, Newspaper editor
Lucien Littlefield	...	Russell Masters
Douglas Fowley	...	Roberts aka Walter P. Johnson
David Sharpe	...	Henchman Vince
Robert Bice	...	Bob Oliver
Foy Willing	...	Foy
Riders of the Purple Sage	...	Forest Ranger Musicians

Runtime:

67 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Trucolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Filming Locations:

Chatsworth Reservoir, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures

Goofs:

Continuity: Number of characters held at gunpoint differs from number released.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Roy Rogers: Work done by hatcheries like this doesn't just mean restocking lakes and streams, it means that sportsmen and the youth of America will have a chance to get away from crowded cities and their troubles, go fighin', and enjoy the privileges our forefathers had. So, good luck to ya, Doc!

Soundtrack:

Susanna Pass

Cattle? Sheep? Nope! This time Roy saves a bunch of fish!

The later Roy Rogers movies tended to have a conservation and education message. In the case of Susanna Pass the plot is built around a feud between two brothers with differing ideas on how a piece of land should be used. One brother wants to use the land for a fish hatchery while the other wants to drain the lake and drill for oil. Roy's movies were strong in their message to carefully manage wildlife for hunting and fishing, and some of what is said in Susanna Pass would easily fit into a short film on raising fish for recreational and commercial fishing.

Russell Masters (Lucien Littlefield) who seeks to make life better for everyone with a fish hatchery. He is joined by Doc Parker (Dale Evans) in his venture. Dale Evans was always feisty toward any villain and usually kept Roy in check whenever he became mischievous. This time around she pulls no punches, literally speaking, because she plays the part of a marine! As far fetched as it may sound for tiny Dale, she is dead serious and no-nonsense in her role.

Newspaperman Martin Masters (Robert Emmett Keane) has to find a way to ruin the fish hatchery and eliminate his brother so that he may take the oil from underneath the lake. He and his hired thugs nearly succeed, but when facing Roy Rogers and a marine the task becomes difficult.

Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage were doing their own western adventures on their radio program, so they certainly were no strangers to acting. While they do get to partake of the action in Susanna Pass, they just do not have the flair of the Sons of the Pioneers. Perhaps it is because they were not as comfortable on screen, or it may be a nostalgia for seeing Roy with his original group.

There is a different feel to the polished production of Roy's last years of B westerns. In some ways it takes away from the "shoot 'em up" aspect that was so much fun, but it establishes a strong sense of right and wrong. Roy was no longer the cowboy who did good deeds; he had a purpose that was made clear to everyone.