weezeralfalfa Review of My Pal Trigger

My Pal Trigger (1946)

Excellent, if fanciful, tale of how Roy acquired Trigger

[9/10 · 7 May 2019]

As you might expect, this film is especially suitable for those who like horse stories. But, there's plenty of intrigue involved in the birthing of Trigger, and how Roy comes to own him. An excellent screen play that keeps you interested throughout, with it's twists and turns..........Gabby Hayes owns a Palomino stud farm. Roy, as a horse and saddle trader, happens along, and asks Gabby if he will breed Roy's horse, Lady, with his best stallion. Roy gets an emphatic "No". He only breeds his own horses. Brett Scoville owns a nearby ranch, as well as the town saloon. He badly wants to acquire Gabby's best breeder: Golden Sovereign, if not the whole of Gabby's ranch, but Gabby won't sell..........So, Scoville sends Carlson and Hunter to steal Sovereign. This they do, but Sovereign is too much for them to handle. He gets away, and looks for Lady, whom he recently met. They have a tryst in the night, then head for a corral, where there's some food. Along comes a black stallion, and fights Sovereign for Lady. Meanwhile, Gabby has organized a search party, which includes Scoville and his men, who branch off from the main group. They check out the corral, and see Sovereign fighting the black stallion. Scoville is concerned that the stallion may hurt Sovereign. Thus, he raised his rifle and tried to aim for the stallion, but, as they were moving around, he happened to hit and kill Sovereign. The men left, as did the stallion, who was scared by the shot. Unfortunately, Roy heard the shot and rode to find out why. He saw 3 men riding away, but entered the corral to check on Sovereign. Unfortunately, Gabby and the others happened by, and saw Roy with Gabby's dead horse. Gabby was very upset, and assumed that Roy shot him as revenge for Gabby refusing to let Lady breed with Sovereign. Later, Roy is arrested for shooting a horse(and perhaps stealing it). He faces a preliminary trial, and is scheduled for a jury trial in a week. Roy's bail is paid by Wallace, who wants to keep Lady during that week as security. Roy objects, knocking him down and pinning his neck between two wheel spokes........He rides off on Lady, far away, until things cool down. While he is gone, Lady gives birth to Trigger. Just how Roy managed to survive, especially in winter, during this period, is ignored. Eventually, he returned, riding Trigger, rather than Lady, who had been mauled by a cougar, trying to protect Trigger, who had his leg caught in a bear trap(presumably). Roy decided Lady had to be shot, for her own good. How Trigger could walk normally, after Roy removed the trap is a mystery.........When Roy returns to Gabby's ranch, he asks if Trigger can breed with Golden Empress. Gabby is insulted at the idea of a half breed horse siring with his premier mare...........Roy is put in jail, and Trigger auctioned to pay his debt to Wallace. Trigger is bought by Scoville's agent. Dale, who thinks Roy is innocent, withdraws the charges, and Roy is let out. Roy finds out Scoville has Trigger(who runs away). And offers him Trigger back if he rides Trigger in the State Fair race and wins. Roy agrees, but then learns that it was Dale who got him out of jail, which confuses him. Gabby and Scoville had made a deal that if Gabby's horse won, his gambling debts would be forgiven and he would be given Trigger. But, if Scoville's horse won, he would get Gabby's ranch and all that goes with it, leaving Gabby and Dale destitute. ........During the race, Trigger takes a healthy lead, but then slows up, to combat 2 of Scoville's riders, who have boxed Dale against the inside rail. Eventually, Golden Empress barely beats Trigger. (One would think that Scoville could claim that it was obvious that Roy threw the race). It's an all around bad day for Scoville, as his henchmen talked about the stealing of and shooting of Sovereign, leading the sheriff to put Scoville in jail. ........Several songs are scattered, but no big production. Roy and Dale sing "Harriet, Handy with the Lariat". The Sons of the Pioneers have a song. Roy very appropriately sings "Old Faithful, Pal of Mine". Dale sings "Long, Long Ago". See the uncut version at YouTube.