King of the Cowboys (1943)

Saboteurs are blowing up government warehouses (during World War II). Roy and his pals work undercover to put an end to their operations.

Director:

Joseph Kane

Writers:

Olive Cooper (screenplay), J. Benton Cheney (screenplay)

Stars:

Roy Rogers, Trigger, Smiley Burnette

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Roy Rogers	...	Roy Rogers
Trigger	...	Trigger
Smiley Burnette	...	Frog Millhouse
Bob Nolan	...	Bob Nolan
Sons of the Pioneers	...	Musicians
Peggy Moran	...	Judy Mason
Gerald Mohr	...	Maurice - the Mental Marvel
Dorothea Kent	...	Ruby Smith
Lloyd Corrigan	...	Otto Kraley
James Bush	...	Dave Mason
Russell Hicks	...	Texas Gov. Shuville
Irving Bacon	...	Alf Cluckus
Norman Willis	...	Buxton

Storyline

The Governor sends Roy to help bring in a gang of saboteurs. Roy joins a traveling show and soon learns the saboteurs communicate during Maurice's mind reading act that uses a hidden receiver. But Maurice is on to Roy. Roy narrowly escapes when Maurice leaves him tied up in a warehouse they are blowing up. But Maurice then kills a man and blames Roy who now finds himself in jail.

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Plot Keywords:

barfly | border town | fistfight | 

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Taglines:

All the seething Action of a Rodeo...all the chills of a desperate man-hunt...as Roy turns detective to crack down on a gang of saboteurs! (original print ad)

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bob Nolan is the voice of the announcer on the car radio in the flashback sequence.

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Goofs

A flashback scene that takes place literally on the Texas-Arkansas border features a rugged desert landscape not found within hundreds of miles of Texarkana.

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Quotes

Frog Millhouse: Roy, you're dead. And long as you stay dead you ain't gonna get killed!

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Connections

Edited into Lights of Old Santa Fe (1944)

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Soundtracks

They Cut Down the Old Pine Tree
Written by Billy Hill
Performed by the Sons of the Pioneers

User Reviews

Treason In Texas

Roy apparently earns his title as King of the Cowboys by helping out Governor Russell Hicks of Texas track down a nest of Nazi saboteurs who are wreaking havoc across the Lone Star State. Did Congressman Lyndon B. Johnson know about this?

Herbert J. Yates put the best creative minds at Republic Pictures to work on this and they came up with a script that's a combination of The Thirty Nine Steps and This Is My Affair. Like the Robert Taylor MGM classic where he's a secret agent working directly and reporting to President McKinley because McKinley like Governor Hicks can't seem to trust anyone in his official capacity. And like The Thirty Nine Steps the key is Gerald Mohr with a carnival memory act. If you're going to borrow at least Yates felt you should borrow from the best. You can't do too much better than Alfred Hitchcock.

Roy gets a nice group of songs and I particularly liked the fact that he gets to sing I'm An Old Cowhand which in fact he had a hand in introducing seven years earlier. When Roy was just one of the Sons of the Pioneers who also appear in King of the Cowboys he backed Bing Crosby when he introduced the Johnny Mercer classic in Rhythm on the Range. Now Roy's a star and does a nice solo turn accompanying himself on the guitar.

While Republic's other big singing cowboy Gene Autry was off to war, Roy inherited for a while, Smiley Burnette who does his usual comedy bit.

Sadly though the film that gives Roy the title he was forever known by is a badly dated war propaganda flick that simply doesn't wear well or age well. The King had been better served by his subjects at Republic before and after this film. They'd also done worse by him as well.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 April 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

King of the Cowboys

Filming Locations:

Republic Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

67 min 73 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1