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HAPPY TRAILS AGAIN: The rescued films of

By David Morrell the time of Sam Houston, for example, icon Roy Rogers rescued or during the Pony Express many people in his films, but those era. Playing a character named Fletch films themselves have turned out to McCloud, he had a supporting role in need rescuing. ’s (1940), Of the more than 80 in which he which takes place in Civil War Kansas. Party time on the set with producer Eddy White, Roy starred, nearly all were mutilated for In other films, Rogers portrayed his- Rogers and . Witney Family Archive television. Unless you’re old enough torical Western figures such as Young to have seen his films in theaters, it’s Buffalo Bill (1940) and Young Bill Hickok ings with his later wife, . likely you saw inferior versions and (1940). (Revered My Pal is an exception can’t appreciate why the Motion Picture During World War II, Rogers’s during this period, its elements of real- Herald’s poll of exhibitors ranked him career entered its second phase when ism making it almost a drama. the No. 1 Western star from 1943- Autry enlisted in the Army Air Forces With Roll on Moon (1946), 1954 or why an estimated 80 million in 1942. (Rogers had a draft deferment Rogers’s films began a third phase. people (half the then-population of because he was married and had chil- The force behind the change was Wil- the ) went to his movies dren.) Again replacing Autry, Repub- liam Witney, who had directed many each year. lic declared Rogers to be King of the of Republic’s “cliffhanger” serials Most of those movies were made at Cowboys (1943). His character was now during the 1930s and early ’40s (Zorro B-budget , starting always called Roy Rogers. His films Rides Again, The , and Dick in 1938 when its singing- star, now had contemporary settings. Most Tracy Returns, to name a few). Witney , went on strike, demand- importantly, Yates saw Rodgers and invented the modern action sequence. ing more money. Furious, studio presi- Hammerstein’s ! on Broad- Prior to 1937, fight scenes depended dent Herbert J. Yates replaced him way and decided that musicals rep- on lengthy master shots in which stunt- with Rogers, a singer/guitarist who resented the future of entertainment. men flailed at each other until they ran had founded the Thus, from 1943-46, Rogers’s films out of breath. Then Witney saw Busby and performed with them in several (Hands Across the Border, for example) Berkeley (42nd Street) create a complex films. Rogers’s first screen name was tended to minimize action in favor dance sequence by assembling brief Len Slye (a version of his birth name, of lengthy, elaborate song-and-dance images, such as a close-up of dancing Leonard Sly). His second screen name sequences that resembled Las Vegas feet and then a close-up of a smiling was Dick Weston. But now he became shows. These musical extravaganzas actor, making it seem that the actor Roy Rogers, combining a version of include Cowboy and the Senorita (1944), was the dancer. the French word for “king” with an al- Rogers’s first of 28 big-screen pair- Witney realized that the same tech- lusion to revered humorist as well as singer Jimmie Rodgers (one On the set of The with William Witney, right of camera, walking toward Dale Evans and Roy Rogers. Witney Family Archive of Rogers’s musical influences). Rogers’s leading-man debut was (1938), about a who’s elected to Congress and urges legislators to help Dust Bowl ranchers. That film had a Gene Autry blend of action, music, a spirited female co-star, a buffoon sidekick, the 1930s West (horses next to automobiles) and Depression era/ New Deal themes. (See the author’s essay, “Gene Autry’s ‘New Deal’ Western Films,” in the April 2017 Roundup.) But after Autry returned to the studio, Republic needed a different identity for Rogers’s films and set them in the historical West: Texas at DECEMBER 2019 ROUNDUP MAGAZINE 21 21 nique could be used for action scenes. pajamas, cowboy boots and cap pistols Trigger, Jr. and , both In his autobiography, he described the – more than 400 items. from 1950, are available on Blu-ray/ editing process: “A punch, cut, a fall Besides the new approach to editing DVD (from Kino Lorber). over a chair, cut, a charge into some- and action (Rogers’s hat even changed In Trigger, Jr., Jack Marta’s brilliant one and over a desk, cut.” Between shape from peaked to flat), a further color photography offsets its somber these fragments, a close-up showed element distinguishes this last group. theme of a boy traumatized by hav- one of the stars, as if he were doing Starting with (1947) and ing seen a horse stomp his mother to the stunts. “A fall over a table could be ending with (1950), death. His grandfather shouts at him done with precision and without the 19 of the 27 Rogers/Witney films were about his fear of horses and strikes chance of being off balance,” Witney in color. Audiences suddenly discov- him with a cane. Rogers helps the boy explained. “A fall off a balcony could ered that Rogers’s famously squinty to find courage, even as Roy hunts be done safer because when they fell eyes were a riveting blue. His fans a psychotic horse that kills livestock they knew their takeoff point.” could now appreciate his rainbow cos- and blinds Trigger. Humor (for the Witney, a World War II combat tumes. The copious blood on his face kids) and strong action (for the adults) photographer, brought something more glistened. His horse, Trigger alternate until Rogers finally straps on than elaborate editing to Rogers’s films (“The Smartest Horse in the Movies”), his guns for the shocking climax. In the – he intensified the action. Starting looked merely light-hued in black-and- script by Gerald Geraghty, the most with (1947), the white but was now truly The Golden significant moment is the quietest when songs became fewer and shorter while Stallion (1949). Rogers – the Zen cowboy, “elegant and fight scenes became protracted, bloody Until recently, it was almost impos- stoic” as described and often sadistic. In Springtime in the sible to see original versions of these him – approaches the ranting, abusive Sierras (1947), a fight in a meat locker films. In 1955, Republic sold them to grandfather and calms him by merely ends with thugs beating Rogers sense- television, trimming them from as long touching his shoulder. less and leaving him to freeze to death. as 78 minutes to 54 minutes to fit a Sunset in the West looks equally radi- In North of the Great Divide (1950), one-hour television slot with commer- ant. An example of Rogers’s multicul- Rogers and the bad guy lash each other cials. Some lost more than a quarter of tural movies, it features Hispanic actors with bullwhips, tearing each other’s their length. Color became black and (rare for the time). The ambitious shirts off and inflicting bloody gashes. white. Nearly half lapsed into public action scenes include one of Trigger’s But no matter how much cruelty Rog- domain after Republic sold its assets most famous stunts, galloping next to a ers endured in these later films, he never and closed in 1959. Thereafter most speeding train, ignoring white blasts of lost his good nature: what Rogers/Wit- of Rogers’s films could be seen only in what appear to be threatening steam. ney enthusiast called corrupted, poorly reproduced versions. Trigger wasn’t scheduled for the scene, Rogers’s “common decency.” This Finally Paramount Pictures, which but numerous stunt horses refused to quality made so many children want to owns Republic’s catalogue, rode to go near the train, and “The Old Man,” emulate Rogers that he was second only the rescue. In association with UCLA, as he was known, showed what he to for the sale of merchan- Paramount has impressively restored could do. dise such as comic books, lunch boxes, many of Rogers’s films, although only In 1951, Rogers filed a lawsuit against Republic, claiming he had a Dale Evans, Roy Rogers and William Witney discuss a scene on the set of The Golden Stallion. right to share income from the sale of Witney Family Archive his films to television. He won the first court case but lost on an appeal that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. After 1952’s Son of Paleface (made at Paramount, with and ), Rogers never starred in another studio film although he, along with several other TV and film stars, had a cameo in the 1959 United Artists film Alias , again star- ring Hope. Rogers said that, although he was at the height of his popularity, other studios joined with Republic to blackball him as a troublemaker for wanting actors to share the income from television residuals.

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Clocking on extras on Blu-ray/DVD releases American Frontiers: Anthony Mann at Universal is the title of a featurette “extra” on Arrow Films’ new Blu-ray release of The Far Country ($39.95). Exploring Mann’s work for the stu- dio, Frontiers goes into detail about Posters courtesy of David Morrell his classic films with James Stewart Rogers’s television series, , ran from and their eventual creative split. It’s 1951 to 1957, but his next feature film, Mackintosh and T.J. a fine piece that I’m proud to have (produced independently in 1975), came nearly a quarter been interviewed for and also marks of a century after Son of Paleface. Against the background the 100th time I’ve been either on of the vast 6666 Ranch in West Texas, he plays a modern camera or provided commentary for a vintage film. wandering cowboy whose wife and son died in a car crash That’s a lot of movie talk. and who befriends another wanderer, a homeless 14-year- In 2007, a friend called to ask if I’d like old boy. The film dramatizes Rogers’s lifelong commitment to be interviewed about for a to helping children and living by example, a frequent theme special feature they were producing for a Blu- in his films. ray of . I leapt at the opportunity At age 65, he could still perform many of his own stunts, and have been leaping ever since, although especially in a barroom knife fight. His acting skills are pay is usually lunch and maybe a copy of the impressive. Waylon Jennings and perform on release. It seems like scant reward, but the chance to talk definitively about a genre film the soundtrack. Acclaimed Joan Hackett has a featured role. C. COURTNEY But because of distribution problems, the film was shown JOYNER is too good for a cinema nerd to resist, so I mostly in Texas and Oklahoma. It seldom appeared on tele- don’t. vision. Rogers’s potential for a film comeback died. Other documentaries followed quickly after The Big Trail. I was Mackintosh and T.J. is available on disc through Penland- offered the chance to do commentary on several Euro-Westerns. ProductionsInc.com. Meanwhile, in addition to the Kino I asked friend Henry Parke of True West magazine to join me on Lorber releases of Trigger, Jr. and Sunset in the West, Turner the recordings so we could be conversational and avoid the Classic Movies occasionally airs some of Rogers’s restored droning monologue of a singular film scholar. films, including Under Western Stars, which is on the Na- One of the best commentaries I was part of was The Culpepper tional Film Registry for its cultural, historical importance, Cattle Co., where Bo Hopkins shared his own experiences making and Trail of Robin Hood, an endearing holiday film in which the movie. Obviously, enlisting someone involved with the film Rogers fights Christmas-tree robbers on a farm owned by makes for the best insights, but beating death is a major problem silent–screen Western star, . Republic cowboy when creating “extras” for releases of older titles. heroes Alan “Rocky” Lane, , , Tom Finding crew or cast on films made before 1960 gets harder Tyler and Ray “Crash” Corrigan, join the fight. with each passing year. For producer Daniel Griffith, I appeared Anyone interested in Rogers’s legacy and the history of in an extra about the life of , Western movie star from Western films will be thrilled by these beautiful, important, the 1920s to the early ’40s, for the VCI release of the serial The restored rarities, which give Rogers the chance to ride to the Roaring West. It’s well done, with experts offering straightforward rescue again. opinions but without the voice of anyone even remotely associ- ated with Buck. FREELANCE (from page 15) For The Far Country, we had plenty of scholars, but I knew a good friend who could offer something different. Michael Preece, Lindsay Stanley, Cengage vice president for public and media the enormously successful TV director who started his career as relations, said in a statement. “Since the service launched, we Mann’s script supervisor, came on board to talk of his own expe- are in regular communication with them about the impact of riences, adding true insight to The Far Country. After a hundred the subscription on their royalties.” times, I still get excited by those rare memories because that’s In October 2018, Cengage settled a proposed class action what these extras are all about. suit filed by authors David Knox and Caroline Schacht, who *** argued that Cengage had wrongfully changed its “compensa- C. Courtney Joyner writes in many formats, including tion structure.” screenplays, fiction and nonfiction. E-mail him at olcourt@ DECEMBER 2019 yahoo.com. ROUNDUP MAGAZINE 23