Sob as Estrelas do Oeste

*Mr. Smith Goes to Washington*, one of the greatest movies ever made, was released in 1939. I can't believe that the director, Frank Capra, did not see *Under Western Stars* the year before, because the plots are so very similar: a neophyte, but the son of a congressman, is elected to Congress and tries to fight corruption there to get a decent land bill for the people back home despite all the corruption in Washington.

Yes, Jimmy Stewart's portrayal of the neophyte congressman is better - it is one of the towering performances in American cinema. But that does not lesson the achievement of Roy Rodgers here, as the son of a congressman who is elected to Congress to fight congressional corruption and help the farmers and ranchers back home in the West.

If you only know Rodgers from his 1950s Saturday morning tv show, you owe it to yourself to see this movie, which was ripped from the headlines of the late 1930s, the era of the dustbowl. No, Rodgers isn't a great actor, but he doesn't embarrass himself playing a man who wants to help Westerners who are being ruined by the big money interests of the day. (If you think that's a dated topic, you don't read a real newspaper.) The characterizations are simple and direct, but that doesn't make them any less valid. This was a very topical movie dealing with a very important contemporary topic, and it deals with it very well.

And there are some good tunes, too.

This is not just a cowboy movie. This is a ripped from the headlines presentation of contemporary issues, portrayed very honestly. It merits a much better rating than others have given it here.

Roy Rogers runs for congress and wins the hand of Carol Hughes on the platform of free water for ranchers. Miss Hughe's father, John Usher, owns the local water rights and the ranches are parched. Naturally there are several songs, comedy provided by Smiley Burnette and Trigger; Trigger is uncredited.

It's a pleasant enough movie for Roy's first starring role. It was originally written for Gene Autry. He, however, was in a contract dispute with Republic Pictures, so they shoved Mr. Rogers into the slot and the movie was successful. Apparently the dispute came fairly far into production. Autry had already co-written one song, "Listen to the Rhythm of the Range", sung by Rogers. Another song, "Dust", a serious ballad, was nominated for Best Song.

It is directed by Joseph Kane, a specialist in the B Western field. Like many efficient directors, he started in the editing booth. He directed movies through 1958, went over to directing TV westerns, and died in 1975, aged 81, the same year his last of almost 120 movies was released.

For his debut feature, Roy Rogers was given an interesting story, a usually capable director, and a cast of great talents ... but it still came out rather flat.

Roy was so good, so poised and comfortable-looking, so controlled, it's hard to believe he'd not been making movies for years. Perhaps it's because he'd been performing in public as a singer, and there are many other examples of that: Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Molly Ringwald, to name just a few.

Whatever the reason, his looks and his charm would not have been enough to make him "the King of the Cowboys" if he had not also had the talent.

Among his fellow cast members, Smiley Burnette got to play something other than a silly side-kick, although there was too much silliness. Burnette is someone I didn't appreciate until recent years, I guess because his roles were so often so silly. The fact is, though, he had immense talent. He was actually a very good actor, and a good cowboy performer, as well as an extraordinarily talented musician.

Their female lead was the wonderful, the adorable Carol Hughes, who should be better known, and who should been in dozens more movies. She showed so much personality in her role here, it is really a puzzle why she was not much busier as an actress.

At YouTube there is an interesting "uncut" version, part of a TV show produced around a daughter of Roy Rogers, but it is in lousy condition, fuzzy focus and distorted sound. I'm afraid it's watchable only for its historical value. I hope there is another print somewhere.

During the 1930s, there was no cowboy more popular than Gene Autry, so it's not surprising that he'd flex his muscles a bit and demand a higher salary. Unfortunately for Gene, he picked the absolute worst time to walk off on his contract---as Republic Pictures then substituted a relative newcomer into his next planned picture, "Under Western Skies". That newcomer was Roy Rogers--and in a few years he'd surpass Autry in popularity. I am pretty sure Gene must have felt pretty foolish after this--especially since "Under Western Stars" turned out to be a very good picture and much better than Gene's usual output!

The film begins with a bunch of ranchers at their wits end. The water company has jacked up the rates after they turned the land into a dessert. Now folks cannot afford to water their cattle and they are, naturally, hopping mad. Roy (along with Smiley Burnett) leads the fight against the water company and eventually they get the idea to run him for Congress. After all, their elected official is clearly in the pocket of the water company. Not surprisingly, Roy wins and goes to Washington to change things. Unfortunately, he learns that change comes slow and now he finds himself in the middle of what could be an all-out war between the ranchers and the water company. Can he manage to fix things AND still get the girl?

The plot to "Under Western Stars" is the best thing going for it. It's unique--and that's something you can't say about many of the B-westerns! On top of that, the music is good and Roy's voice is about equal to Gene's. All around, one of Roy's best efforts as he hits a grand slam the first time up at bat, so to speak.

"Under Western Stars" is a pretty easy way to spend a Saturday morning. The story is good, the jokes are funny and the cast is appealing. I even liked the songs. I haven't seen that many of Roy Rogers movies. But because of "Under Western Stars", I'm going to seek some of them out.