Heart of the Rockies

Andrew Willard (Ralph Morgan) is a very nasty old man who runs a ranch out west. The state wants to put a highway through his property. and he's against it...which, at first, seems reasonable. But Willard is NOT a reasonable man...he is violent, nasty and a schemer...but why?! Why is he really so much against the road? And, why is he campaigning for the state to close a local boot camp for first-time offenders? Again, he is a schemer...and his anger and hate seems way out of proportion. Well, his foreman, Devery knows about why...and he knows about something Willard has done which is highly illegal and this is why he's so adamant against the road.

In Roy Rogers' earlier films, the plots were usually very much like other westerns of the day and they were set in the old west. However, something happened in many of his later films. Instead of making B-westerns, the films seemed more like 'personality movies'...where Roy played Roy Rogers the western star. In other words, instead of bringing hardboiled plots about the old west, the films promoted a modern mythic hero...the swell Roy Rogers who is adored by kiddies. Frankly, this sort of plot is pretty dull and seeing a swell do-gooder Roy instead of a tough western hero Roy doesn't do much for me. Sure, he's tough in this one (with a could brutal fights with Devery), but the story seems more designed to show Roy as a friend to all as opposed to a real tough guy....and the result is pretty insipid. Plus, not having a sidekick like Gabby really made this one a second-rate B-movie....not up to the standards of his earlier films.

Heart of the Rockies is one of two films that Republic Pictures put out with this title. The first was a Three Mesquiteer film with Max Terhune, Crash Corrigan, and Bob Livingston. It was infinitely superior to this Roy Rogers epic.

I sincerely hope that this film did not play in any of the prisons because if it did there would have been a riot. The premise of this film is that a crusty local rancher, Ralph Morgan, has been violently against a work camp for young prisoners cutting through his land. Roy Rogers is the chief engineer for the road and the labor he's using is young first offender convicts. The idea behind it is the director of the camp is a former warden William Gould says it's to keep the young guys in the fresh air and away from the hard cases. If the camp closes down the government might actually have to pay civilian workers and the road might never get done.

Well it's certainly an interesting take on the penal system and a defense for using convict labor. Of course such films as Brubaker take a much different line. And my idea of a convict road gang is best expressed cinematically by Cool Hand Luke.

Anyway Morgan's got troubles in his own house. His niece Penny Edwards has taken a real shine to Roy. And he's got a doubledealing, doublecrossing foreman in Fred Graham who both has something on Morgan and is working his own agenda.

I don't expect much from the B westerns and don't usually get it, but this film actually left me aghast. I wonder if Robert Mitchum who actually did time on a road gang ever saw this film and what he must have thought.