The Arizona Kid

Rating:
Summary: Head 'em off the pass, Roy!!!
Review: The career of Roy Rogers as a film/media star has essentially four phases; three of them at Republic Pictures and one as a television series star. The Republic phases are: Early Roy, from
1938 to 1942; Middle Roy, from 1942 to 1945; and late-4o's Roy, from 1946 to the early 1950s.

The first phase is young Roy, in historically-based, action-oriented westerns. Music , yes, but in a believable context. Great Rogers vehicles are here, like "Billy the KId Returns", "Days of Jesse James" the wonderful "Carson City Kid" and this one, "The Arizona Kid". The Second phase at Republic was the musical extravaganza phase, which came about because Herbert Yates, president of Republic, saw "Oklahoma" on Broadway and went nuts over it. He had a whole string of Rogers westerns made that were basically musicals with a tad of action thrown in between song sets. The last phase was a return-to-realism phase that includes the wonderful "My PaL Trigger", and the brutal "Bells of San Angelo".

"Arizona Kid" is a Civil War era tale that almost serves as a blueprint for the John Wayne/Roy Rogers/Walter Pidgeon/Claire Trevor classic "Dark Command" two years later. In "Arizona", Stuart Hamblen (yes, THAT, Stuart Hamblen...the Rev. Billy Graham stalwart, and singer of the popular hymn "How Great Thou Art") plays a ruthless partisan raider who is more criminal than crusader. Based upon types like Bloody Bill Anderson and William Clarke Quantrill, he is SUPPOSED to be a confederate soldier, but he and his hooligans are merely murderous outlaws. In "Dark Command", the same character is played by Walter Pidgeon and Roy Rogers plays a young man who falls under his thrall. In "Arizona Kid" Roy is a confederate officer charged with bringing this baddie to justice...and he does.

There's plenty of action here; fist fights, shootings, and horseback pursuits. Its a good story, well acted. A superior B picture.

Check it out. Its well worth a look.


Rating:
Summary: Roy Rogers: Hero in Gray
Review: Classic action B Western with Roy playing a Confederate Officer at the outset of the Southern War for Independence who is trying to track down a murderous renegade who is fighing the war and innocent civilians for his own gain. The villain is loosely based on William Quantrill.

Great Shootouts, horse chases and fun.

Rating:
Summary: good western
Review: Roy Rogers realizes before everyone else does that Stuart Hamblen is not the man people make him out to be. It isn't before long that his theory turns out to be right. Stuart Hamblen and his gang have signed up to the Confederate army but their fight is not ethical. They're louting and killing the people who went to the Union side. It's Roy Rogers and Gabby Hayes duty to stop it. This is a more dramatic effort than the usual Rogers vehicle. Stuart Hamblen is great as the cold bad guy. Off the subject I liked his album Hymns. The leading girl in this is a lot like the one in The Old Corral, a proper girl taking vocal lessons. More like 2.5.