Sunset Serenade (1942)

Bad guys plot to trick a newly arrived Eastern girl out of a ranch which belongs to her infant ward. Roy, of course, saves the ranch for the girl.

Director:

Joseph Kane

Writers:

Robert Yost (story), Earl Felton (screenplay)

Stars:

Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Bob Nolan

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Roy Rogers	...	Roy Rogers
George 'Gabby' Hayes	...	Gabby
Bob Nolan	...	Bob
Sons of the Pioneers	...	Ranch Hands / Musicians
Helen Parrish	...	Sylvia Clark
Onslow Stevens	...	Gregg Jackson
Joan Woodbury	...	Vera Martin
Frank M. Thomas	...	Clifford Sheldon
Roy Barcroft	...	Bart Reynolds - Henchman
Jack Kirk	...	Sheriff Praskins

Storyline

Vera Martin, a scheming housekeeper in her late twenties, receives orders to vacate the Bagley Ranch, over which she has held sway since the death of the owner. Bagley has left the ranch to his nephew Rodney T. Blackton, instead of to Vera as she had expected. Adjoining ranch owner Gregg Jackson arrives to offer his sympathy... and a possible way out. He plans to dam the river above the Bagley Ranch, diverting the water to his property leaving all the other ranchers dry and, while he is at it, to rustle all the Bagley cattle and fake a $5,000 mortgage on the ranch, licking new-owner Ridney T. before he starts. Roy Rogers, Gabby Whittaker and the Sons of the Pioneers, pass through the country just as Sylvia Clark, guardian of the one-year old Rodney T., arrives with her ward. They all arrive at the ranch just as Vera and Jackson are completing their frame-up. Roy is suspicious, and when Jackson informs Sylvia that the ranch is barren, has no cattle and a mortgage due in two weeks, Roy ...

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Plot Keywords:

beer drinking | smart horse | b movie | b western | double feature film | 

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Taglines:

Writing A New Chapter In Western Screen History!... Roy Rogers' Sensational Rise To Fame!... Here He Is... In Reply To YOUR Demands!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Music | Western

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 1942 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Walker Ranch - 19152 Placerita Canyon Road, Newhall, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

58 min (original) 54 min (edited)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Alpha Video DVD is the cut version, not the complete version.

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Goofs

When Gabby pulls the tablecloth off the table, there is a large bowl with a serving spoon in it that stops near the edge. When the camera angle changes the spoon is gone.

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Quotes

Sylvia Clark: You look like a man.
Gabby: Who? Me?
Sylvia Clark: 'Course, it's kind of dark and I can't be sure.

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Connections

Edited into Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch (1976)

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Soundtracks

Mavourneen O'Shea
Written by Tim Spencer
Performed by Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes and the Sons of the Pioneers

User Reviews

"More than meets the eye"

'Sunset Serenade' is a film of simple and snappy plot, one of Roy's most entertaining films from this period because what there is of it is done so well. Crafty rancher-villain Onslow Stevens, aided by Joan Woodbury, is up to the old land-grab trick, hoping to swindle an infant out of his recently inherited ranch by convincing his innocent guardian Sylvia Clark (Helen Parrish) that it is worthless. Enter a bunch of resourceful (and hungry) wandering cowboys, portrayed by, naturally, Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes and the Sons of the Pioneers. They decide to throw in with Sylvia and spend the rest of the film matching wits with the villains in order to hang onto the ranch. The real treat is the full half-dozen songs they perform along the way as only they could - a highlight is the lyrical 'A Sandman Lullaby,' in a nighttime scene that provides, I suppose, the film's title. And then when the player piano gets banged during the free-for-all saloon brawl...well, you can guess what happens next. Only in a Roy Rogers movie! There's also a very funny subplot involving the Pioneers' efforts to keep greedy Gabby from hogging everybody's dinner, which leads to the best laugh of all in the film's final seconds. 'Sunset Serenade' would be an excellent movie to watch as an introduction to the singing cowboy genre; it shows how this type of film works in great style.