Roy Rogers in "Wall Street Cowboy" (1939)
13Roy Rogers (as Roy Rogers), Gabby (George 'Gabby' Hayes) and Chuckawalla (Raymond Hatton), a happy go lucky bunch of punchers, are herding cattle along a rural mountain road, while Roy sings a melodious western song. They hear an unfriendly horn at their back. It's some city people in a hurry, who want them to get the cattle off the road. When the cowboys are too slow to respond, the driver fires several shots in the air to make the cattle move. The cowboys don't like this, as there's just a cliff and a mountain slope on either side. Gabby comes over, takes the key out of the ignition and throws it over his shoulder, near the cliff, muttering that they shouldn't allow such contraptions on the road
William Niles (Ivan Miller), the crooked banker in the town of Apache Junction, learns of a rich molybdenum deposit on the Circle R ranch owned by Roy, and he decides to foreclose on the cattleman's mortgage. As Roy deliberates how he will get the money to pay Niles, his two pesky sidekicks, Gabby and Chuckawalla discover gold on the Circle R. Deciding to turn to his father's old friend, cattle tycoon Roger Hammond (Pierre Watkin), for help in financing the mine, Roy and his sidekicks hop a train bound for New York City. However, Hammond proves difficult, and his daughter Peggy Hammond (Ann Baldwin) agrees to act as an intermediary between Roy and her irascible father.
Meanwhile, Tony McGrath (Craig Reynolds), Hammond's horse trainer who is working as a spy for his boss's business competitor, Bainbridge (Reginald Barlow), reports Roy's offer. He then hires some thugs to eliminate the cowboy, and in the ensuing melee, Roy, Chuck and Gabby are jailed. After the ore sample that Roy brought to Hammond proves to be molybdenum, the cattle tycoon changes his mind about the cowboy, bails the threesome out of jail and proposes a business partnership. The new Hammond Company thus begins to issue stock, threatening to put Bainbridge's company out of business.
As the Hammond Company grows rich in its stock offering, Gabby has an attack of conscience and admits that he salted the mine. Roy, followed by Hammond, rushes back to the Circle R, where they discover a geniune deposit at Skeleton Canyon. Niles, desperate to prevent Hammond from paying back Roy's loan, has Peggy and her father hijacked on the way to town. Roy then confronts the traitorous McGrath and beats a confession of Niles's duplicity out of him. All ends well as Roy and his sidekicks ride to the Hammonds' rescue, and the ranch is secured and the company's success, insured.
A 1939 American Black & White Western film produced & directed by Joseph Kane, screenplay by Gerald Geraghty and Norman S. Hall, story by Doris Schroeder, cinematography by Jack A. Marta, starring Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Raymond Hatton, Ann Baldwin, Pierre Watkin, Jack Ingram, and Louisiana Lou. Dale Evans hadn't yet joined the team, she would become a regular in the 1940s.
Republic Studios were riding Rogers hard, making nine westerns with him in 1939. In this modern Western, technology competes with the cowboy life. In an early scene the good guy trio block the road of a passing car with their herd of cattle.
This and many other Roy Rogers films now only exist in truncated versions, because back in the 1950s, the films were edited to fit them into a one hour time slot for television. In many cases, more than tenminutes are gone, and in this case, the original was 66 minutes.
Leonard Maltin wrote, "engaging Western with two sidekicks (Hayes and Hatton) touches upon Depression-era subjects of corrupt banking institutions and foreclosures; fun to watch Roy riding in a steeplechase and singing in a nightclub (wearing a coat and tie)."
Dennis Schwartz wrote, "this Roy Rogers film had an undeserved bad reputation. I actually found it to be one of his better B Westerns, it was at least up to par with the typical Rogers action-packed oater except that the singing cowboy only sang a few songs. It uses the present as its setting. Joseph Kane ("The Arizona Kid"/"Jesse James at Bay"/"Frontier Pony Express") directs in his usual credible fashion and it's ably written by Gerald Geraghty and Norman S. Hall."
Music Soundtracks:
"Me and the Rollin' Hills" - Written by Walter G. Samuels, Sung by Roy Rogers
"Ride 'Em Cowboy" - Written by Walter G. Samuels, Sung by Roy Rogers
"Ridin' Down Rainbow Trail" - Written by Walter G. Samuels, Sung by Roy Rogers
"That's My Louisiana" - Written by Walter G. Samuels, Sung by Louisiana Lou
A fun paced horse opera that manages to pack its share of songs by Roy Rogers, along with a tune by Louisiana Lou. Most of this yarn takes place in the East, in Wall Street offices and on Long Island with the horsey set. Still the action returns to Apache Junction for some rootin' tootin' shootin' action as only Herbert J. Yates and Republic Pictures could deliver. This programmer probably pleased the Saturday matinée kids to no end. Worth a look if you love the genre.