Sunset on the Desert (1942)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The title doesn't tell us anything, but this is actually a Roy Roger's double entry with our hero playing both himself and his bad man double. You can't tell the difference, of course, as they look alike and speak alike. I can't help feeling that a great opportunity was lost here, as the double – although referred to earlier – only makes his appearance at the climax (and even then is under-used!) What we have here on The Great American Western DVD is the 53-minutes TV cutdown which seems to be minus at least one of the five songs as well as a bit of background which would help make the boring plot a bit easier to follow. Nevertheless, Rogers is in his usual easygoing form (perhaps a bit too easygoing!) and so, alas, in usual form, is garrulous Gabby Hayes who seems determined to steal the movie from Rogers – and succeeds in that not so admirable endeavor (at least in the TV version which is often all Gabby and little Roy). The movie was directed by Joe Kane in a style that can only be described as a "nothing". And I don't remember any sunsets – or much in the way of desert either! TV cutdown available on a Platinum "Great American Western" disc.

Sunset On The Desert has Roy playing two roles, Roy Rogers rancher and rodeo star and his evil doppelganger, a gunman in the pay of Douglas Fowley. Fortunately we see far more of the good Roy than the bad Roy because quite frankly Roy just can't cut it as anything less than a cowboy hero.Fowley has bad Roy and a whole bunch of others trying to get control of a lot of properties in the area. He's got a hold over Judge Frank M. Thomas who thinks his brother who was once the partner of the good Roy's father pilfered some money from the county. Both the Roys have girl friends, the good Roy is chasing Lynne Carver daughter of the former partner of his dad and Judge Thomas's niece. The bad Roy's got the shapely Beryl Wallace. Needless to say both the women are confused.I saw an edited version of Sunset In The Desert and a lot was left out, but even so every actor loves the challenge of playing dual roles. But Roy Rogers was not an actor per se, he was a movie cowboy hero. And good what he did, but he should have had a better story. And he just doesn't cut it as a bad guy in the scenes as bad Roy.

A villainous lawyer, along with crooked deputy Glenn Strange, blackmails a judge in order to effect a fake tax scheme in order to steal oil rich ranches. In rides Gabby Hayes and Roy Rogers, who's immediately mistaken for one of the baddies, a situation he uses to get to the bottom of things.Another watchable Roy Rogers vehicle, this has a few nice twists, as well as enough action and pretty girls to keep this interesting throughout.Roy and Gabby are in fine form, having to battle the good guys and the bad guys this time around, leading to a nifty climax with Roy facing off against his double.This marks the third time Roy played dual roles, the first two being 1938's Billy The Kid Returns and the second being 1941's Jesse James At Bay.

Roy Rogers used a mistaken identity gimmick in 1938's "Billy The Kid Returns" impersonating the legendary bad man, and does the same here doing double duty as himself and a henchman named Bill Sloane. The set up involves a crooked town lawyer named McCall (Douglas Fowley) who's blackmailing Judge Kirby (Frank M. Thomas) over money purportedly stolen by the judge's brother. The story probably gets a little more complicated than it has to with all the characters involved, but if you pay attention, you should be OK.Gabby Hayes is Roy's partner in this one, relying on that often used gimmick calling on heroic associations from his past. He seems to drift in and out of the action depending on Roy's character. The other familiar face I enjoy seeing in these Rogers' flicks is that of Pat Brady, here in featured singing roles for a couple of tunes with Bob Nolan's Sons of the Pioneers. Oddly, the Pioneers aren't mentioned by name, and even though Bob Nolan himself has some decent screen time, he winds up with an uncredited part, as does Brady.After watching a few hundred of these 'B' oaters, I'm always pleased when an element comes up that I haven't seen before. This one included a 'blind pie auction' where bidders get to win their choice of a home baked cobbler along with a date with the cook.The other unusual scene involved Roy and Trigger racing down a rocky hillside in which Trigger almost lost his footing, and halfway down the slope, Roy dismounts and awkwardly enough stays balanced to remain on his feet. I had to wonder why they tried that difficult maneuver in the first place, but it was probably under way before they could stop it and then just went with the flow. At the bottom of the hill, Roy gets back up on Trigger and continues the chase.Interestingly as well, the story utilizes not one, but two female leads - Beryl Wallace as bad girl Julie Craig, and Lynn Carver as good girl Ann Kirby, the judge's niece. Roy is able to convince Ann of his real identity with an almost flashback technique of singing a tune from their past when they grew up together on the Kirby-Rogers ranch.Whenever these old time Westerns use the dual identity gimmick, I'm always amazed how the good guy and bad guy always show up in the finale wearing the exact same clothes! Same thing here, except outlaw Sloane has a bruised eye to distinguish him from Rogers. In another unusual plot device, look-alike 'bad guy' Sloane winds up getting killed in a gunfight at the finale, taking part in of all places - the OK Corral!