Bells of Coronado (1950)

Thanks for the memories!

Excellent but underrated film

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

If you like westerns, and those B westerns of the 40's and 50's which were never going to win any Oscar's but were hugely popular in there Pre TV day. Then you will love "The Bells Of Coronado". A song used in the film has the line "in a western wonderland" and this movie has all the ingredients encapsulated in the western "never-land" world of the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans universe. Cars, Telephones, Electric,a Dam and a Power Station an even a Aeroplane, this film has the works. There are a few jovial songs, a number of punch up's and plenty of none violent gun play, a chase or two and Roy's star horse Trigger gets a few moments of the limelight. Yes it is to a formula and it is deliciously ridiculous and very very dated but in a good way. As for the plot well it's a cracker, mystery villain's are stealing uranium ore to sell to a foreign power, very topical in 1950, if way off centre in a western. To cap this jewel off is the use of "Trucolor" a garish low cost colour process developed by Republic Studios for there economical output. So, watch, love and indulge, in pure nostalgia.

The Cold War and the quest for uranium ore comes into the plot of this Roy Rogers western, The Bells Of Coronado. Roy plays an insurance investigator who is assigned by John Hamilton to investigate the theft of unrefined uranium ore and incidentally the death of the owner of a mine from where it was stolen. Dale Evans co-stars and it would surprise many to learn that Dale was only the leading lady in about a quarter of Roy's films. The films that she did co-star with Roy are elevated an extra notch because of the obvious chemistry between the two.Roy is undercover in this one working at the power company that operates nearby the uranium mine. The mine is owned by Grant Withers who is also Dale's uncle in this film. The usual kittenish banter between Roy and Dale is present which always makes their films interesting.Clifton Young who died much too young plays his usual murderous villain. Film fans will remember him best from the Humphrey Bogart - Lauren Bacall feature Dark Passage. Young is always good in any film he does.Why Republic was so shy in not coming out and mentioning the Russians is beyond me. They are referred to only as 'the other side'. And the chief villain is not one you would suspect, especially coming from a B western.The Bells Of Coronado will have enough singing, riding, and gunplay to satisfy any aged front row kid from the time this was in theaters and younger fans as well.

The film starts when a mines proprietary shipping a load uranium is attacked .Later the mines passes into a rancher owner named Bennet(Grant Withers,who played for John Ford and appeared over 200 movies until his suicide),he reclaims the company which sends to Roy Rogers(1914-1998) as an undercover insurance agent.Posing as a cowboy looking for employment,he gets a work along with a crew called ¨the riders of the purple sage¨ .Meanwhile happen songs alongside with a secretary(played by his spouse Dale Evans), pursuits and struggles against the uranium smugglers.He must avoid the robbers from taking off an airplane with the stolen load and he gets an exciting final confrontation on high voltage tower.The movie contains action Western,suspense,shoot outs,fighting and is quite entertaining.The film is produced by Republic picture, usual in serials of low budget .The motion picture is well directed by William Witney ,a prolific director of short budget and TV episodes(Daniel Boone, Bonanza,Virginian).The picture is starred by famous Roy Rogers,he played in various musical groups,in 1934 he formed a group called sons of pioneers,they appeared in numerous Westerns(Rhythm on the range,Son of the pioneers,On the Spanish trail among others).Roy was married three times.Arlene Wilkins ,his second wife,died a few day after giving birth to their son,¨Roy Rogers Jr or Dusty¨ and Dale Evans his third spouse,became his four children's mom .Inducted along with his wife Evans into the Hall of great Western performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and also as member of the Sons of pioneers.Their nicknames were,Roy as ¨King of cowboys¨, Dale Evans ¨Queen of the West¨and Trigger ¨Smartest horse in the movies¨. Roy got his horse ¨Trigger¨in 1938 and rode him in every one of his film and TV shows after that.He had appeared in one early movie,being ridden by Olivia de Havilland in ¨¨ The adventures of Robin Hood¨. Trigged died in 1965,aged 33 years.

A criminally unheard-of William Witney has always been underappreciated by western genre fans. Just as influential as John Ford, if not more so, Witney made some of the best early westerns out there creating the modernized, choreographed Western fight scenes we still see today. Witney kept the landscapes in the back where they belong and focused on the pure joy. This film, The Bells of Coronado, was one of Witney's last collaborations with Roy Rogers and Trigger but it is still worth checking out. A little adventure, a little action, a little music. It's all here. For Western genre fans who have never seen a William Witney film, do yourself a favor and check one out. If you liked this one, also check these early greats: On the Old Spanish Trail and Adventures of Red Ryder. While I'm a big fan of John Ford, Anthony Mann and Sergei Leone and appreciate what each of them has brought to the western genre over the years, Witney is still my favorite Western filmmaker. Because there's just a pure unadulterated joy to his pictures you can't find somewhere else. Pictures with no cynicism, a welcome watch in today's cynical world.