Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Captivating movie !

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

To all of my learned comrades that posted comments insulting the late, great Roy Rogers & Dale Evans, I say from the bottom of my pea-picking, reminiscing-good old days heart, PPPPPPTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL! I honestly do realize that the color quality isn't exactly top shelf, most of the acting is sub-par & the plots are tissue paper transparent, but who gives a horses saddle bag? I love each and every dusty one of them. And this includes the 50s TV show with sidekick Pat Brady and Nellie Belle the jeep. Yes, Gaby Hayes is the best sidekick ever! I grew up watching R.R. He brought to the youth of my time, "truth, justice & the American way"! I stole that quote, by the way. It brings me back to my childhood, which I guess was worse than these movies were. Maybe that is why I enjoyed them so much. PapaLarry H

Roy Rogers is a "border investigator" who arrives at San Angelo for some singing, and some problem solving - the problem is silver smuggling along the U.S.-Mexican border, and murder rears its ugly head. Comic sidekick Andy Devine (as "Cookie") is local sheriff / dog catcher. Dale Evans (as "Helen") is a reporter with a nose for news, and a penchant for trouble. Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers sing "Hot Lead" and shoot the breeze."Bells of San Angelo" is full of absurdities. Mr. Devine's dogs and raccoon keep the production looking perpetually infantile - one of the dogs even tosses a bad guy over a cliff. There are several scenes with Mr. Rogers and Ms. Evans (especially Ms. Evans) performing quite well, but the production does not give them a proper outlet for their obvious charm and ability; they shine in the "Robin Hood" scene, and during a couple of songs (like "I Love the West" ). The color photography is nice, but the film is lackluster. ** Bells of San Angelo (1947) William Witney ~ Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Andy Devine

"Bells of San Angelo" is one of the early Republic films done in Trucolor, although it was orange and blue that dominated the print I just viewed. Cowboy hero Roy Rogers portrays himself as a border investigator on the trail of a silver smuggling operation. Roy is aided by comic sidekick Andy Devine in a dual role, as Sheriff Cookie Bullfincher, and as his later revealed alter ego George Wallingford Lancaster, although the second identity has no real significance in the story. Dale Evans enters the picture as Western novelist Lee Madison, and the first half of the film includes a running gag wherein Roy and companions expect to meet a male writer. Roy consistently dismisses Madison's stories as trivial, as Dale takes it all in while claiming to be a woman named Helen Clifford, until she can figure out what Rogers is all about.When Roy, Cookie and Lee discover the phony mine that serves as the front for the smugglers, trouble ensues as Miss Madison is kidnapped by the gang's leader Gridley (John McGuire). It's Trigger to the rescue, as his riderless presence alerts Roy's pals, the Sons of the Pioneers into action. Taking a page from Miss Madison's book "Murder on the Border", page 77 to be exact, Roy appears to shoot Lee as she's held hostage by Gridley. Roy then takes care of the bad guys in short order, even though it's two against one."Bells of San Angelo" is entertaining enough, and it's nice to see Pat Brady, even if in an uncredited role as one of the Sons of the Pioneers. His comic timing is not as fully developed as we'll come to see in a few more years on the "Roy Rogers Show". Roy and Dale make a charming couple, and they even get to sing a duet together among the host of songs presented in the film.

I've never been a fan of Roy's, even while I watched his 1950s TVshow as a kid. I wanted to buy one RR movie, just to see if I hadchanged my mind about his films. I picked this one because acouple of sources had stated that this was his best film, & was"tougher" than most of his films. I don't like songs with mywesterns, so of course there was far too much music for my tastehere (I lost count at seven). The comedy, supplied by Andy Devine,was pretty good (& actually quite funny near the end of the film), abig improvement over Smiley Burnett, but nowhere near as goodas Gabby Hayes. Dale was OK as the heroine, & better than Ithought she would be, a better actor than her husband. Indeed,there were a couple of very gritty fight scenes where RR took abeating (& surprisingly, this was acknowledged in later sceneswhere he was seen with bruises). But overall, not an excitingexperience for me. The plot was weak & the music disconnectedwhat little action there was. For the sake of comparison, I'm goingto try a very small dose of Gene Autry before going back to thegreatest of all cowboy stars, William Boyd!