A Saturday afternoon at the movies was practically synonymous with seeing a cowboy picture. From exciting serials with cliff-hanging action to full-length features, there are so many greats to choose from—Ken Maynard, Tom Mix, and Gene Autry are just a few—but only one was known as the “King of the Cowboys”: Roy Rogers.
Under California Stars, released by Republic Pictures in 1948, is a wonderful example of a Saturday matinee cowboy film. There are no moments of moral ambiguity or brooding cowboys in this picture, no kissing clinches or anything else to make us potentially lose our popcorn. It is top-notch Republic fare featuring Roy Rogers in his prime.
The Sons of the Pioneers, co-founded by Bob Nolan, Tim Spencer, and Roy Rogers (then Leonard Slye) were already a popular western singing group on the radio and had appeared in several films, including The Old Corral (1936) and The Big Show (1936) with Gene Autry. When Autry and Republic Pictures had a falling out over money, the studio cast Slye in a role written for Autry and changed his name. In 1938 “Roy Rogers” starred in his first cowboy picture, Under Western Stars.
Art Rush, then manager for Nelson Eddy, succeeded in getting Roy’s Republic contract re-written to give the cowboy rights to “his name, voice, and image.” Hardly earth shattering stuff in the 1940s, but a clause that made a great deal of difference with the advent of television.
When his contract came up for renewal, Rogers wanted to make television appearances, but like most studios, Republic did not want its stars to appear in the new medium.
With the popularity of the television show, Roy Rogers’ name and likeness appeared on countless products: hats, shirts, cap pistols, blankets, and dearest to the heart of many a child of the 1950s, the Roy Rogers lunchbox.
After the film’s release, Roy felt his popularity with movie audiences was in part due to the striking palomino horse. Despite making only $75 a week, Roy paid the incredible sum of $2,500 dollars (roughly $30,000 today) and made installments payments, "just like a bedroom set," because he knew he had to have that horse. Thus was formed one of the most lasting partnerships in movie history.
When it comes to Roy Rogers’ films, the leading lady that naturally comes to mind is Dale Evans. Born in Texas, by the time she was 28 she had changed her name from Frances Octavia Smith, had a 13 year-old son, and was working hard to make a career through her singing. Under contract with Republic Pictures in 1943, Dale refused an initial film with Roy because she felt westerns were unsophisticated and the wrong showcase for her talent. She was later pressured by Republic studio head Herbert Yates into making The Cowboy and the Senorita in1944. Despite her initial assessment of her leading man as “quiet and shy,” Roy and Dale soon developed an easy friendship over the course of making nearly 20 pictures together. 
Still hoping for roles in more mainstream musicals, Dale left Republic and went on a singing tour, possibly hastening the end of her second marriage. Republic enticed her back, but her non-western films The Trespasser and Slippy McGee did not do well. Roy was also having some personal troubles: in 1946 his second wife died after giving birth to their third child. When Roy asked her to make another western, Dale agreed; when he proposed to her in late 1947, she agreed to that as well.
But after Dale and Roy were married, Republic stopped casting them together in films for a while, under the assumption that no one wanted to see a married couple on screen together—hence Dale had no role in Under California Stars. It was during this time, from roughly 1947-48 as Dale pursued success outside of westerns and then settled into married life, that Jane Frazee made five films with Roy.
Frazee might be best known for her role opposite Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Buck Privates (1941), but the pretty girl with the pleasant voice also did many B-westerns and a few television series. From 1954-55 while Phyllis Coates concentrated on television work, Frazee played Alice McDoakes in the Joe McDoakes shorts. Frazee’s last film was one of the McDoakes shorts, after which she retired from films to work in real estate.
Under California Stars is not a groundbreaking film by any means; it is simply a fun, pleasant film with all the themes Americans once enjoyed at the movies. Because it stars Roy Rogers, we know that nothing truly bad will ever happen, though we will be on the edge of our seats wondering how Roy and Trigger will escape each danger. The villains are immediately recognizable and meet satisfying ends, while the distinctive high, raspy voice and antics of Andy Divine offset the serious drama. And what kid wouldn’t want to be like Michael Chapin (brother of Lauren Chapin from the 1950s television series Father Knows Best), helping Roy rescue Trigger?
If Under California Stars film has one fault, it is the scene where Roy “falls off” Trigger. We at the Bijou find the idea of Roy “falling off” any horse inconceivable. The only explanation for this outlandish plot device is that Roy actually “slides” off Trigger, thus allowing himself to pursue MacFarland on foot and Trigger to deal with MacFarland’s horse. Roy was very proud that, in over 80 films, Trigger never stumbled. Both Roy and Trigger filmed their own stunts, and Under California Stars certainly packs a lot of action.
There is a characteristic “look” to color western films from this time, in large part due to Republic Pictures’ use of the Trucolor color process. Trucolor films were shot with two (in later years, three) strips of film sensitized to red and green. Both negatives were processed on duplitized film and dyed with a color coupler.
With two notable exceptions worth watching (Dark Command and Carson City Kid, both from 1940) Roy Rogers essentially plays himself in his films, if not actually in name. His hat is always white and he shoots straight. He is deferential to the law, unerringly polite, gentle with children and animals, and unabashedly religious. He asked for these same qualities from the members of his fan club, the Roy Rogers Riders Club (scroll down for the club rules printed on the back of each membership card). He understood he was a role model for children, and he was humbled by his position.
Roy Rogers was “Roy” without artifice or pretense. Even in writing this piece, one does not find references to “Rogers”—he is always simply “Roy.” A recurring theme in remembrances of people who knew him is how fans everywhere would ask, “Is he really the same as he appears onscreen?” They were asking, is he really that kind? Is he really that generous? And the answer always seems to be “Yes.” In Under California Stars, both the kindness and genuineness of Roy Rogers shines through.
And now on the Bijou Blog screen you can enjoy a Republic short also filmed in Trucolor, featuring Roy reciting the Cowboy's Prayer as he and Trigger appear onscreen as part of Saturday matinee meeting of the Roy Rogers Riders Club.
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