Heldorado

I was less than enthusiastic about this Roy Rogers film because it featured Dale Evans in one of her typical 'dumb woman' roles. Now I am not insulting the memory of Miss Evans. It's just that in most films she made with her husband, she played really annoying women--REAAAALLLY annoying ones. To put it succinctly, he played obnoxious and stupid characters. And, while the character in "Heldorado" isn't as bad as many, she still is one annoying lady! You'd think that once she married Roy that her parts would improve, but this wasn't the case.

As to the title (which is often spelled "Helldorado"), it's named after the Helldorado Days--an annual rodeo created in the 1930s outside of Las Vegas in order to entertain the men working on Boulder Dam (now called 'Hoover Dam'). I am still not quite sure why they chose this title--especially since folks' sensitivities and censorship meant changing the title by dropping an 'l' to make it more acceptable.

This film once again finds Roy, Gabby, Trigger and Dale in the leads. And, as usual, Roy plays an agent investigating crime (this time counterfeiters) and Dale plays a rich lady who is super-annoying. Throughout the film, Roy actually seems on the verge of smacking her! But, despite Dale's histrionics, they do manage to save the day by the end of the film AND sing a bunch of songs (some by the ubiquitous Sons of the Pioneers). All in all, a slightly below average B western. For fans of Rogers films, it's fun and entertaining, for those who aren't, try finding a non-Dale film (such as "Idaho") first.