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Roy Rogers in the Great Northwest

Robert S. Clay Jr. | St. Louis, MO., USA | 02/12/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The friendly Oseka Indians clash with the crooked owners of a new cannery over fish conservation and supply. The ecology goes to pot, and the Indians are left starving. The conflict escalates to violence and murder. The Bureau of Indian Affairs sends agent Roy Rogers to smooth things over and prevent the outbreak of war along the Canadian border. Filmed in Trucolor, this B Western is a quick hit of Saturday matinee excitement. Both Dale Evans and Pat Brady are absent, but we see the origin of Bullet, Roy's trusty wolf dog that followed him into the '50s TV series. Bullet plays "Wolf." Great casting. Roy rescues him as a tiny pup from a hunter's trap. Noble Johnson plays the stony-faced Indian chief. Among other roles, he played the Nubian slave in 1932's "The Mummy" and the native chief in "King Kong." Some of the stock footage of salmon swimming upstream and commercial fishing methods looks like footage from a U. S. Dept. of Conservation public service film. Roy works with the trusty men of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Nope, we didn't see Sergeant Preston, but he was probably still up north in the Yukon. The action elements of this fast moving flick are bloodless enough to qualify as "G" rated. As usual, Roy Rogers is honest and true. He shoots straight, rides fast, and punches hard. The color photography looks a little odd at times because of peculiar tints of blue and green. There are 2 or 3 songs, but we are spared from elaborate musical production numbers. Nobody made B Westerns like Republic Studios. Fun for kids of all ages. ;-)"