User Reviews

Mr. Rodney P. Black is the young new owner of the Bagley Ranch, but it turns out the kid is just a kid, actually a baby under the guardianship of Miss Sylvia Clark (Helen Parrish). If you've seen more than a handful of 'B' Westerns you know the set up from a mile away, because a dastardly villain is right around the corner attempting to swindle the ranch out from under it's rightful owner. In this case, Gregg Jackson (Onslow Stevens) hooks up with the Bagley Ranch caretaker Vera Martin (Joan Woodbury), and they run through all the tricks in the book - a phony five thousand dollar bank note, rustled cattle and a dammed up stream - to prevent Miss Clark from taking possession.

Not to worry, Roy, Gabby, Bob Nolan and The Sons of the Pioneers have a half dozen songs in their arsenal to make this a fairly entertaining Western film. I especially liked 'A Cowboy Rocky-Feller' with it's upbeat tempo sung by Roy around the old campfire. Later on, and this is the only time I've ever seen it in over five hundred Westerns, Roy and his boys slide right into a song on the heels of a bar room brawl. It had to do with an Irish gal named O'Shea, and Gabby does his solo part in brogue! Very cool. Pat Brady's around too, and has some fun with 'A No Good Son of a Gun'.

For a flick that comes in under an hour, this one's got a lot going on between the shoot-outs, a rock slide and a flood orchestrated by the bad guys when they blow up their own dam (couldn't figure that one out). The Pioneers set a pie trap for Gabby (don't ask), and by the time it's all over, Roy's serenading Miss Clark one more time with 'Gates of the Home Corral'. The little tyke who figured in the main plot didn't have much to do except hang around and get fed his milk bottle every now and then, which wasn't a bad gig when you come right down to it.

Vera Martin(Joan Woodbury) is very disappointed. As the long-serving housekeeper for rancher Mr. Bagley, he had recently told her that he was leaving the ranch to her when he died. However, a superseding will was found that left it all to a nephew: Mr. Blackstone. living in the East. She complains to neighbor Greg Jackson(Onslow Stevens) who tells her he will do several things to make the ranch seem unattractive for future investment, and thus hopefully buy it for a song. They kiss. Apparently, his original idea was to marry Vera, then combine the 2 ranches. He still hopes to combine the ranches. To encourage Blackstone to sell quickly, he has a dam built upstream of the stream that flows through the Blackstone property. Since they are now without water on the Blackstone property, he will herd Blackstone's cattle over to his watered property. (The film shows his water hole as being adjacent to Blackstone's water hole. How can that be?) Jackson also shows a (fake) note for $5000. from Bagley to him due soon, which he will hold over the head of Blackstone........When Blackstone arrives, Vera and Jackson are amazed that he is a small infant, carried by his guardian , a young woman, named Sylvia Clark. Their car had been run off the road by a road-hogging cattle herd. Fortunately, Roy and Gabby happened along soon after, and gave Sylvia and Blackstone a ride to the ranchhouse, giving Sylvia a positive impression of the two. After Jackson told about the poor condition of the ranch, Sylvia almost sold the ranch to him. But, Roy said "Not so fast". That night, Roy and Gabby looked for and found a herd of Bagley's cattle being herded onto Jackson's property. He and Jackson argued about whose cattle they were, and Jackson agreed to return them.........The next day, another neighbor, Clifford Sheldon(Frank Thomas) comes calling and offers to buy Bagley's herd, so that Sylvia can pay the $5000. Bagley supposedly owed Jackson, and thus avoid foreclosure. Naturally, Jackson is disturbed by this action, and has his men drive the cattle to several trucks that night. Sheldon journeys up the river toward the undetected dam, apparently looking for his cattle. Jackson and gang also go there looking for him, as does Sylvia, looking to warn him that Jackson was out gunning for him.(She learned this by eavesdropping on Vera, after which she had a short catfight with Vera, broken up by Gabby, who locks Vera in a closet, and that's the last we see of her). ........Soon, there is a gun battle between Sheldon and Jackson's bunch. Sheldon is wounded, but a posse led by the sheriff and Roy shows up in time to prevent Jackson from finishing him off. However, Jackson's righthand man, Reynolds, escapes and runs to the dam, with dynamite. He succeeds in blowing it up.(Why? Perhaps to drown Sheldon and perhaps others?). Roy has to race to rescue Sheldon before the raging water reaches him. He slides down the steep canyon wall, puts Sheldon on one shoulder, and grabs a rope tied to Trigger, who backs up until the 2 men are at the rim of the canyon wall.........There is a running gag about Gabby's obsession with pies. They try to hide them from him. The film ends with him slicing into a tempting pie, causing it to explode all over him. See it at YouTube.

"Sunset Serenade" was originally released back in 1942.

Anyway - As the story goes - A rancher passes away and his property is willed to an infant child under the care of a guardian. The deceased rancher's housekeeper is upset 'cause she wasn't mentioned in the will and the neighboring rancher looks to take the ranch for his own by any means necessary.

The Roy Rogers, Gabby Hayes venture, "Sunset Serenade" (formerly available on a good Mill Creek DVD) co-stars the super-lovely Helen Parrish and features Roy Barcroft as a good guy (for once!).

On this occasion, the bad girl is Joan Woodbury and the bad guy, Onslow Stevens. They play a couple of schemers.

The movie is less fortunate in the casting of Pat Brady, wildly over-acting a Tim Spencer number, and George Hayes as a glutton for Parrish pies.

The Lydecker dam-blast climax is almost certainly stock material, but it's still thrilling stuff.

Director Joe Kane handles the rest of the movie with competence and even a smidgin of dexterity.