"Silver Spurs" is an enjoyable Roy Rogers vehicle which moves along at a brisk pace. I like the fact that it never settles on one genre -- is it a musical Western, or a suspenseful comedy? -- and that it boasts a cast that's a notch better than what you would expect from a low budget B picture. Roy gets to sing a few short-but-sweet numbers with The Sons of The Pioneers and the supporting players are a joy: Phyllis Brooks, John Carradine, Jerome Cowan, Joyce Compton (not playing a dumb blonde for once), and Western regular Smiley Burnette. I was also amazed at the stunts Trigger could do; he truly was "The Smartest Horse in the Movies"!
10 Reviews
Roy is superman, while being wrongfully accused of 2 murders
weezeralfalfa4 April 2019
Warning: Spoilers
If nothing else, this western has a terrific action climax, followed by a feel good aftermath, to end the film........It's the old story of a greedy man, wanting to get ownership of a piece of real estate for a song, and figuring out how to do it, usually with the aid of some accomplices. Here, John Carridine's Lucky Miller is the greedy one. He wants the big spread inherited by alcoholic playboy Jerry Johnson(Jerome Cowan). According to the terms of the will, Jerry isn't allowed to sell the property. So, Lucky's scheme is to get Jerry married, then have him killed, and work on his widow to get the property(Actually, he attempts to have the widow killed, as well.) Lucky is not a rancher. He owns the local saloon called 'the lodge', where some of the action takes place........Roy's first act of heroism occurs when Jerry, with Lucky, are driving to the lodge. A slow buckboard containing 2 blond women blocks their progress, so they run it off the road. The driver is knocked out of the buckboard by the rough terrain and the runaway horses. Johnny on the spot Roy sees the predicament and rushes to climb onto the lead horses and calm them. The2 women are newspaper reporter Mary(Phyllis Brooks), soon to be Jerry's bride, and her friend Millie(Joyce Compton), who are also headed for the lodge. Presumably, Jerry and Mary are married, although we didn't see anything of the ceremony..........Roy gets angry at his boss, Jerry, because he won't definitively commit to allowing the railroad to build a spur across some of his land, to get to the oil field. They fight. Knocked down, Jerry pulls out his pistol and shoots at Roy. Incredibly, Roy isn't even wounded.........Shortly after Jerry and Mary are married, he is driving his car, when Lucky's henchman Steve Corlan(Hal Taliaferro) shoots him from a hill. Jerry is killed instantly, and his car careens down a ravine. Johnny on the spot Roy sees the accident and lowers himself on a rope tied to Trigger. He hoists Jerry's body onto his shoulder, grabs the rope and has Trigger back up, to pull them up. While he was in the ravine, sneaky Corlan exchanged Roy's rifle for his murder weapon, and when Roy arrives at the top, the sheriff has arrived, and stupidly concludes that Roy is the presumed murderer. If so, why would he bother hauling Jerry's body up, instead of fleeing? The presence of the presumed murder weapon on Trigger is enough for the sheriff, despite Roy's plea that it is not his rifle. Roy's friends save him from being taken to jail........Johnny on the spot, once again, Roy happens along to prevent Corlin from scaring the girl's horses to jump off a high cliff, as Lucky wished........Roy is accused on a second murder: that of Lucky's henchman Buck(Dick Wessel). Again, Corlin, along with Lucky, are the guilty, but Roy happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. This time, the sheriff caught him and put him in jail. Fortunately, Roy's sidekick, Smiley(Frog) supplied Roy with some things to blow the lock off his cell, and escape. Roy is again free to perform more miracles. I will let you see the climactic action and pleasant aftermath without describing details.......A few songs are sung, but not a prominent aspect of the film.
Pretty good...and less singing.
planktonrules12 January 2011
Warning: Spoilers
This Roy Rogers film sure seemed to have less singing than usual. When I checked IMDb it said the film had been trimmed (probably for TV) and I assume that one way they shortened it was by removing some of the songs. Well, I do like Rogers' pleasant voice, but less songs means more story and more action--something that seemed to make this film flow better than other Rogers film I have seen.
Roy works for a drunkard who is also a full-time idiot and jerk (wow--the trifecta!). His willingness to put up with this guy is apparently out of some misguided loyalty to the guy's dead father as well as his trying to arrange for some right of way for the railroad. Regardless, an evil baddie (John Carradine) is out to kill the drunk, steal his land and frame Roy! So Roy does what any handsome western hero would do when his boss is killed--run away from the law and solve the murder himself.
Instead of Gabby Hays (my favorite Rogers sidekick), this one has the generally ineffectual and rather addle-brained Smiley Burnett. Despite Burnett's 'help', Roy is able to eventually solve the crime and clear his good name.
Due to good pacing, a reasonably original story (minus the cliché of running off to solve the crime himself) and plenty of nice action (along with one or two insane stunts) make this worth seeing--particularly if you like series westerns.
Roy works for a drunkard who is also a full-time idiot and jerk (wow--the trifecta!). His willingness to put up with this guy is apparently out of some misguided loyalty to the guy's dead father as well as his trying to arrange for some right of way for the railroad. Regardless, an evil baddie (John Carradine) is out to kill the drunk, steal his land and frame Roy! So Roy does what any handsome western hero would do when his boss is killed--run away from the law and solve the murder himself.
Instead of Gabby Hays (my favorite Rogers sidekick), this one has the generally ineffectual and rather addle-brained Smiley Burnett. Despite Burnett's 'help', Roy is able to eventually solve the crime and clear his good name.
Due to good pacing, a reasonably original story (minus the cliché of running off to solve the crime himself) and plenty of nice action (along with one or two insane stunts) make this worth seeing--particularly if you like series westerns.
"Just Where The Trail Will Wind"
bkoganbing2 June 2011
Silver Spurs has the kind of plot situation more involved in one of those Philo Vance murder mysteries than with a Roy Rogers western. The fact that we see all the villainous machinations of John Carradine and his henchmen out in the open robs it of being a mystery. But Silver Spurs still rates as a pretty good Roy Rogers western.
For a plot this is interesting and unusual for a western. It involves playboy Jerome Cowan who among other things has a ranch that Roy Rogers is the foreman of. The people in the area want him to give the railroad a right of way, but Cowan is too busy partying to pay any attention to business.
Apparently Jerome's dad knew what an idiot he was raising so the terms of his will are that the ranch can't be sold, but if he dies his widow can. So Carradine who owns the local gambling house arranges for a mail order bride for the well known playboy. Which perks the interest of sob sister reporter Phyllis Brooks and she comes west and marries the guy to see what the story is. Little did Phyllis suspect.
The emphasis is on action and plot rather than Roy's singing. Still he gets to do a couple of standards the great Al Jolson song Back In Your Own Backyard and Tumbling Tumbleweeds which was written by Sons Of The Pioneers head Bob Nolan. And Roy gets as a sidekick Smiley Burnette who takes his Frog Millhouse character from those Gene Autry flicks where he sidekicked with Gene before Autry went into the service.
Burnette even gets a love interest himself with Joyce Compton who is the sidekick of Phyllis Brooks.
All in all a pretty good western for Roy Rogers.
For a plot this is interesting and unusual for a western. It involves playboy Jerome Cowan who among other things has a ranch that Roy Rogers is the foreman of. The people in the area want him to give the railroad a right of way, but Cowan is too busy partying to pay any attention to business.
Apparently Jerome's dad knew what an idiot he was raising so the terms of his will are that the ranch can't be sold, but if he dies his widow can. So Carradine who owns the local gambling house arranges for a mail order bride for the well known playboy. Which perks the interest of sob sister reporter Phyllis Brooks and she comes west and marries the guy to see what the story is. Little did Phyllis suspect.
The emphasis is on action and plot rather than Roy's singing. Still he gets to do a couple of standards the great Al Jolson song Back In Your Own Backyard and Tumbling Tumbleweeds which was written by Sons Of The Pioneers head Bob Nolan. And Roy gets as a sidekick Smiley Burnette who takes his Frog Millhouse character from those Gene Autry flicks where he sidekicked with Gene before Autry went into the service.
Burnette even gets a love interest himself with Joyce Compton who is the sidekick of Phyllis Brooks.
All in all a pretty good western for Roy Rogers.
Decent Rogers Flick
Michael_Elliott26 April 2011
Silver Spurs (1943)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
This "B" Western from Republic probably won't appeal to too many people today but it's your typical Roy Rogers vehicle, which gets some added spice with one of the bad guys being played by John Carradine. In the film Roy is accused of killing his boss but of course he's innocent so he must break free from the Sheriff and try to clear his name. Along the way a female reporter is on the case and discovers that the murder might have something to do with a valuable piece of property. Apparently there are quite a few different versions of this film available from countless public domain companies. I had this film on three different sets and the running time varied on each of them. I went ahead and watched the longest (just at 60-minutes) but from the reviews I've read it appears the shorter versions are missing some of the music from Roy Rogers and the Son of the Pioneers. Overall this is a fairly entertaining Western as long as you don't go into it expecting something like John Ford would give you. At this point I really haven't seen too many films from Rogers but I certainly enjoyed his performance here and look forward to other movies. I thought the story was your typical stuff that had been going around Hollywood since the silent era and we even had some 30s stuff thrown in like the subplot with the reporter. For the most part the story is decent enough to keep you entertained but I'm sure a lot of this has to do with the short running time. Rogers was pretty charming in his role as he has to flirt with the ladies while trying to track down the bad guys. I guess it goes without saying but Rogers was at ease in the role and was quite believable during the action pieces. I'm sure the events going on in Carradine's personal life caused him to take this part and to be honest there's not too much he or anyone else could have done with it. It's clear the studio didn't take advantage of having him in the picture by making the part bigger because it really doesn't stand out and in fact any actor could have done it. Carradine is decent in the part but it's just strange seeing even him in something like this. Trigger, the horse, appears and gets to do a couple stunts as well. The action in the film is pretty good including one scene where a car goes off a cliff and Roy has to use his rope to get to the bottom.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
This "B" Western from Republic probably won't appeal to too many people today but it's your typical Roy Rogers vehicle, which gets some added spice with one of the bad guys being played by John Carradine. In the film Roy is accused of killing his boss but of course he's innocent so he must break free from the Sheriff and try to clear his name. Along the way a female reporter is on the case and discovers that the murder might have something to do with a valuable piece of property. Apparently there are quite a few different versions of this film available from countless public domain companies. I had this film on three different sets and the running time varied on each of them. I went ahead and watched the longest (just at 60-minutes) but from the reviews I've read it appears the shorter versions are missing some of the music from Roy Rogers and the Son of the Pioneers. Overall this is a fairly entertaining Western as long as you don't go into it expecting something like John Ford would give you. At this point I really haven't seen too many films from Rogers but I certainly enjoyed his performance here and look forward to other movies. I thought the story was your typical stuff that had been going around Hollywood since the silent era and we even had some 30s stuff thrown in like the subplot with the reporter. For the most part the story is decent enough to keep you entertained but I'm sure a lot of this has to do with the short running time. Rogers was pretty charming in his role as he has to flirt with the ladies while trying to track down the bad guys. I guess it goes without saying but Rogers was at ease in the role and was quite believable during the action pieces. I'm sure the events going on in Carradine's personal life caused him to take this part and to be honest there's not too much he or anyone else could have done with it. It's clear the studio didn't take advantage of having him in the picture by making the part bigger because it really doesn't stand out and in fact any actor could have done it. Carradine is decent in the part but it's just strange seeing even him in something like this. Trigger, the horse, appears and gets to do a couple stunts as well. The action in the film is pretty good including one scene where a car goes off a cliff and Roy has to use his rope to get to the bottom.
Roy Rogers and John Carradine
kevinolzak21 July 2015
1943's "Silver Spurs" was an above average Roy Rogers vehicle, then at the peak of his fame, boasting a higher budget, more ambitious script, and better supporting cast than the usual Republic players. Making his debut for Herbert J. Yates was scene stealing character star John Carradine, clearly in his element as Lucky Miller, villainous proprietor of the Frontier Lodge, who schemes to obtain an oil well by orchestrating a wedding for his drunkard accomplice Jerry Johnson (Jerome Cowan) to a mail order bride (Phyllis Brooks), since Miller can only purchase the ranch property from a widow. Rogers is the ranch foreman, cleverly framed by Miller for the murder of Johnson right after the two had a falling out. Approximately 14-15 minutes are missing from its original 68 minute running time, mostly deleted songs, yet the actual wedding ceremony featuring Byron Foulger's Justice of the Peace is nowhere to be seen either. Roy's horse Trigger has a couple of impressive stunts, while sidekick Smiley Burnette once again trots out Frog Millhouse, a character he played nearly 50 times over 10 years. The dapper Carradine occasionally looks out of place, never seen wearing anything but a suit and tie (even atop a horse!), but his presence spices up the proceedings, making this one of the star's best remembered films.
"Aw, rats, looks like we're bein' rescued!"
classicsoncall18 March 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I must have missed something in this film. Why did Mary Hardigan (Phyllis Brooks) actually marry the inconsiderate lush Jerry Johnson (Jerome Cowan)? Contrary to what a handful of reviewers wrote in their comments, she wasn't a mail order bride, but a newspaper reporter for the 'News-Register', who reluctantly agreed to an assignment to get the scoop on Johnson and his inheritance of fifty thousand acres of land. Mary's pal on the newspaper ran a Lonely Hearts Club column, so she and Millie Love (Joyce Compton) head West to get the story and perhaps for Millie to find herself a handsome cowboy. For reasons unknown, Mary did marry Johnson, and I'm left wondering what happened to her journalistic sensibility.
Well anyway, it was bad enough that Jerry was a terrible businessman, but his agent, Lucky Miller (John Carradine), had his own designs on the Johnson Ranch. Besides wanting the property on its own merits, the local townspeople were hoping for a granted right of way for a railroad spur leading to a proposed oil drilling location. That made the property even more valuable, and you know how these things go. With Miller conspiring against Johnson, one of his thugs shoots Jerry and sends him over a cliff in his car, and when Roy recovers the body, he's arrested for murder! I guess the dimwit sheriff (Jack Kirk) never considered why Roy would have scaled down a steep embankment to retrieve a corpse if he wanted the guy dead.
Fortunately, reporter Mary had an observant eye, and when she spied Roy's rifle at Miller's Frontier Lodge tack shop, she knew it had been switched at the murder scene with the weapon that killed Jerry. No problem for Roy though, because when the sheriff tried to arrest him, he and the Sons of the Pioneers hogtied him and his deputy in order to solve the crime himself! Which you know he did because this was a Roy Rogers flick! And he did it after being arrested a second time for allegedly killing another Miller henchman!
You really have to shake your head with the way these old time B Westerns were written. For Roy, this was a fairly typical vehicle, with sidekick Smiley Burnette stepping in for regular Gabby Hayes. Smiley didn't have much to do in this one, except to be wooed by the Lonely Hearts lady. And for the capper, the newly widowed Mary Johnson decided to sign over the entire Johnson property to the town's oil cooperative to benefit the local folks. You might scratch your head and say, only in the movies!
Well anyway, it was bad enough that Jerry was a terrible businessman, but his agent, Lucky Miller (John Carradine), had his own designs on the Johnson Ranch. Besides wanting the property on its own merits, the local townspeople were hoping for a granted right of way for a railroad spur leading to a proposed oil drilling location. That made the property even more valuable, and you know how these things go. With Miller conspiring against Johnson, one of his thugs shoots Jerry and sends him over a cliff in his car, and when Roy recovers the body, he's arrested for murder! I guess the dimwit sheriff (Jack Kirk) never considered why Roy would have scaled down a steep embankment to retrieve a corpse if he wanted the guy dead.
Fortunately, reporter Mary had an observant eye, and when she spied Roy's rifle at Miller's Frontier Lodge tack shop, she knew it had been switched at the murder scene with the weapon that killed Jerry. No problem for Roy though, because when the sheriff tried to arrest him, he and the Sons of the Pioneers hogtied him and his deputy in order to solve the crime himself! Which you know he did because this was a Roy Rogers flick! And he did it after being arrested a second time for allegedly killing another Miller henchman!
You really have to shake your head with the way these old time B Westerns were written. For Roy, this was a fairly typical vehicle, with sidekick Smiley Burnette stepping in for regular Gabby Hayes. Smiley didn't have much to do in this one, except to be wooed by the Lonely Hearts lady. And for the capper, the newly widowed Mary Johnson decided to sign over the entire Johnson property to the town's oil cooperative to benefit the local folks. You might scratch your head and say, only in the movies!
Drifting Along with the Tumbling Tumbleweeds
wes-connors6 September 2007
Roy Rogers (as Roy), Smiley Burnette (as Frog), and the "Sons of the Pioneers" are forced to operate on the wrong side of the law after Rogers is accused of murdering his drunken boss Jerome Cowan (as Jerry). John Carradine (as Lucky) is the scheming villain, and Phyllis Brooks (as Mary) brings along some feminine charm.
The contrived story hits its height of incredulity when the Sheriff immediately believes Mr. Rogers has murdered the man he just pulled up from an over the cliff car crash. However, the film builds to an above average climax that is worth the wait. Trigger repeats his role of Rogers rope puller; but, Smiley performs a later trick Trigger could (and should) have pulled. Mr. Carradine lifts the performance levels considerably. The soundtrack includes one of the biggest Rogers/Nolan/Pioneers hits "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" (from way back in 1934), but it's not the definitive version, and is interrupted by annoying dialog. The "full performance" song highlight is "Back in Your Own Backyard".
**** Silver Spurs (1943) Joseph Kane ~ Roy Rogers, Smiley Burnette, John Carradine
The contrived story hits its height of incredulity when the Sheriff immediately believes Mr. Rogers has murdered the man he just pulled up from an over the cliff car crash. However, the film builds to an above average climax that is worth the wait. Trigger repeats his role of Rogers rope puller; but, Smiley performs a later trick Trigger could (and should) have pulled. Mr. Carradine lifts the performance levels considerably. The soundtrack includes one of the biggest Rogers/Nolan/Pioneers hits "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" (from way back in 1934), but it's not the definitive version, and is interrupted by annoying dialog. The "full performance" song highlight is "Back in Your Own Backyard".
**** Silver Spurs (1943) Joseph Kane ~ Roy Rogers, Smiley Burnette, John Carradine
"Why couldn't you have yelled 'Whoa'?"
joebridge9 May 2006
Excellent Roy Rogers vehicle with a great, wily performance by John Carradine as an added bonus.
Good pacing and good direction (and yes, a few very good stunts) place this way above similar movies. Even the usually annoying side-kick role (with this one, it's Smiley Burnette as "Frog") isn't that bad at all.
Also, far less corny than some would first expect if you've seen others with similar plots from this time period.
There are a few very good action sequences, and some very funny lines if you're in the right mood.
The story mostly involves a "mail-order bride"; Mary the reporter going in to get a story about the "playboy" rancher and what is obviously a "phoney deal". Rogers is only trying to help his boss. However, the rancher is shot (admittedly, it was one unbelievably good shot through a car window from a fair distance) and Roy is conveniently framed when he shows up at the accident scene to check things out. Of course, you know that everything is bound to turn out for the best. There is also time for a couple good old songs.
10/10.
Good pacing and good direction (and yes, a few very good stunts) place this way above similar movies. Even the usually annoying side-kick role (with this one, it's Smiley Burnette as "Frog") isn't that bad at all.
Also, far less corny than some would first expect if you've seen others with similar plots from this time period.
There are a few very good action sequences, and some very funny lines if you're in the right mood.
The story mostly involves a "mail-order bride"; Mary the reporter going in to get a story about the "playboy" rancher and what is obviously a "phoney deal". Rogers is only trying to help his boss. However, the rancher is shot (admittedly, it was one unbelievably good shot through a car window from a fair distance) and Roy is conveniently framed when he shows up at the accident scene to check things out. Of course, you know that everything is bound to turn out for the best. There is also time for a couple good old songs.
10/10.
Trigger, music, and stunts galore
frank412214 July 2019
Music from Roy Rogers and Sons of Pioneers livened up the great action in Silver Spurs. It all starts with Roy demanding the rail road rights from Jerry Johnson but all he gets is a right hook. The stage is set for action and for mail order bride and news lady, the stunning Phyllis Brooks to work her magic. John Carradine played the villainous Lucky Miller to the hilt. The famous stuntman Yakima Canutt coordinated and performed some great stunts throughout. Ever ready, Smiley Burnette takes some brutal hits but somehow stays in the fight against Lucky. Roy said Trigger is a well trained horse and he more than proved it in this one. With one of the best henchmen ever Hal Taliaferro and great comedic timing from Joyce Compton, Silver Spurs is a Republic picture well worth watching.
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