Watch Don't Fence Me In For Free

Sadly Over-hyped

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Move over Betty Grable and Joan Blondell because Dale Evans really gets to show her musical and acting chops in this oater. It's a Dale you don't ordinarily see once she settled into Roy's loyal sidekick. Here she shows the kind of spark that would have gotten her a succession of '30's B-musicals ten years earlier. I sure don't blame Roy for grabbing her for a life-time. But please, Roy, don't lock her again in the jouncing boot of a stagecoach with only Limburger cheese to grab onto. It's not a good way to court a girl.All in all, the 70-minutes amounts to a really good matinée entry. The plot's more convoluted than usual, with Dale as a reporter investigating who's really buried in Wildcat Kelly's grave where Roy owns a dude ranch. Notably, her role requires an aggressive side we don't ordinarily see. Then too, the plot offers up several twists unlike the usual oater. And mustn't overlook the great Gabby Hayes in a more complex role than usual, but showing his usual ornery brand of entertaining humor. Then too, catch those two refugees from urban gangster flicks—Marc Lawrence and Douglas Fowley. Good thing they didn't have to 'mount up'. There may be less action or good scenery than usual, but the pluses more than compensate. Anyhow, add the Sons of the Pioneers and an outstanding array of western tunes to the mix, and how can even non-front row kids lose.An "8" on the Matinée Scale.

While growing up, Roy Rogers was my hero, and I even got to see him live at a rodeo at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. For many years, this film was the one I most remembered of the many that showed up on television in the 1950s, usually on Saturday afternoons. So I was delighted when Encore showed the film, apparently in its entirety not too long ago; few of the Roy Rogers films survived the butchery to fit them in 60 minute slots on television.As another of our reviewers pointed out, this is probably the best of Roy's films. After all, you can't go wrong with a Cole Porter lead song and a stellar performance by the best sidekick of them all -- Gabby Hayes. In fact, Hayes is the focus here -- as an old supposedly dead and buried outlaw. The ruse is foiled by Dale Evans, a magazine reporter. But then Gabby (Wildcat Kelly) is shot as an investigation begins into what happened to the reward money which the state paid out when he was supposedly shot dead.It's all great fun, with the Sons Of The Pioneers along for the ride, with a short version of "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" thrown in for good measure. Roy does well here...as he usually did. And, for a change, I actually enjoyed Dale Evans' performance here; in fact, it wouldn't have worked without her role. And Gabby Hayes is at his best, with a particularly funny funeral scene! This may be Hayes' best film performance...and it's pure Gabby!

In looking over Helen Talbot's list of film appearances on the IMB, I noticed that she supposedly appearance in Don't Fence Me In, as a dancer. There is an opening dance number in the beginning of the film where Dale masquerades as a dancer trying to get an "uncover" story on a politician who professes to be a "Law and Order" man with family values, but is really a dirty old man who likes pinching show girls. Dale is dressed up in a cute little outfit that shows off her legs. She was really a good looking gal and it is ironic that she would even play a part considering her late years as a "Christian" role model mother. But that's another issue. Helen, although she was an actual glamor model and had been a Goldwyn Girl briefly before coming to Republic, does not appear on camera. I have run that sequence through my video machine at slow speed and cannot find any evidence that she was indeed in that film. The same thing in SONG OF NEVADA, another Rogers musical, where she was supposedly cast as an airline stewardess. I stand ready for correction, gentlemen.

This is clearly one of the most entertaining "B" westerns I've ever seen. Unfortunately, the edition I viewed on DVD, Part of the "Happy Trails Theater" series from "Good Times Video" is apparently a version that was sold to television in the 50s and cut to fill one hour of airtime. Note that I said cut, not edited. Chunks of story line are missing. Continuity is non-existent. Plot problems are suddenly resolved without explanation. Even the final production number ("Don't Fence Me In") is cut-off before the song is completed. If the listed runtime is correct (71 mins), this edition is missing 17 minutes of footage.With so many recent restorations of "B" westerns back to their original short lengths, I think that the "Roy Rogers" estate or "Republic Pictures" should make an effort to restore this film for DVD. It was probably Roy's best work.