'' Bells of San Angelo '' is a 1947 American

Trucolor Trucolor was a color motion picture process used and owned by the Consolidated Film Industries division of Republic Pictures. It was introduced as a replacement for Consolidated's own Magnacolor process. Republic used Trucolor mostly for its We ...

Western film directed by

William Witney William Nuelsen Witney (May 15, 1915 – March 17, 2002) was an American film and television director. He is best remembered for the action films he made for Republic Pictures, particularly serials: '' Dick Tracy Returns'', '' G-Men vs. the Bl ...

and starring

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

. The first Roy Rogers film shot in

, this modern day Western mixes half a dozen songs with mystery, international smuggling of silver, violence, a pack of dogs and

comedy relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...

with one character packing a "16-shooter".

Plot

Roy is a "border inspector" ever on the alert for smuggling silver between Mexico and the United States. Roy's Mexican friends have told him that one of their own has important information about a silver mine on the American side of the border, but their contact is shot and killed by the mine guards. Before shooting him, they plant a piece of ore containing a high level of silver on his body. The American mine owners say they play rough, as no towns or law enforcement are anywhere near them and their mine is just across the border, making it a tempting target for robbers who plan to rob the mine then escape to Mexico. Other events are happening in the area, such as the arrival of Western mystery author Lee Madison, whom Roy and his friends feel ridicules the West and those who live in it. The gang does not know that Lee is really a woman, so when Lee becomes aware of their dislike for her writing, she hides under an alias. Lionel Bates arrives from England saying

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

is on the hunt for an English national named George Wallingford Lancaster. Roy notices the news greatly alarms dog-loving sheriff Cookie Bullfincher.

Cast

as Roy Rogers * Trigger as Trigger, Roy's Horse * Dale Evans as Lee Madison * Andy Devine as Cookie Bullfincher * John McGuire as Rex Gridley * Olaf Hytten as Lionel Bates * Dave Sharpe as Henchman Ulrich *

Fritz Leiber Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright, and chess expert. With writers such as Robert ...

as Padre * Hank Patterson as Deaf Bus Passenger * Fred 'Snowflake' Toones as The Cook * Eddie Acuff as Bus Driver * Bob Nolan as Bob *

Sons of the Pioneers The Sons of the Pioneers are one of the United States' earliest Western singing groups. Known for their vocal performances, their musicianship, and their songwriting, they produced innovative recordings that have inspired many Western music perf ...

as Musicians * Pat Brady as Pat *

Keefe Brasselle Keefe Brasselle (born Henry Keefe Brasselle February 7, 1923 – July 7, 1981) was an American film actor, television actor/producer and author. He is best remembered for the starring role in ''The Eddie Cantor Story'' (1953). Early years an ...

as Ignacio *

Dale Van Sickel Dale Harris Van Sickel (November 29, 1907 – January 25, 1977) was an American college football, basketball and baseball player during the 1920s, who later became a Hollywood motion picture actor and stunt performer for over forty years. Van ...

as Henchman Mike *

Luana Walters Luana Walters (July 22, 1912 – May 19, 1963) was an American motion picture actress from Los Angeles, California. Biography Walters was an expert horsewoman, which led to her discovery as an actress at a rodeo in Palm Springs, California ...

as Lodge Clerk

Soundtrack

*Roy Rogers and

- "The Bells of San Angelo" (Written by John Elliott as Jack Elliott) * "Lazy Days" (Written by Tim Spencer) * "I Like to Get Up Early in the Morning" (Written by John Elliott as Jack Elliott) * "A Cowboy's Dream of Heaven" (Written by John Elliott as Jack Elliott) * "I Love the West" (Written by John Elliott as Jack Elliott) - Dale Evans * Pat Brady and Sons of the Pioneers - "Hot Lead" (Written by Tim Spencer)

External links

* * 1947 films 1947 Western (genre) films Republic Pictures films American Western (genre) films Trucolor films Films directed by William Witney 1940s English-language films 1940s American films {{1940s-Western-film-stub